How many schools did you go and visit? Before deciding?

[tressdate]

Just curious?

[tressdate]

Oh...? How did you decide?

[Buddahbelly]

1 - Ds was already at a nursery attached to a school but the school wasn't very good so went to another local primary (the one where I actually went) loved it and he got in luckily.

Dont just go on ofsted reports, go and see for yourself what the place is actually like. You could have a glowing report but the place is dirty or a dump since the reports been written.

[TeenAndTween]

Primary - 2
Secondary - 2

I think it rather depends on how good your local provision is, and how much choice there is in immediate locality.

[situatedknowledge]

One for secondary and one for primary. Both times wanted the closest non religious state school, and both times they were perfect for us.

[RatOnnaStick]

3 as they were all about the same distance away. I wouldn't have picked the school I chose if I didn't visit them. As it was the school I thought DS would go to, (he was in the attached preschool), didn't stand up well compared to the other two. I really did value the visits.

[countingkids123]

1. It was perfect for us and DS, and would be for the DTs too. That is, perfect if it weren't for certain other children there and the HTs inability to deal with issues of bullying. We have pulled him out, but still only looked at one other school and that's where he will be come September. We originally wanted to home ed, so school is a compromise for us. If this one doesn't work for whatever reason I will put my foot down more forcefully this time and insist persuade DH that home ed is the way forward.

[Parsley1234]

I went to 12 5 state 5 indie 3 Steiner and for secondary I went to 7 indies 1 state boarding it's good to experience lots of different ones I think and I thought I knew which one was right and in both cases I was right but I'm glad I researched well.

[PotteringAlong]

None. I just put them down.

[mogloveseggs]

Dd primary 1. Small c of e that her cousins already attended. Liked the community ethos of the school. Dd secondary 4. I'm not from the area so we looked at all for her to make an informed choice.
Ds primary 1. It's not the primary dd went to but just love it. Has lots of outdoors space and again a great community feel so it's a perfect fit for him. We've been lucky that we've got First/ only choice every time.

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

We just visited the nearest ones to us- primary and high. We're lucky that the schools here are great and we have choice.

[BerriesandLeaves]

Primary - 3
Secondary - 4

[ironrooster]

None (primary). We live round the corner from a decent school which happened to be my old primary, so didn't feel I needed to view it, it was the obvious first choice. Second and third choices I made on distance.

[Snowflakes1122]

None. It was our catchment school and if heard so many good things about it.
Unfortunately in many areas it's a case of where has a place and if you're in the catchment for it.

[NynaevesSister]

We stuck with non-religious schools near us. As we are in London that's a lot!

Primary - 3
Secondary - 7

[Enkopkaffetak]

Primary 2 for dd1 and 1 when we moved for all 4 children

Secondary 3 for dd1
0 for dd2 (regretted that as she then suddenly decided she didn't want her sisters school and we ended up looking at websites as to late for visits
Ds 6
Dd3 17.... my excuse is she was my last and I also took her best friend..also for her and ds we visited grammar schools wasn't a option for dd1 and 2



.

[Iwantacampervan]

Primary - 0 both daughters went to the village primary, 5 mins walk from home. I knew many parents with older children and they were all happy. I had looked around the school the year before after the new school hall was built (there was an open day for all the village to come and have a look at the new classrooms and hall)
Secondary - 2 Visited the only 2 feasible options 3 times each for open evenings (eldest in yr 5 & 6; youngest yr 6) plus one day visit to each school. Only went to one talk by the head for each school - by the third visit it was a quick look round but we had already decided.
We have looked round more sixth form colleges than schools !

[NellWilsonsWhiteHair]

2 (primary). That would have been 3 though if I hadn't happened to know an unusual number of longstanding and senior teachers/head teachers/consultants in the borough, who unanimously anti-recommended the other nearby school I'd been contemplating!

Viewed the absolute nearest ("he will definitely get in here, so do I like it?" - I did), and the one with a lovely reputation for which we were on the edge of the catchment ("is this really as nice as other people say?" - it was).

Getting time off work to go and look around etc was a massive pain so I am glad not to have needed to look at more. I am glad to have viewed both though (he's going to the further away and nicer one).

Otoh, I've also just looked into childminders - had the numbers of three on personal recommendation, met the first, really liked her and so have put down a deposit with her without bothering to get in touch with the other two. Couldn't be bothered to shop around when I'd found a solution DS and I were both happy with.

[wigglesrock]

Primary - 2 (we moved house in the middle of the whole process with our eldest)
Post primary - 7. In NI so slightly different system.

[redskytonight]

Infants - 1 (didn't have a realistic choice)
Juniors - 1 (didn't have a realistic choice)
Secondary - 2 (didn't have a realistic choice, but felt some point of comparison would be good!)

[Notso]

Primary 2 out of a possible 5 for DD, the other three DC 0. They followed DD.

Secondary only one for DD. Two for DS1.

[jopickles]

I didn't visit any but we are in the catchment for 2 and I knew I didn't want her to go to one of them so the other became by first choice and our neighbours and friends children loved it there

[TheyOnceSaid]

0 also, I always knew what school I wanted DS to go to and DD will be joining him in September!

[completecliche]

Primary; 2 state and 2 Prep, secondary 2 state and 2 independent.
Went with local primary and state a bit further away.

[bibbitybobbityyhat]

0 for primary. My first child went to state nursery attached to the school and I was happy with it and we lived about 3 minutes walk away from the school, so it was a no-brainer. There was one other primary school we might have had a chance of getting in to at the time (wouldn't be the case now).

Secondary - looked round three schools for both children, what a woft, they only had one realistic "choice" each.