Which secondary school?

[BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz]

I know I don't get a say in which one, but which one sounds the best to you? I've not decided what order to put them in.

All state schools.

A. Highly academic. Ridiculously good exam results, most (if not all) sixth form leavers go to Uni, with offers for Oxbridge/Durham etc. Strict but fair. Religious (are arent) but not in an evangelical way. Does not focus on creative subjects, all very technical, classic subjects (I think they recently added Latin to their syllabus). Gets the results but churns out a finished product - ie not sure how they handle round pegs in square holes.

B. Tiny. Two classes per year. Relatively new, but has other schools in the family which are performing very well. Teaches national curriculum but in a very different style to standard secondaries. Big focus on outdoor Ed, encourages and makes space in the day for critique of work, embraces uniqueness etc. No uniform.

C. Typical comp. Good results, but not as good as A. Large like A. Seems to encourage autonomy, creativity, more the traditional style of secondary school. Mixed opinions from other parents and ex students some love, some hate.

Chances are highest of getting C, due to size and broader intake methods. A is selective but not based on solely academic results at Y6. Clearly B is a long shot as so tiny.

What would you want for your dc? What order do I even put these schools?

Depends on your child. If they're a "square peg" academic type then A. B I would be cautious of personally, 2 classes per year can really limit subject options in exam years, but could suit a less academic child.

You put them in your genuine order of preference.

Because by law all areas must operate 'equal preference' ie your application for each school is considered regardless of where you listed them (and the schools/admission authorities at that stage usually won't know where they were on the form - they'll just get a list of all applicants to rank according to the published criteria.

So you can, if you wish, put tiny school in first place without it making the slightest difference to your chances of qualifying for the others if you dont get it.

They look at your preferences only if you qualify for more than one school, and they will offer you the one you listed higher

We have a school like "B" locally (two actually) At first glance it looked good. But not when we looked in detail (limited and prescribed GCSE options, low tolerance of SEN, DH described it as Cult like). Might not be the same chain...

I think that it completely depends on your child. What sort of person are they? What will suit them best?

You don’t mention travel times to the schools. Is this a factor?

B sounds like my fantasy dream school but I wonder how much GCSE subject choice there would be. A school of that size won't be able to offer much variety and I can imagine many might leave for a different 14+ place (UTC/College/regular school). Really you don't need more than 5 GCSEs to move on to the next stage of education so how many do they offer or do they just stick to the basic Maths, English, Science + a couple more concept?
I would choose C.
A sounds horrible.

Put them in order of preference based on which school you think would fit your DC best.

It put A first for DS1, I think it sounds great (for him)
Then C
Then B

@Aroundtheworldin80moves

We have a school like "B" locally (two actually) At first glance it looked good. But not when we looked in detail (limited and prescribed GCSE options, low tolerance of SEN, DH described it as Cult like). Might not be the same chain...

Are they literally next door to each other?

Travel time is same ish for all three, certainly none have a travel time that would put me off.

Dd is smart, not super academic, kind of quirky, a bit scatty. Loves to draw and paint and be outdoors.

Depends on your DC - are they arty/creative?
Are they academic enough for school A? Any special needs?
B sounds awful. You need a decent cohort at secondary to have a decent sets and teachers.

Depends on your child. For me, A, C, B would be my order. With B being not somewhere I’d want to send mine at all, a tiny secondary sounds really limiting.

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz yes, two schools next to each called 'School' and 'School East'. In a Yorkshire town.

Is B single sex? It's far too small a friendship pool and I'd be concerned about how many subjects they can teach for GCSE and beyond.

A sounds good if your child would have gone to grammar if you were in a different area.

Mine go to a C type school. It's worked well for both my academic and more academically average kids.

OP, do you see it as likely that on leaving school your DD will want to go to university to study an academic subject? If so, I'd go for A.

[quote Aroundtheworldin80moves]@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz yes, two schools next to each called 'School' and 'School East'. In a Yorkshire town.[/quote]
Yep same group then

C,A,B
You clearly have big concerns about A from how you have written about it, but B is too small and too much a risk.

Ok from what you say about your child I’d go with C, A, B.

C, A, B. B is too small. A is too strict/rigid.

Does your child have a view?

Is there much point in putting the longshot school B in third place? It would mean there were spaces in neither of other others, and so perhaps it would be worth looking for a safer 'banker'

A sounds quite strict and the religious aspect would definitely be a no for me. Unless I have a child who is very much into STEM or classical topics it would be difficult to thrive.

B - apart from the concept itself, the size would be an issue. Two classes is not a lot to find friends, DD definitely outgrew her two class year when she left primary. Also, how do they teach GCSE? What is the avearage subjects they offer? How diverse are the topics? How are the resources for science (labs?), art, sport and music? Lots of smaller schools struggle to provide the setting to really teach these subjects properly. What is their reputation for SEN or pastoral care? Do they offer A-level as well? A small pool of GCSE subjects often mean it's difficult to get to another 6th form as some only allow subjects if they have been taken at GCSE level.

For DD such a school would be a nightmare but I can see how some children would like the setting.

I would go for C, sounds boring but it normally gives children opportunities to develop themselves as the pool of friends is wide and subjects are often diverse enough to find something they enjoy. Resources are normally also decent.

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz "East" has just had an Ofsted report. Presuming they are planning on following the same process at the new one, there's details on the GCSEs etc on thth"School" and "East" websites.

It seems to be a very marmite thing... whenever the school is mentioned on the local press loads of the parents appear to rave how brilliant it is. It does sound good at 11-14. Not personally convinced 14-18.

I'll have a read of it thanks.

I would go for C, sounds boring but it normally gives children opportunities to develop themselves as the pool of friends is wide and subjects are often diverse enough to find something they enjoy. Resources are normally also decent

I'm definetly coming around to this way of thinking. School A is one where parents are desperate for their kids to get in (usually), so I feel like I must be daft to not feelnthe same. But I think it wouldn't really be right for dd.