Which school would you choose?

[Yadda]

DD starts school on September. We're not in the UK, so admissions is different in that you apply directly to the school. All three are oversubscribed. We have been offered places at all three and need to decide by next Friday.

School A: Church school, 40 min walk, 10 mins by bus. Small school with 90 pupils and composite classes. It is our religious denomination. Early start so I could do drop of most days before work.

School B: Church school, 15 min walk, less than 5 mins by bus. Small school, 90 pupils and composite classes. Not our religious denomination, but very similar. Early start but because of distance I could only do drop off some days.

School C: Non denominational. 10 minute walk. New buildings. Large school of 300 pupils. 2 form entry. Late start so we would need drop off everyday.

Additional info: DS is an only. We are involved in the Church that is loosely connected to school 1, but is not nearby. Any future siblings (probably unlikely but not impossible) would be prioritised in admissions by schools 1 & 2. All schools are feeder schools for the same two secondary schools. Although if that changes, School 1 or 2 would remain as feeders for the better Secondary.

I genuinely can't choose. Please help!

I don't think the info you've given would be the driving factors really. They are much of a muchness in those terms. I don't quite follow re the early or late starts and whether you could drop off or not (how else could he get there?) but it sounds like the broad message is you could manage any of them really. My thoughts:

• if logistics drive the decision then fair enough, do what's easiest.
• mechanics of drop offs are more important than you think. Think about flexibility and resilience if one of you is ill or away too.
• the religious denomination is a very personal judgement. Firstly how important it is to you, and secondly how religion is enacted in the school. Church schools vary wildly in how much exposure the children have to church teachings and how this is done. The different implementation, and SLT driving the school's direction, might have more impact than the denomination.
• if you can get him there Ok, for me it would then all be about the feel of the school when you looked round. Have you looked round all 3? Did that not give you any qualitative pros and cons of where might suit him? What vibe did you get from meeting the SLT?
• getting siblings into linked schools is unlikely to be a driving factor, given it'll be at least 6ish(?) years before a future sibling starts school. You haven't said how long your son would be at this school.
• again a personal judgement, but smallness isn't always a virtue. Smaller schools do give more opportunities to take the lead in the school play etc, but I think they are more risky socially. If it falls well then great, but if not, and your boy is the only one who hates football or whatever, it can be quite isolating. A larger school tends to have more fluid groups and hopefully everyone can find their niche. A like-minded friend is a wonderful thing.

I'm not keen on composite classes, I don't really have any reason for that. Just preference, but a lot of smaller schools have them. I would probably go for schools 2 or 3 depending on how much you would like your ds to have the religious aspect a part of his education.

The distance of school one would put me off for a few reasons.

I would go with school B

A is too far away, given that there are closer alternatives, and on your descriptions B offers almost everything that A does.
So it's a pick between B and C.
For me, B - assuming I liked the atmosphere and attitudes I'd come across so far. You might prefer C.

Go and stand outside the schools at home time and see what the behaviour and interactions between parents/ children/ teachers are like, traffic conditions etc. Ask yourself whether you want your child to be part of what you see and hear?
Also walk the routes home. What are they like?

Go on the website and read the newsletters, if they are there. What events are going on, and do you like the tone that the school uses to communicate with parents?