I understand Flaimes concerns about a mixed reception and year one class, to put children who turn 6 the first week of September in a class with someone who only turned 4 the week earlier is a bit unmanageable.

The way my childrens school does it is to put the 12 oldest reception children and 12 youngest year one children into the mixed class.....this way you have a class of children who all turn 5 in July, Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov etc so are of a similar age, they also make sure children with special needs aren't in this particular class therefore the teaching staff can really concentrate on giving the children there their full attention.

my dd is in a YR1/YR2 class, she is in year 1

It has been really good for her, she's a bright kid <proud emoticon> so she is being given YR2 work and is definately not being held back

Class sizes are also small 15-20 so another plus

Our school mixes classes in KS2 and they like the way it worked and have done this for many years now.

They tried mixing reception and yr1 a couple of years ago however and found it didn't work at all as the needs and abilities of someone who has just turned 4 are very different to that of someone who's almost 6.

The upside for me is that now my DS(2) is starting in sept and going into a reception class with just 18 kiddies in it so I'm not complaining

just realised I said dd2 was in a primary class - which makes no sense at all - I meant to say infant class. but the reception kids are often taken out to do activities with the class room assistant.

My son, now 8, was one of the older reception children in a mixed class. People seem to get confused about mixed classes and think the younger children will do work thats too hard and the older children will do work thats too easy but this is how it works.

For example the children are learning about money, the children will sit and discuss money together but the class teacher will have planned activities appropriate for the reception children and activities that are appropriate for the year one children. This way the children are doing the work at the correct level for them. Reception children do not do year one work and vice versa.
My sons school has an intake of 70 children every year (it is a large and very popular school) so there are 2 reception classes of 28 children and the 12 oldest reception and 12 youngest year one go into a class together.

I think such classes work well (I'm a trained nursery nurse who has previously worked in reception class) as the year one children enjoy looking after their new friends and helping them to settle in a school environment, my son took his year 2 sats last year and got a level 3 which is higher than year 2 children are expected to get, not that I'm saying this is due to the fact he was in a mixed class but just pointing out that the very thought of a mixed class fills some parents with fear when in fact theres nothing to worry about.

My son has been in a mixed Y1/Y2 class this year - he is an old in year Y1 so it's been great for him.

A lot depends on your child. If they are old in year, being in a mixed class with younger ones might not be good, but it depends on their academic and other abilities as well. Equally, it might not be that great for an August child to be in mixed class with older ones as there could be an almost 2 year age gap between the oldest and youngest.

Hi Norfolk Lass

I know how hard this decision must be...but at least you are thinking long and hard about it...

We opted for our local small village school without much consideration to any other (such a big mistake)...the class mix was awful,...it started with 3 girls and 9 boys...and my dd was the odd girl out.....this really dented my dd's self esteem when they have just started school....plus the other two girls teased her about letting her play and then changing their mind....I'm sure most schools would have dealt better with this situation...it wasn't just my dd..it had happened in other years...so many disgruntled parents.....therefore worth perhaps chatting to parents of older children at the school to see how they view both these schools.

My dd;s behaviour was pretty erractic during that time because she was attention seeking...thankfully she made friends with a lovely boy...they were two peas in a pod ...both very bright...but it was a lovely friendship...

However, children grow up they do need friends of the same sex hence we moved her to a bigger school... just 24 in the class.....it's just a shame we hadn't done more research because the new school would have been the right choice in the first place.....

good luck...but it isn't the end of the world if you do get it wrong....my dd moved this year in yr 2 and settled very quickly....although it was the hardest decision we ever made to move her.

Hiya Debs-

yep he knows about 6 children going to the infant school cause they all go to nursery with him and 1 little girl going to the primary school so either way he won't be totally on his own.

He loved the induction at the primary yesterday when he went in but apparently he cried in the afternoon which I sort of expected cause its all new for them anyway. The teacher was lovely and all "Fluff & Cuddles" which was how I described her to DH!!

he went this morning to the infants school and apart from the fact that he fell over on the way there and smacked his head on the pavement so had huge bruise on his forehead he was equally happy there. Had a few tears after he went in...we had to basically just leave them but think those tears were mainly because there were several hysterical children screaming and crying in a very small room.

Hatwoman-the small pool of friends in the primary school is worrying me slightly...the class is probably 70% girls which is absolutely fine at the moment because he actually prefers playing with girls rather than boys (dh obviously having an influence there lol!) but not sure how that would be as they get older.

I honestly don't know what to do for the best-I thought Id instantly be able to tell after he went to both (and I know Im incredibly lucky that they've let me do that-haven't told catchment school he might not be attending yet!)but Im even more confused. he seemed happier today if Im being honest but I didn't like the teacher as much (bit hard and no nonsense which is good but they are only 4 fgs!) and I wonder if he was only happier cause he had more friends there.

There just seemed too many children in too small a space but maybe thats me just being picky!!

Does he know any children going to either school?? i.e other children at nursery/preschool.

I am in exactly the same boat!

We are in different parts of the country but my situation is exactly the same as yours and i am worrying i have only 2 weeks left to make a decision.

My main worry for my DD is the small pool of friends in the smaller school (60 in the whole school). In the local catchment school she would be in a class of 30, but, like you there is something that just doesn't feel right about the other children.

You are really lucky being able to have induction sessions at both schools to see how he likes it. I know exactly how you feel and i really wish i had a crystal ball to see how our DD would be in both situations.

It is an extremely hard decision and i really feel for you! good luck.

By the sounds of the induction day, the smaller school sounds the best