I live currently with dp and dd in an isolated rural area. dd is currently young, so this is not an issue yet, but I've just discovered that the provision for secondary school is that the kids in our valley are fully funded to board Mon to Fri at the closest high school, about an hour and a half away.
I would not under normal circumstances ever consider my kids boarding, nor would I have considered private school, even if we had the money, which we don't. But there are no closer schools. The facilities look excellant, and dd would not need to start there until she was 13 (she can stay at the more local middle school until then), but I am really not at all sure about being seperated from her while she's still a child. Many of the adults in our area have previously attended this school as boarders, and speak very highly of it, and I am aware that if dd didn't go she will be seperated from her friends who will all go.
The options I can see are:
- Move house to a different area before dd starts high school, though this would mean dp and I finding different jobs, and moving to a smaller property.
- Let dd go to the school as a day student and arrange our own transport to and fro. This would be a pain but not impossible, but would mean a long trip for dd each way.
- Let dd go as a boarder.
Dd is too young to have an opinion yet. Dp thinks I am mad to be thinking about this already, but if we did decide to move it would mean a major re-think of both of our jobs which would take time.
Has anyone ever been in a similar position?