Living near a primary school / noise from

[KievLoverTwo]

The OH is a bit apprehensive re: noise, but I am not convinced it will be dreadful. Just 220 pupils. Back of school and probably playground 100m away. Playing field behind the house.

I imagine noise is 8:30-3:30 (at break time) and 13 weeks are holiday. It’s in a little village.

For context, we currently live in a farm that regularly wakes us up at 6am and he is always run ragged with exhaustion.

We don’t hate kids! We just know they can be very screechy as he lived opposite a school some time ago and it reverberated into his 5th floor flat (and the school kept them in all summer so the play noise was ALL day! In Germany).

Can I have your thoughts please? What time is morning break usually? Maybe we can listen from nearby.

I grew up next to a rural school and it has brought us a great deal of pleasure over the years. The sound of children playing is lovely and it’s only in the day. My parents still love seeing them run anround and often help with school things, it’s part of the community. They only annoyance is the occasional selfish parking by parents.

I think the parking is probably around a different road but I will check it out. We don’t have any need to be out of the house when school runs happen so it shouldn’t matter anyway.

Children’s giggles really lift my spirits. Screeching, not so much :)

I live in between a junior and infant school.

Lots of noise, parking over our garage for school deliveries and parents parking is atrocious - lots of horns etc.

Children playing noise is lovely and I love listening to it.

About 4 years ago the junior school started an outdoor disco, every lunchtime, for an hour - noise so loud you can hear it inside the house. All the neighbours complained to the school, who did nothing, and eventually we had to complain to the council.... finally seems to have stopped.

Just my experience! Would expect noise from parents and children going in and out and playtime noise - but NEVER expected a daily outdoor disco!

Morning break will probably be around 10:30 and I would definitely try to go and see the noise levels when the kids are playing. But I would also go at 8:30-9am and see the driving/parking situation as even if it’s not the main road the school is on, parents’ cars may really affect other roads nearby.

If the noise does affect you, it's only going to be at certain times of the day, not all day long. Basically when the children play outside and for 15 to 30 minutes at drop off and pick up times. Children's general play noise isn't ear splitting anyway, just a happy rumble in the background.

:D

We would both love the outdoor disco! He has a penchant for cheesy pop :)

Tho it might grate when he is trying to get work done.

The noise will be in the morning, break, lunch and afternoon play time. You need to visit around these times and see whether it bothers you. You don't want to listen to your husband saying I told you so. You can hear our village school some considerable distance. Personally I pulled out of a purchase as the high hedges backed onto a playground.

That’s what I have been saying. On the farm, you can never tell. It could be 6am, or 11.30pm, or shooting at 8am on a Sunday, or 10.30pm at night, or tractors thumping past ALL through the night for three nights in a row. I feel as though almost nothing else could be worse. And kids are sweet so we won’t resent any noise either.

I live right by a primary school of about 400 pupils. It can be noisy at break times and lunch but it's just kids playing, it doesn't bother us personally. You hear a bit of noise sports days and that kind of thing. Traffic can be bad but it's 15 mins each end of the day, not the end of the world.

I also love the sound of kids playing

Note it wont just be at those times either. Most schools have a breakfast and after school club which will also be outside at times. As well as holiday clubs in the holidays so its doesn't stop for 13 weeks. Those are usually more outdoor based and ours runs most half terms and summer holidays.

He wouldn’t say I told you so because there is very, very little other choice atm. It also has high hedges. And it’s a rental. But we are both so sleep deprived that it is hard to be completely rational.

Schools often host holiday child care clubs in the holidays, so may not be silent then, though may be quieter.

If I walk near to local primary at lunch/break I don't hear giggles, I hear a constant but wavering shrill tone. Everything merges to one.

So traffic 8.30-9 and 3-3.30.
High voices noise approx 10.30-11 and 12.15-1.15
Occasional discos, summer fair.
Possible quieter noises randomly over school breaks.

I think we need to sit nearby at 10.30am. It’s further complicated by him having ADHD and WFH.

But we can’t just rule it out because very few houses meet our size requirements and we are going stir crazy where we are right now, and have been for a very long time.

We lived near one for 30+ years. As others have said the sound of playing is lovely, and in general the parking wasn’t an issue as most people walked. The shrieking definitely got worse in recent years though!

My dad finds normal school noise fine. What can be more annoying are random events/parties held on the playing fields at weekends and occasionally camping nights.

The events have increased in number in recent years and make quiet enjoyment of his garden impossible for hours. The lack of warning from the school annoys him.

That’s really useful to know. I think maybe we need to drop notes through the neighbours doors or knock and ask.

I would visit at different times throughout the day to let you judge the situation.

The early years department should have free flowing play a lot of the time which will mean children playing out in there outdoor area throughout the day. Many schools will also do PE outside when the weather allows so there could be noise all day but obviously breaks and dinner will be the peak.

some schools also provide bases for holiday clubs so don’t assume holiday will be quiet times!

Live opposite a school of 500ish pupils.
Road busy in mornings with dangerous parking, and again 3pm-3 40pm. Very annoying.
Some noise at breaks and lunch. But you stop noticing it. You can't hear it inside

But the only real noise is the special days, like the Christmas and summer fayre when there's amplified music.

But none of it is as quite as annoying as the tractors hitting the manhole cover on the road outside every ten minutes at night during harvest time. Not their fault, its essential but it can be jarring!! (But obviously will never complain, its village life)

We are quite near to a primary school, we can hear the children mid morning for around 15 minutes, lunchtime isn’t as loud as they have split lunch times. The only time it’s annoyed me is sports day, one particular person using a loud speaker virtually all day. I actually like the sound of children playing, it’s not screaming or shouting, just muffled fun voices. My cousin lives in a road where there’s a secondary school, she is retired but has a busy life so just avoids drop off and pick up times as much as possible. Just go and park and take a walk 10.15 around the area, just to hear.

Don't do it. It will be horrific.

Playground noise is nice, and you always know when it’s sports day 😉

Morning drop off less nice, traffic and parking a nightmare.

Check the school doesn’t rent itself out regularly at weekends. The evangelical church that rented for a year was a lot less nice than the playground noise.

I wish we had so many choices that we could just dismiss it. I really do.

Best we can do is a through due diligence.

I’m almost next door to primary. It’s fine. We can hear the kids playing out but it’s for a maximum of 1h+15m+15m a day and in winter when the windows are closed we don’t hear them at all

now parking however can be a concern. We live on a private road and the neighbours get very upset with people parking and turning around in it. We usually don’t need to get in/out around that time so doesn’t bother us. But def wander up about 8.45 /3.15and see the madness

Yes living near a Primary School (and for my sins I live between two) can be noisy, I tend to use break/lunch times to go inside for a tea break/lunch.

I tend to make sure I'm not going out during drop off and pick up times as it can be difficult with the extra cars and bad parking.

As someone said up thread it's more annoying the noise during holidays from work be carried out.

To be honest I have always lived within earshot of schools since I was 5 so around 50 years so for me it's probably just normal back ground noise.

I back in to a primary field (fortunately zero parking issues where I am) and it's been lovely hearing the kids back at school.

Generally they're fairly subdued at the start of the day, liveliest at lunch break (which generally is max 40 minutes playing out time) and afternoon break (15 mins). Theres plenty of times they stay in at break time, and 13 weeks holidays.

There appears to be one kid in particular who is a screamer, she was starting to get annoying before the summer break but soon got sick of her own voice.

It's not intrusive.

Car parking in my neighbour's streets however is a completely different story. Make sure to park up at school times to see how bad it really can be...