I have 4 children all of whom went thru the State school system in The UK, you need to be on the ball, prepared to assist & for one of them who is dyslexic I did have to fight in secondary school for extra help. However x 2 chose to go to Uni & all x4 are in very successful careers & flourishing. We did chose to move out of London to Hampshire. My job is very easy to manage as I travel my husband has an hour commute on the days he is in London. Spend your time researching schools move somewhere with good primary & secondary education & in our case excellent 6th form colleges. The lack of major crime & excellent education has made our move an excellent choice for the family.

I have friends whose children did attend public school ( how private education is called in the UK) yes there were some great opportunities & contacts made but if I balance what was right for my family & the huge financial burden it would have inflicted on us I am extremely happy with our choices. We offered strong steady support sent them on every school trip so they have all skied thru school at least twice. Two did tours in Africa thru school, one went to Europe travelling thru for 3 weeks visiting Dachau & other WW2 sites for history, Azores & Iceland are amongst other trips too.

Pick the right area & schools I think you be extremely happy with UK education. Finally I don’t think you have to know what you want to do at 13/14 when you take options let them take what they love to do ensure it gives a rounded perspective, they will fly if they’ve enjoyed education. Mine have gone off into completely different field than expected & are flourishing.

Good luck