Choosing a primary school

[matildaagnes]

My ds starts primary school next year and I have to book visits this term. We live in an area with a lot of schools but all about 15/20 minutes walk from us, so no obvious one to choose.

Does anyone have any advice about things to look for, questions to ask? All of the schools are good or outstanding but all seem to have different reputations locally, eg, one is well known for being very pushy/academic. Can primary schools really be quite different? Not really sure what to look for.

See here: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/primary/3682989-Primary-school-visits

The primary board is ace and full of good advice. The admissions experts hang out there too if you need guidance on how to order the schools (hint: true order of preference but with at least 1 banker, even if you hate it).

Thank you! I'll head over to that board.

When we were chiding primary schools we considered what worked best with our DCs personality (we needed something rounded rather than academic for example). Destination schools (most had similar schools but some had some schools further afield), scholarship rates (some had about a third of the year getting scholarships others only had a few), out of hours care provisions (some offered holiday clubs, crèche etc while others had nothing), boarding options (again some had it others didn’t) and how established the staff were (was it a community where people had long careers or just another step on the ladder?). Obviously some of these may not be relevant to you (e.g. not everyone needs a boarding option) but some things you may want to consider.

Thank you!

Yes they can be very different as each is very much characterised by the leadership of the head. One might look better on paper, but if you don't get a good vibe when you visit, it's not going to be right for you.

I agree with Blue Champagne. But also make sure the practicalities work for you too, as heads come and go..... But location etc remain the same.

Also look at secondary schools and their entrance criteria - does your area have a system of 'feeder schools' if so it might be necessary for you to pick one over the other in order to get a better chance of getting into the secondary school you might want to choose later in.