Choosing a primary school: distance from home & Covid

[notheragain4]

Sorry I wasn't sure what to call this thread and it's 2 issues in 1. We are moving areas and need to find a school for our 9 and 6 year old, never changed schools, love our school, plus it's a short walk away, feel sick about moving them!

1. How far do you travel? Is it common to have to travel 2-3 miles to a primary? I was really hoping to have some freedom in year 6 and have my eldest walk home, but as the two nearest schools are oversubscribed it's very likely they will go 2-3 miles away. I will mostly be WFH so I suppose it isn't too much of an issue but it sounds such a faff, I love school being down the road!

2. How on earth do I pick a school? We live in a village currently, so one school, and moving to a town. I've narrowed down by the ones not a million miles away and have after school care, but that still leaves me with 4 to choose from. Prospectuses are all well and good but they all say very much the same, all 'Good' rated, how do I get a feel for a school, I'm guessing we can't visit in these Covid times?

Have you checked which ones have spaces? Often with in year applications you just have to take the one with spaces in relevant years. If they all have spaces I guess you are lucky, but makes it harder. It's a bit of a pain travelling 2-3 miles but not unusual when you move. You could go on the waiting list for nearer schools but you might not want to move again if a space does come up. Good luck deciding!

I know the two nearest us don't, so I'm just trying to work out which ones I'd be happy with as a back up. I don't know if they have spaces tbh, we are moving 20 miles away so worst case scenario I can ferry them for a bit but obviously not too long!

I'm not sure whether to apply for the two I really want, get added to the list, then if no luck try again end of term with the 3 schools on my "back up" list.