Private schools?

[lisad123]

WE are looking into private school for DD1 as the school arent able to support her current learning levels with such high numbers and different levels of learning. We are hoping to get a scolarship, due to her "brightness".
She is only 5years old and not been offically tested, but school have been going on and on about her brightness, top of her class ect. Will we have to get her IQ tested first? will they do theiur own testing?
Any help would be great.
I know I should be here as she isnt labeled G&T but didnt know who else to turn to.

[controlfreakyagain]

not many (?any?) schools have academic scholarships at age 5.... check the websites / prospectuses of any likely ones in your area...
why do you think private school will necessarily be better than state for dealing with her "brightness".
present school should be addressing her needs. have you asked them how they propose to do this?

[marmadukescarlet]

It would be unusual for a fee paying school to offer a scholarship for a reception child, but I'm sure it is not unheard of.

Many independent schools make children sit entry tests.

Several local schools to me offer bursaries and part scholarships from yr 3, most are means tested.

As all fee paying schools are diff your best course of action is to call and speak to admission sec at each one you are considering and ask. Be very wary of bandying round the G&T though, may cause a red face further down the line.

[LynetteScavo]

Schools will do their own testing, but if she is as bright as you say, It will be you chooidng the shcool which is right for your DD, not a school ensureing your DD is right for them.

RE the school not being able to support your DD's current learning levels, is she still inreception? When DS1 was in receptin, he was top of the class, and the whole accademic side semeed a waste of time. Now he is in Junior school, however, the school is much more able to provide him with suitable work, even within a class of 25.

I would phone up prospective shcools and ask about their admissons procedures.

[lisad123]

I have banded G&T around.
The school she is at is good, but they have high class numbers, 33, and limited resourses. Her own teacher has said there may be somewhere better able to support her. They are encourging her at school and Im not worried she is falling behide at the moment.

I wouldnt move her until she had completed reception, but trying to plan ahead.

The other thing is the school dont have a G&T teacher that I can approach, so who would I ask? Her teacher is a NQT, and so doesnt seem confident in the best way to get further.

[lisad123]

sorry that should say havent banded

[LynetteScavo]

33 in reception? With one teacher? Are you in England?

[SueW]

Scholarships, if not already, are likely to become more subject to means testing i.e. looking at your income. You may be eligible for a bursary - help with fees according to income.

Some schools are very open about when they will provide financial help e.g. I have read in the past that incomes over say £40k are unlikely to get any financial help and that income under £16k and no assets other than the family home may be eligible for full fee assistance.

But as others have said, few available at reception age. More at 7+; more again at 11+ and 13+.

[jabberwocky]

She is old enough to be tested but you may have to look around a bit. We had ds1 tested at 4 and it was a challenge to find a place. But I am glad we did it as it helped us to make some important decisions. He will never fit into a regular class and we are actually moving to a different city in order to accommodate his needs. We are in the US and were able to find a magnet school that will work well for him. It is a type of public school so we are thankful that we don't have to continue the fees we are currently paying for pre-school.

You simply have to do a lot of research into what is available in your area and then consider if you need to move somewhere else - as extreme as that sounds. Feel free to CAT me if you want. Dealing with a gifted child is definitely a form of special needs and has its own difficulties.

Good luck!

[twentypence]

Ds will be going to a private school after Reception, largely because they will be able to keep him nice and busy and have all manner of extention programmes.

His current teacher is excellent - but the school is not set up for him to, for instance, be in a reading group with older children, or do maths with a group of similar ability. There is only one class per year and so there is nowhere for him to go. He is a reading and maths "group" all by himself.

I don't want him to learn on his own just because no other 5 year old can do the things he can, and I certainly don't want him to become lazy and lose interest in learning.

He is also doing very well at his music and I want him at a school were he is allowed to join the orchestra because he is a certain standard, rather than a school were he is technically not even "old enough" to learn an instrument.

Like you I hope somewhere along the line he wins a scholarship, but it will be at least year 3 (and even then he would have to be a choirboy for that one!) but more likely year 5.

[marmadukescarlet]

Just to add that in both of tiny state primary schools (80ish children - both Church Schools, which I know get knocked on here) I have looked at they had a G&T stream with children being taken out of their peer group for lessons with the older children more suited to their ability.

IME small schools are often more prepared to be flexible.

[seeker]

Are you sure moving her is the right thing? There is a lot more to bing 5 than academic work! Is she happy at her current school?

[twentypence]

Ds is at a small school and doesn't get to work with any children at his ability. He would be able to at a larger school probably but we aren't zoned for a large school.

[lisad123]

yes we are in england, there is one teacher and a LA. I dont know if moving her is the right thing, hence the research first.
I remember being very bored at school myslef and work wasnt challeging, and although I did well, I messed around a lot, and could have done so much more.
I have asked to talk to her teacher again today and see if she would arrange a EP to see her, or if Im going to have to do it privately.
Thanks for all the advice, I know you get plenty of people on here, asking if their child could be G&T (yes I read the thread), it must be a pain, but least you can share your knowledge.

