Postby wintersun » Mon Nov 21, 2022 2:45 pm
Yes, I would and I did. You have to think long term. I have put two children through 11+ - one from state (Honeywell) and one from private. The difference was enormous. If you are planning to stay in the state system for the secondary education - I agree, not worth the money. If, however, you are planning to go private for senior schools - worth every penny. If you can afford it of course. Honeywell is nce enough and relaxed, the infant school is lovely, the junior school has really changed for the worse. So, if anything, I would look at Belleville and not Honeywell these days (and this is based on what I hear from parents there, not on the Ofsted report). Also, trust me - if you are planning 11+, the last two / three years of the junior school will not be relaxed. Quite the opposite - they are quite hellish and brutal on both the parents and the children. You will be dragging a tired child to tutors after school, trying to do extra work on weekends to catch up and prepare them. Some kids are happy to go along with it, some will fight you. Private prep schools will largely take over the stress of exam prep, plus they do work a year ahead compared to state schools so kids leave with better level of maths and English (this is not a legend and this is what tutoring is trying to bridge), plus all kids in prep schools will be going through it which makes it easier and more normal for them. I think my second child had a nicer childhood as these last two years of juinor schools were more enjoyable as I think there was less homework overall as a lot of hard things were done at school. Generally speaking, I found the teachers in our private prep much better, more committed and more experienced, including a number of specialist teachers state schools don't offer. The school had money for exciting art and DT materials while, at Honeywell, it was done in a very basic way (and I'm talking about older times when the school was actually great and outstanding!). I think you are very right to worry about decreasing funding and economic times which will see the state schools even more squeezed than they already are. Things will get worse before they get better. In addition, I wouldn't estimate the value of smaller class sizes, ability streaming (which I believe Honeywell has now fazed out?) and more individual attention. So it all depends where you want your child to end up later. Things can definitely be achieved if you are at a state school but they are much harder and more stressful. Remember you have only one shot at it! Finally, a small matter but my younger child (who went through private prep) went to senior school with a lot of primary school friends, my older child didn't.
