How do DC privates compare to private schools in London?
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Anonymous
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Friends from London are moving to DC over the summer. They have already been accepted to a couple of the top 3 schools and a couple of others.
Their concern is which grade to start their eldest son. He is 10 and currently in the 5th grade in England. I just learned today, that children in England start school a year ahead of the US and their son could technically be in the 6th grade next year, but for US school age he would enter the 5th grade next year. Their question to me as they consider which school to pick etc : Is their child really a year ahead of his peers or is the schooling in England similar to the US, with the UK start year similar to our pre-k? Thanks for any help! |
Anonymous
| If they are considering Oxbridge after high school, having him slot with his grade (not age) would keep him on track with his UK peers. |
Anonymous
| What about the American School in London? |
Anonymous
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He should stay with his age group.
Kids in the UK go to university at age 18, just like in the US, unless they take a gap year. |
Anonymous
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We have several friends who moved to London for a few years whene their kids were school aged. They all held their kids back a year when they returned to the States - that is held back the ones who were on the younger side of the age group here.
That said, as far as I know, no matter how advanced a kid is, private schools in Washingon usually won't let you move ahead. I know one kid who did it at Beauvoir bu then had to repeat 4th in the next school. So it may not even be up to the parents but up to the school. |
Anonymous
| PP, that makes sense, but do privates allow it? Or is birth date only a determinant for when a kid enrolls in K (and later for travel sports)? |
Anonymous
| There was a British girl couple of grades below me at NCS. She was planning on transferring back to St. Paul's in London after a few years. So NCS kept her at her grade level socially and for English and history, but bumped her a year or two ahead for science and math. She was in one of my science classes. |
Anonymous
| OP here. Thanks for all the replies so far! |
Anonymous
| Should attend the British school. If they are planning to transfer back for GSCEs, they will be all messed up if they go into the U.S. system. Maths are completely different here, as is history. If they are moving permanently to the States it really doesn't matter. On the whole though, the kids will be repeating a lot if they stick with their age cohort. U.S. schools are terribly far behind. |
Anonymous
| Call the British school or WIS. The reality is that privates in DC do not compare favorably to privates in comparable cities, especially those in Europe. |
Anonymous
That's ridiculous. Sidwell and ncs are certainly as good or better than wis or the British school. And I take issue with the argument that London private schools are better than the top dc privates. I went to ncs and have a number of friends who went to St. Paul's in London, one of the best private schools in London. Ncs and St. Paul's had an exchange and ncs had a very strong rep among the St. Paul's girls. The ones I knew said they heard ncs girls were incredibly hard working both academically and athletically, and that the facilities were amazing. Seriously, they had all gone to an incredibly posh school in London but when it came up I went to ncs, they all were like, "oh my god! I've heard it's amazing!" |
Anonymous
| I agree with pp above. The top dc privates are very academically competitive academically. They are certainly more competitive than the British School or WIS. DC's top privates have excellent reputations abroad. |
Anonymous
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Sorry 02:47 and 07:34 but you are delusional. I agree that STA/NCS/Sidwell are strong and the best in the area but the schools don't really compete with the top schools in NYC, Boston or NE prep, let alone the top schools in England. Is STA a comparable option to Eton? Maybe but I think it would be difficult to find someone who, with all things being equal, would pick STA over Eton.
Also, my point in asking OP to look at WIS and the British School is that if OP wants DC to attend university in the England, those schools are probably better options. As an alternative, look at a NE boarding school. |
Anonymous
Well, coming from abroad, I can say that the only two local schools I had ever heard of are Sidwell and WIS, both very positively. I am sure some of the others are great...but "reputation abroad" is not one of their assets. |
Anonymous
| It depends really on the curriculum at each school. I'd advise speaking to the schools directly and considering what's appropriate for his age group. |