Choosing a primary school - which of these factors is more important?

[Gilbot]

We’re choosing a primary school. Will be fee paying as due to where we live & location of the school the state option is unfortunately unattractive.

We’ve visited schools A and B and both seem great, and although there are pros and cons of each, overall we like them equally . So it boils down to the following:

School A - Five minute walk from home. No links to any particular secondary school. Kids go to a range of secondary schools.

School B - 45 minute walk from home, or 15 minute drive (but quite a stressful drive, think lots of parents trying to negotiate narrow streets in huge 4x4s). But this school has links with the most sought after local secondary school so DC would be guaranteed a place there if they are academic enough (I’m optimistic about this but obviously it’s far too early to say for sure)

DH works full time with a long commute. I work 4 days with a shorter commute.

Which would you choose?

Do not go for the 45 minute one, unless the 5 min one was atrocious, you'd really be setting yourself up for a difficult life. Just driving 20 mins for me is frustrating enough (after a 5 min walk for years).

A. Being able to walk to school and your child having friends locally make a big difference I think.
Also schools can change. My DC’s school was a feeder…. until last year when they decided to scrap that criteria. Not saying that will happen in your case, but a lot can change in 5/6 years.

Sorry just re-read it's 45 min walk, still wouldn't do it, wouldn't you have to walk back?

A
In Day to day life 45 mins will be exhausting- closer school best, friends in waking distance too. Secondary is a way off , schools change, your child’s place isn’t guaranteed/ id chill out a bit

A. I chose our nearest school so we could walk to school rather than the better rated schools that required a drive. (DD still passed 11+ with flying colours)

A if they are really both nice.

A. Friendships for your children (and you) more important at primary level.

In my experience B will likely have a new head and have changed by the time your children are old enough to go there.

A. Even if you drive you are talking about an hour of your life - 15 minutes each way x 2 - every weekday for seven years.

If you’re fee paying then you can buy your child into a good secondary regardless of which primary they attend. You may even have moved away by secondary time. So I would go for school A for proximity.

Good friends in primary for boys in particular often stay good friends, irrespective of where they go in secondary.

It is wonderful to have good friends close by, especially in secondary.

Do not underestimate what a commute like that is like.
You are ALWAYS on the clock.

Friendships/birthday parties etc could be 45 mins further on from school B for half the class.

Obviously the one closer to home, kind of a no brainer.

There’s a school on the end of our street but my DC couldn’t get a place when we moved here so they go to one that’s a 30 minute walk away. It may not sound like a long walk but it’s obviously an hour round trip for me and I’ve had to do it in the freezing cold, pouring down rain more times then I care to mention. It’s utterly miserable and I hate it. When I’ve had the dreaded phone call to collect them due to illness (they’re never actually ill but that’s a whole other story) I’ve either had to get the bus or a taxi. I do drive but DH takes our car to work so that’s my only choice. It’s annoying when it’s sports day or a school play in the middle of the school day too because it’s always an extra journey to school and back so lots more walking. Good for fitness purposes I guess but that’s honestly it, I dread the school run. Hoping my toddler gets a place at the school on our street.

A.

We moved away from our school 18mo ago, and I've been doing the (ten minute) school run in the car since. It's an absolute ballache, we're entirely dictated to by the traffic and have to leave so much earlier under a lot of stress. My DC are on the waiting lists for the local schools now and have been since Easter.