Choice of three schools for Reception entry next year:
School A is 5 minute drive away, walkable in about 30 mins in decent weather (off road and muddy). Less than 200 pupils. Good Ofsted. It’s a village primary which has recently become an academy. Academy Trust is run by a local, well regarded private school and appears to offer gifted and talented activities, sporting opportunities etc. that perhaps you might not get elsewhere. Also a possibility of academic scholarship into said school for secondary school.
School B is 7 minute drive away, semi-walkable (country lanes, no pavement) in approx an hour, very cycleable. Has less than 80 pupils. Good Ofsted but overdue an inspection. Appears to have an outdoorsy, nurturing ethos. Young, enthusiastic headteacher. Children appear to come from a wide catchment due to the school being undersubscribed. Likely to be a maximum of 10-15 pupils in the year group.
School C is 9 minute drive away. About a 45 minute, very safe walk. 400 pupils. Ofsted Good. Closest large village to us. Friends children go/will be going there. Close to soft play, cafes, shops, parks etc. Probably a bit more of a mix of different children, cultures etc. (Benefit potentially IMO). My gut says larger school is likely to have better SEND support?
I’ve got open mornings/tours booked over the next couple of weeks and will obviously base our application on these but wondered what would be the feelings of others, and what questions you would want to ask based on the individual schools as they all seem so very different!