Secondary school allocations - help

[DarlingWithoutYou]

I let DS choose which secondary school he wanted to go to (we visited all the ones he had a chance of getting in). He choose school A so I duly put it on the submission.

School A is a great school. BUT two things. One, it's a 20 min bike ride away and he has no road sense or anything as has barely rode his bike. Two, It's all boys and I worry about him getting bullied.

School B (second choice) is literally round the corner from us, mixed se and good reviews too.

I'm terrified I've made a mistake and wish I'd made the decision for him. The thought of him cycling across town knocks me sick! He's an August baby so still seems so young for that level of independance.

We find out on Monday.

I am nervously awaiting to find out where my daughter will be going. We was unable to visit any schools physically so was all based on virtual tours and videos made by the schools. Like your son my daughter hasn’t been anywhere without parents and this year has made this impossible. All schools we have chosen involve a bus ride which I am nervous about

He is no more likely to get bullied in an all boys than in mixed.
He has this summer to get better with cycling.
They mature a lot on leaving primary.

Unless you are willing to wait list for school B and override the choice you chose to give to your, at the time only just 10yo, then you have to go with it in a positive can-do manner.

I’ve kind of got the opposite situation, my DS wanted to go to a further away school but we persuaded him to put down our nearest school which we prefer. But now he really still wants to go to the further away school. We live right on the edge of the usual distance of furthest applications. I’ve said we will think about going on the waiting list for that school, but now the date is nearly upon us I don’t know what to do!

Maybe wrong but I would imagine there is more chance of getting into school b by getting on the waiting list and moving later in the year if school a doesn’t work out?

You're not alone! My ds is also August born, and his first 2 choices he will have to get a bus for! His first choice is a normal public bus which can be unreliable, and 2nd has a school bus. He is very young for his age and gets really anxious, so have no idea how he will cope! Im really worried about it! The only school within walking distance is a really bad school, and is over a mile away. He only got to physically visit one school.

Is there a bus? I’d be worried about cycling in the winter and have DC in year 6. The amount they have to carry is a lot to cycle all the time.

The bullying aspect could occur in any school. Personally I prefer single sex education. There are many benefits to it.

The road sense etc is Easily fixed. You have months to get him practised and out on his bike, you could cycle the route with him, follow him in the car. Do it in different weather and essentially test him on his skills.

To be honest it was a bit stupid letting your dc decide.

Thanks @Tangohead great, useful, AND supportive in one message! Good work!

Mine is August born. That extra year can make a huge difference. I think that cycling on the roads alone in traffic is too dangerous for a ten year old! I wouldn't let him do it.

Or even for an eleven year old!

You said in your first post that first choice school is "great" and I don't think single sex schools necessarily go hand-in-hand with bullying, and presumably if it had been an absolutely awful choice, you wouldn't have let him pick it... So it doesn't sound like a complete disaster! Will he potentially know anyone else going to the school? Is cycling the only option? Is there a bus/train? Could you drive him? If cycling is the only option, I think as others have said you still have several months to practise the route. As others have said though, don't underestimate the amount of stuff (PE kit, food tech etc) they sometimes have to take. Alternatively, you could go on wait-list for the nearer school.

Thanks for the messages. There's no bus in that direction. I could drive him but I really wanted him to start getting daily exercise as he's overweight. I'm currently having a year out of work for personal reasons so I could maybe drive him til Christmas for the first term.

It is a good school, I'm not worried about the school itself, just a few comments have been made to me about older boys bullying the younger ones.