[Hulababy]

The private prep schools round here don't do scholarships at all. I know some in other areas do them from prep age (for Y3 entry) but I would imagine they are highly sought after and compeition will be very fierce!

[cazzybabs]

Most schools offer scholorships at Year 3. They would do their own test - so no need to get her IQ tested. I would go and look at a few and remmeber private does not = brillaint extension work. Just because people have money does not mean brains.

[Loshad]

The best of the private schools around here has no scolarships/bursaries until Y3, and then they are few in number and in % amount . However for Y7 entry there is a good raft of scolarships/bursaries ranging from 10% off fees to full fee remission (only to children who are both a) very bright, b) come from state primaries c)have family incomes of less than (I think) about £35k/annum.)
The school has a goor range of extension policies in place.
If you are going private for that reason then you definately need to look at a selective school, as crazzybabs said there are plenty out there who will not be able to provide good extension work, and would not be that suitable for her.

[cory]

One reason comparatively few schools offer scholarships to such young children is that children can plateau as they get older. I know two children who seemed exceptionally bright as toddlers and during infants, and who are still doing well, but not at an exceptional level any more. Also, some of the brightest children don't get going until they are 7, so the competition will be totally different in a few years time. At 5, it can still be difficult to see which child is going to be the high-flyer in secondary school, which is what the scholarship people will be thinking about.

Not saying this to put you off trying to do the best for your dd now, just to be aware that there may not be quite so much on offer now as there will be in a few years time.

Since she is such a young child, I would also consider practical questions about sending her private. Will it mean long travelling hours?- and if so, will that tire her out. Will she still have friends that she can see after school?

Also, it's a good idea to have a fall-back plan, in case she does plateau. I have come across cases where the whole family has suffered because the child failed to come up to early expectations.

Remember that if you do decide to keep her at her local school, there is no rule against stimulating her at home. Lots of books, trips to the library, her own science projects, teaching her to cook, maybe a musical instrument, encourage her to write her own stories- you don't have to have a teacher to have an interesting time. I remember my childhood as a stream of constant exciting discoveries- and I went to the local comp, with no streaming and certainly no provision for G&T people (which I undoubtedly was).

[lisad123]

her teacher has agreed to discuss with the SENCO about getting her assessed. I also had an email today, it cost £400 to get her assessed privately.

[CantSleepWontSleep]

lisa - do you live near to SGK and Misdee? If so then have you any specific private schools in mind? We have been looking at local ones for dd (she won't start until Sept 2010), and I haven't come across any that appear to offer scholarships.

[lisad123]

yes live near my sisters. The one we were lookign at was sheridwoods (sp?). Which one is your little one going too?

[CantSleepWontSleep]

Ah yes, we looked at Sherrardswood. Wasn't overly impressed tbh, and didn't take to the headmistress at all. Nothing specific I could put my finger on, but of the 3 we attended open days for it was clearly in 3rd place.

We are hoping that dd will go to Beechwood Park, which is poss a bit far out for you.

[lisad123]

where abouts is that school? Is your DD G&T then? How old is she?

[avenanap]

I've had this problem but ds was not at a good school. Scholarships for children this young are practically non existent, as are busaries. It sounds like she's in a good school already that are trying to support her. It's not always true that a private school can support gifted children better. They do not have access to specialist support, the teachers often have different expectations of the children. I moved my ds to a private school (I pay fees as there are no scholarships or busaries). If I had found a good state school I would have kept him there and saved the extra money for activities and holidays. I think he would have been better off in a school where he is not overworked and doing projects to enrich his learning at home. Scholarships do exist for older children although you should be aware that these rarely cover all of the fees, the average is 20%, children from independent schools are often trained for the entrance exam, they are in ds' school anyway. ds rarely sees friends outside school as they all live far away and spend the holidays elsewhere. It's sad but testing won't help you find a school. It may give you a chance to find out what level she's working at but the teacher can do this. The school she's at now should be able to give her work at her level, be aware though that it is sometimes better to extend the work a child does rather then to give them a higher level, for example, if the class is learning how to add to 10, the extension of this would be adding up numbers to 100 or 1000. If a child can do plant growth too easily, make it more complicated. Your local council should have someone responsible for the gifted and talented policy in the schools, get in contact and ask them if there's anything they can do. Think carefully what you are looking for and whether the private system can give this to your daughter. It's expensive, in 4 years I've spent a lot of money. I've got 9 more years to pay for and the legnth of the holidays make it difficult to work. If your local state school can do this for the price of your tax, do it. She would benefit more from paying a tutor if you needed to, music lessons, trips and holidays that enrich her learning. There are alot of things the private schools do better, the classes are smaller and they do more sport. There are some fantastic schools that really benefit children like this and there are some lousy ones that make you wish you had not have given them your money. They all promise the earth.

[CantSleepWontSleep]

It's in Markyate, here (you'll need to zoom out on that).

Dd is only 2, so a bit young to be classed as G&T, but since she is my daughter she will clearly be a genius .