School 1 vs school 2- please help me decide

[Litttlepinkegg]

Dd in year one at school 1
Plus points- she’s doing ok, she is friendly with lots of people, school has good reputation
Downsides- class sizes are big (32 in dd’s Case) and uneven she is one of 10 girls. Despite ofsted outstanding school is not doing great , results declining. Dd complains that it’s noisy in class and hard to concentrate.
Split to secondarys is over 4 different high schools (all decent schools) so she will go with some friends but not loads.

School 2 -
Plus points- much smaller class size 22 and balanced.
Ofsted is a good but results much higher than current school.
Dd could be introduced to friends beforehand I know someone who dd goes there and has offered to introduce dd to everyone.
Preschool on site for ds.
Feeds into one secondary only so more friends to go with- better results than 3/ 4 of current options.

Downsides- disrupting dd who is settled and doing ok.
Might knock dd’s Confidence.
We only know a few of the parents so might struggle socially possibly.

Posted too soon- but opinions please?

Most teens ditch their friends at high school for new ones - not sure why you factor that in

What’s printing you thinking about change? Just the grades?

We need to move anyway due to being out of catchment for school 1 (catchment area has been changed) so it’s made us think about possibility of moving to another village hence school 2

What year group is DD? I'm assuming Year 4 or 5 as you are thinking secondary. Other than being noisy (and it will be noisier at secondary) why are you thinking about moving her? In general, I don't think it's a good idea to move a happy settled child. I'd also wonder how the school with 22 in a class stays economically viable? Where are they having to cut costs?

Year 1 currently and ds due to start 2020

We need to move anyway due to being out of catchment for school 1

Can you explain this? I dont understand. If you need to move then it's not a choice is it? But surely you dont need to move school as you are moving out of catchment? Once the child is in they are in and DS will most likely get in based on sibling link.

School oversubscribed so sibling link doesnt mean it’s certain safly

Well school 2 sounds better but as she is already settled in school 1 it's a difficult one 🤔

She may go to school 2 and it's just as noisy in class or when she goes up a year at school 1 it might not be as noisy.

Also the fact that school 2 feeds to one secondary could be a downside - what if that secondary becomes a dreadful school in the future? Will it be harder to get her in a different secondary school? Or if she has classmates she wants to avoid at big school? At least with school 1 you have a choice of secondarys.

It's a tough one.

Good points Fox something else to think about.
It’s so difficult

Where is sibling link in the admission criteria because it is usually after looked after children and before distance? A choice of 4 potential secondary schools is a big plus I would have thought.

If she's only in Year 1 then I take back my previous answer. You need a school that works for both children and is par tidal in terms of school runs for years to come.

I also really wouldn't fixate on secondaries at this early stage, there is too much that could change.
And I really really wouldn't think about friendships. You have absolutely no idea who she'll be friends with in year 6, let alone year 7!!

Par tidal? Practical

I think moving a child away from a school at which she is happy and settled should be a last resort. (Incidentally, my own DD was in a large primary school class with only 9 or 10 girls. I really don't think it did her any harm. She is now in Year 11, so I can look at things with the benefit of a few years' hindsight.)

As Bunnybigears says, do you definitely understand where in the priority order siblings fall under the school's admissions policy? If siblings are second only after "looked after children" then it is likely that to all intents and purposes you are guaranteed a place for your DS even if the school is oversubscribed. Do not go by hearsay as to what the school's admissions policy says! Read the actual document yourself if you haven't already done so. In my experience, even educated, intelligent parents and teachers have sometimes got things completely wrong in relation to admissions policies due to believing what others have told them and/or failing to realise that policies can change over time. Obviously if school prioritises distance (or a religion that is not your religion) over siblings, that is very different and the risk of not getting a place at school 1 for your DS is then much higher.

22 in class but balanced = 11 girls
Current class has 10 girls.
Nothing to choose there.

Ignore secondary and going with friends. they often make new friends anyway.

So she will be in year 3 when her sibling needs to start in 2020? I would want them in the same school if they are going to have four years at primary together.

Not thinking about the sibling issue though, you will still have a similar number of girls in a balanced class of 22 as you have currently. How does school 2 achieve their better results? Could there be a lot of SATs prep to the detriment of actual learning? Secondary schools can change or the one school that school 2 feeds into may not be the best fit for your children, I would prefer a choice of secondary schools.

Don’t get too fixated on liking the fact that all school 2 kids go to the same secondary. My DS actively chose his secondary for the sole reason all the nasty boys at his primary who bullied him for the final 2 years were going to another school.. DH and I preferred the one he’s at so would have opted for that anyway. But in Y1 he was happy, by Y5 it had changed and he hated it.

Also, ignore Ofsted ratings. Look at the schools themselves and how they feel to you. Often outstanding schools get complacent as they don’t get monitored, good schools have regular reviews and need to keep up their standards.

My DS went to an outstanding primary where he was v unhappy. Is now at a good secondary where he is flying.

Sounds like you need to move schools anyway so go to the one that will suit you as a family now and don’t worry too much about what is going to happen in 6 years time.