by SWMum » Mon Nov 10, 2008 5:38 pm
Many of the private primaries/preps don't do them at all and I'm sure it won't be too long now before they're abandoned altogether. To be honest, though, even if you choose a state primary I really don't think SATS mean that much anymore - so many children have 'off-days' that they become meaningless and the secondaries are aware of this. In my opinion, the most important thing you need to look at when you're choosing a primary school (apart from proximity to home, whether or not it will suit your child and will they be happy there
) is which secondary schools leavers go on to; ie, does it 'feed' to the best secondaries, does it offer extra tuition/guidance for entrance examinations (if you're paying fees, I would say this is a big consideration!). You need to know what percentage of children get into sought-after secondaries. Ask for a comprehensive breakdown of where leavers have gone in the last few years.
Many of the private primaries/preps don't do them at all and I'm sure it won't be too long now before they're abandoned altogether. To be honest, though, even if you choose a state primary I really don't think SATS mean that much anymore - so many children have 'off-days' that they become meaningless and the secondaries are aware of this. In my opinion, the most important thing you need to look at when you're choosing a primary school (apart from proximity to home, whether or not it will suit your child and will they be happy there :D ) is which secondary schools leavers go on to; ie, does it 'feed' to the best secondaries, does it offer extra tuition/guidance for entrance examinations (if you're paying fees, I would say this is a big consideration!). You need to know what percentage of children get into sought-after secondaries. Ask for a comprehensive breakdown of where leavers have gone in the last few years. 8-)
