Huge school in catchment or tiny school outside?

[arsesandoldlace]

DD starts school next year, so we have to apply for schools in September this year.

About ten minutes walk from us is a large inner-city primary. It has 'good' Ofsted scores. It also has 400 pupils and looks like a correctional facility.

Alternative option is a school 30 minutes bus ride away. This is a small village school with 200 pupils, Ofsted scores comparable to the larger school. It seems to have more personality, generally more welcoming for a young child.

DD is a bit of a wallflower, although bright, and I do worry that she'd be drowned out in a large class, which is where the village school holds the advantage I think.

The negative aspect of the village school is the long school run (time, money).

Oh I don't know! WWYD?

[Thandeka]

What are the class sizes in each? Class size is most important imho. Even the diff between 30 and 32 is massive for a teacher- always go for the smallest class size.

[SlartyBartFast]

much as i like small schools, larger schools do have the factor that if for example your dc has a fall out or two with a classmate, they can change classes. in a small school they are stuck together/
larger schools have more opportunites for clubs and variety.

does the larger school have more than one class per year though?

i would go for the nearest, as ofsted as same for each.

[emy72]

I have moved my DD in April (Reception) from large town school to (local) village school (both Outstanding ofsted and fantastic results). The town school 28 children per class, (but 2 classes per year), the village school is full at 30 children per class, (but smaller school with only 1 class per year) - no mixed year groups in either.

The catchment is better in the village school.

I would say that the village school is much better overall. Behaviour is a lot better, with zero tolerance for bad manners, etc....pastoral care is very high.

The school has a lovely feel to it and I never have to worry about anything. Teachers always have time to talk to me (as opposed to the other school, where they always looked harassed).

My DD loved both but she is happier now I think because there is less stress on her (less low level disruption, more attention).

Negatives are that there aren't as many after school clubs, resources and initiatives, but tbh these things seem to matter more later on than in the first years? These were the things that attracted us to the first school in the first place..

Good luck, is a really tough choice and we got it wrong first time in a big way..

Last thing I'd say is that a 30 min bus ride away could be a hassle later on with after school playdates/activities etc....again something for you to think about xxx

[amothersplaceisinthewrong]

I personally would go for the closest one - otherwise all her friends will be miles away and you will end up doing a lot of travelling to take her to and from her school.

And ( admittedly this is a long way down the line) the transition to seniors will be easier as whe will be used to a bigger shcool!!

[SlartyBartFast]

i speak from experience btw, mine started at large, 3 class per year to small village school.
although i loved the fact they moved to the small school in retrospect i can see both points of view. and the get away from classmates is a strong factor, not available to us in the smaller school.

[arsesandoldlace]

Thanks for all the answers, you've given me lots to think about! We're going to an open day this afternoon at the small school, I thought it would be a good opportunity to have a dry run on the bus route.

I may have more questions when I return!