Choosing the best #school for your child's #education

Gathered from his own experiences as both a teacher and parent, here are some thoughts on State vs. Independent schools from Brian McGee, our Director of Consultancy Services.

With many parents in the middle of the annual round of open days and school visits, the issue of how to choose the best school for your child is at the forefront of our minds.

With so many leading figures in our society coming from independent schools, it seems that the 7% of pupils attending these schools gain an enormous advantage later on. This would lead us to think that paying for an independent education is an obvious step up for our child – if we can afford it. Independent schools offer academic excellence, confidence and a well-rounded approach to sport, the arts and culture. The recent TV programme ‘School Swap – the Class Divide’ could not have highlighted more effectively the difference in opportunity between the young people from the good state school and the obviously successful independent school.

My own experience as a parent, having sent my children to both state and independent schools, is somewhat mixed, however, and as a head of Sixth Form in an excellent state school, I frequently came across pupils who needed to be rescued from a damaged experience at an independent school. This was not a fault of the schools, but simply that a particular school may quite simply be wrong for the child. All schools, state or independent, have their own character and this gives them their ability to offer a child a nurturing environment. But sometimes the style of the school creates an environment which is just not right for the child, perhaps because they react badly to academic hothousing or the pressure to achieve on the sports field.

Of course, money is also a huge factor. I recently spoke to a family who had decided that, rather than spend the considerable cost of school fees at an independent school, they were choosing good state schools and topping up their child’s education with private lessons and clubs, and high quality family holidays. Others who have decided that a boarding education will offer their child the all-round education they will thrive on have chosen one of the many excellent state boarding schools (see www.sbsa.org) which offer outstanding opportunities at a third of the price of an independent school.

The key is to make good use of the visit or open day opportunities and gauge your child’s feelings carefully. The fixed open days are often a showcase event which gives some insight and information, but to truly get the feel for the school it is important to visit on a normal day and walk around while classes are on. Meet some teachers and talk to pupils – they are very honest! Of course, talking to other parents is also valuable, but do remember that your child is an individual and what is right for someone else’s child may not be right for them. We ended up sending our children to different schools because their needs were different. Start with your child and who they are and what they enjoy and you will not go far wrong.

For details of how our team of friendly, experienced consultants give advice on choosing the right school for your child, please give us a call on +44 (0)1865 522066

Or you can email Claire Coker on consultants@indepedenteducationconsultants.co.uk 

Or visit our website via this link http://independenteducationconsultants.co.uk/choosing-a-school/choosing-a-school-age-5-7-11-13-or-16/