How important is local in secondary state choice?

Blimey that P8 for school 1 is high! what school is this?

OP the three subjects of "science" are not sub-subjects, they are separate subjects. Though lots of DC will take double science, covering all three subjects (bio, chem, physics) but gaining two GCSEs. Similarly English language and English literature are two different subjects.

Is there really no tech provision (that's design and technology, food tech, textiles, graphics) in the school at all, so at KS3 either? Or is it just not offered at GCSE? Similarly for computing, drama, PE (PE must be part of the school day but I guess not always offered for GCSE)? Sadly only one MFL is not unusual now.

That list is odd because it is so limiting. Most DC will not play an instrument so cannot take music GCSE; many DC will not love art enough to take it (it is a notorious thief of time so you need a passion for it) which leaves very few choices.

BTW I was surprised that in London, you only had two schools within a four-mile radius apart from one you are not keen on. I live in a small city and have at least eight secondaries within three or four miles, including two a short walk away and two more a 10-min bus ride.

Well you obviously got Michaela as your first choice. Whatever the second option is will be very very different. You know how marmite Michaela is on here so I'm not sure what you're trying to achieve by your post tbh. You would've known the restricted GCSEs and the very very specific nature of the school when you applied.

Do you know the progress 8 scores for both schools? It's helpful to understand the context for GCSE results.

I'd go for schools that are above average/well above average. If these are similar, then i probably would consider the wider curriculum.

OTOH If school 2 does worse on P8 I would lock in school 1 and look at other enrichment opportunities. For most DC doing well in a narrow curriculum will be a better foundation than doing badly at lots of interesting things.

Ten minutes is neither here nor there. I wouldn’t call 40 mins on the tube that local.

We are a 5 min walk from DS old secondary, a very mediocre school but we knew we could tutor him in all subjects ourselves if needed.

I am friends with a couple of teachers and discipline is an issue, one has just handed her notice in at a school where discipline is really difficult and going to a school with a stronger management team and more no nonsense attitude. The other one moved around a year ago. Both went from inner city comps to schools in a small and medium size towns.

Looking at your update it would be 1 for me. We can do so much as parents but their peers have a big influence.

I think it's unclear. Clearly School 1 is doing a lot right if it is so oversubscribed and has similar academic results to School 2. It sounds as if it has a very specific focused approach: strong discipline, focusing on doing a small range of key subjects very well. I think either you and your child like that approach or your don't and I think that should probably be the deciding factor rather than the local/non-local thing. The schools are a similar commute and public transport means it's not that hard to meet friends from further away. I don't think that offering fewer subjects is necessarily worse, provided there is no subject missing that your child is likely to particularly want to do (I realise that is hard to say at this stage). In London I imagine it is easy to access lots of activities outside school if they are not offered in school.

But which school did you actually prefer? Your opening post makes it sound like you had a preference for school2.

Have a look on each school's website and compare the subjects they offer at gcse level.

I'd not want my DD to go to a school that limits her options so drastically.

Drama, food tech, D&T, business studies, other MFL, film studies, photography, PE, computing, economics, graphic design .... etc.

I would start by ringing school 2 and finding out if they are full this year. I think it’s a high birth rate year, so they might be.

If school 2 was so good, why didn't you put it first? With school 1 second?

I read your description of school 1 and wondered what would make you say it is a great school? It sounds like it is struggling to offer the bare minimum to pupils in terms of academic support and facilities.

I'd go for the second choice. Sounds like a much better option academically and if DC is ok making friends they'll soon make friends there. Having options and choices will open their horizons so much more.

I think I'd ring school 2. Their answer might tell you that you need to make the best of school 1.

The GCSE selection is weird. I'd have failed art! The last subject will be English (literature and language). So that makes 11 subjects. One or 2 might be anleto be dropped - round here 9 GCSEs is standard.

Yeh I agree with others - a 40 min commute (vs a 50 min one) is hardly local! I thought you were going to say a five-minute walk vs a 45-min bus ride.

Local was important for us as we both had long commutes to grammar schools and it was not good socially. But if it's between those two commutes then I would go for the more suitable school in other ways.

The GCSE thing is bizarre - you wouldn't have to do all those obviously once you add in two English, so there would be a bit of a choice, but basically students choose 3 or four from French, RE, history, geography, music, art? Very limiting. For lots of DC that would mean French, RE and hist/geog, end.

No PE, DT, food, textiles, drama, business? Hard no from me.

For me distance was the least of the issues. We went for facilities, pastoral, subjects. So DDs school is a 30 min bus ride Vs 10 min bus ride to local one.

English, maths and science take up 6 choices (assuming separate sciences) so he will have a choice of 3 from 6?

Presumably the last one is English? Or is it on top of English?

Having seen your update of 40 mins and 50 mins - i wouldn't say either were local and am extra 10 makes little difference, plus both those times might rule out some after school clubs anyway so extra curricular might be more important.

I thought the OP meant 9 option subjects to choose from? Plus the core ones that everyone does. Most schools here do core then 4 options, so 9 in total. My dc will only get 3 options though because RE is also core (faith school). I think if it’s 9 option choices and you pick 4, it should be ok for most people.

Are you sure they only offer 9 gcses or do you mean the students only do 9 as I choose 9 to do.

Only 9 available is very different to choosing 9 from say 30 subjects.

Would not dream of going to a school that literally does 9 gcses. It seriously limits the student for their A level choices and what if their strengths lie elsewhere.

I think in terms of GCSE options you need to consider what your dc is like. My dc is going to a school with limited, very traditional options. But this will be fine. He’s very academic so even if there was a wide range of options, including lots of arts/technology, he wouldn’t pick them so it’s not a consideration for us. He’s definitely the type to want to do things like history/geography/separate science/computer studies/languages etc. So it doesn’t matter that there isn’t loads of choice.