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 would love to live near a primary school, love the sound of kids playing out.

We're currently living with PILs, whose house backs onto a primary school. You can hear playground noise twice a day, which isn't in any way unpleasant - in fact it's a lovely, cheerful sound. I wouldn't be at all put off an otherwise suitable house because of it being adjacent to a school.

I've lived in a property edging a school playing field before and honestly it was no problem. My bedroom was the closest room, and unless you're a shift worker who needs to sleep in the day it won't be an issue for you.

I didn't think I'd be bothered by the playground noise personally but the parking is something to consider.
Also noise won't necessarily be confined to term time 0830-1500 because they may run after school clubs or holiday clubs. But I would expect it to be quiet in the evenings and weekends for sure.

Anywhere you move you're always running the risk that the neighbours are arseholes who play loud music all night every night.

At least with a school you know that generally (bar a few events), the evenings won't be loud.

Run ragged from exhaustion because of being woken up at 6? That's not really early. Maybe he needs to go to bed earlier? I love the sound of children playing so it wouldn't be a problem for me. If he's lived by a school before and didn't like the noise I wouldn't even think about moving near another one.

I live by a school, the noise is only 15 mins 3 times a day and it's only loud if I'm in the garden. We don't have problems with parking, it's a village school, kids walk. I wouldn't see it as an issue.

I remember when they announced one of the lockdowns, schools were to close the next day, feeling so sad that it'd be the last time those kids would play outside for a long time 😭

We live very near to a school - less than a minute's walk. When we first bought the house, the school was year 1 to year 4, but over the years, it has expanded and has become an academy. It now has a nursery and goes up to age 11, so the noise has expanded as well.

Honestly, I work from home, and always have a window open. I barely notice any noise at break or lunch times. Whether that is because the school manages the noise levels or I'm just zoning it out, I don't know. But it's definitely not intrusive.

Parent parking, however . . .

I could rant for hours about that 😉

I live next to two primary schools. Noise is very minimal and it's a nice noise.

We are 2 doors away from a primary school, the playground is 50 feet away. Yes you hear noise but it's not horrendous, it's just kids playing and the school has 375 ish pupils not 220. Break is 10.30, lunch is 12.15.

Far more problematic is the dickhead parking by the parents.

I've lived next to a primary school twice. First time was during my working life where I left the house before drop off and returned at 6pm, so it didn't affect me at all. Dead silence in the evening (apart from occasional parents evening) and weekends.
Second time I was part time so more aware of them during the day but still not a problem.
Playground noise didn't go on for long enough to be an irritant - children playing is a nice noise when it's finite.
Biggest bug bear seems to be dickish parking by parents

Actually better than living next to parents who let their kids screech in the garden from 4pm til 9pm and all weekend!

I'm next door to a primary school (they are no.18 and I'm no.17) other than pick up/drop off time I don't notice it's there other than events (sports day for example).

My house backs onto a primary school and yes there is the noise of children playing at breaks and lunches but you can't hear it in the house downstairs, even with the windows and doors open. Nothing happens at the school next to me overnight/weekends/holidays so it's always quiet when you want to be using your garden. And you're never overlooked by anyone which is lovely! I'd check on the website of the school to see what kind of events they have throughout the year.

Parking is a much bigger problem, I struggle to leave my house safely at school pick up and drop off times because there are so many parked cars. And there's double yellows to stop dangerous parking that parents just ignore. Definitely go and visit the house between 8.30 and 9 and 2.45 and 3.15.

I live near a school (about 150m away) and that's what struck me about lockdown , walking past the quiet empty playground was horrible.

At DC primary they don't tend to go outside during breakfast or ASC but the school does have a holiday club where they play outside. The only noise I occassionally hear in the evening (and you have to be right next to the school) is band practise, which is not unpleasant. Parking can be problematic usually the worst time for it is fireworks evening (which is obviously only once a year)

I live about 50 meters away and it's fine.
Morning isn't very noisy as they get dropped off line up then go in. Can hear them at break time and lunch time would say max 45 mins a day of playground noise.
I don't notice it wfh only if the windows are open

i dont think anyone can answer this, because its about your OH's tolerances and really only him and you know the full extent!

things to help consider might be, and if already mentioned then i apologise;

parking, not just during school hours, but also out of hours, school plays, after school activities, also many schools now let their halls out to other organisations on evenings and weekends.

weekend activites, does the school have a playing field for things like football etc? there may be noise from football matches?

and of course schools are always have 'fairs' and 'fates'.

then there's rubbish and litter, i have noticed around schools the litter appears to be worse, not from intentional littering, but little ones accidently dropping bits and pieces.

It would be the traffic and illegal parking that would bother me, not the noise.

It’s a lot more complicated than that. It’s not just the being woken bit that causes exhaustion.

But just re: times, being worken at 6 when you have ADHD (for him, anyway) is like having no sleep at all. It takes days to recover. Sometimes it’s a mild noise, other times it’s the equivalent of having the noise of a helicopter landing 100m from your house.

It's a fairly small school so not too noisy but it's not just limited to drop-off/pick-up. It will also be break times as mentioned and outdoor play/Pe which could be any time.
Primaries also do fundraising events so a handful of extra stuff like fetes/car boots.

At least it's mostly happy noise though. I live next to a nursery and the staff are constantly bellowing to be heard over the kids, singing repetitive nursery rhymes or playing Disney music all day and many crying babies that cry for ages. It's also 50 weeks of the year so a small school would be welcome after this.

I live in between three primaries, the play noise is quite nice. The parking issues are not.

I love the sound of children school playgrounds. It’s a sound that has changed very little over the years and maybe brings nostalgia from my own school days.

Parking by schools, however…

I live right next to a primary school. I’m a teacher so am rarely home during school hours but there have been times I’ve been working from home, off sick or where the holidays haven’t quite matched up and I’ve been off when the school is open. Usually a little bit of noise about 8:30-45 when the kids are waiting to go in, again at 10:30-11:00 for morning break and then at around 12:30-13:00 for lunch, mostly kids laughing and shouting but not screeching. Only noticeable in summer when windows are open or if in garden, wouldn’t hear anything in winter. Unless you’re very very noise sensitive I can’t think it would be an issue.

I live next to one. Weekends and school holidays are dead quiet. Sounds of kids playing out. No issues and only one selfish parking issue in 20 years.

My concern now is council are talking of closing it, if they do what will they do with it? Probably more housing. That will be awful.

> At least it's mostly happy noise though. I live next to a nursery and the staff are constantly bellowing to be heard over the kids, singing repetitive nursery rhymes or playing Disney music all day and many crying babies that cry for ages. It's also 50 weeks of the year so a small school would be welcome after this.

Arghhhhhhh, I am so sorry for what you are having to endure

The repeated nursery rhymes would probably send me full postal.

I doubt they'll close the only village school but stranger things have happened; but you still make a good point. I can look at the local 5 year plan just to check.