To worry about primary class size of 22

[hooochycoo]

My DS starts school this year and his primary school has an unprecedented intake and his class will be 22. Reassure me that that's ok?

My son's in one large classroom with two groups of 30. 60 kids, plus a possible 25 who mingle in from the adjoining nursery room. 85 kids in one room. It's as mental as you'd expect and most of the kids just cry a lot, cover their ears and lash out in panic.

And you worry about 22.

22 meh dds were in classes of 30 chill out your child will be fine i am sure there was 40 in my primary classes

My DDs went to a school where the infants were in classes of 20, rising to 24 at 7+.

IMO, this is a brilliant class size. Small enough for a lot of personal attention, but big enough for them to have a wide choice of friends, and experience of other people and their ideas and different points of view.

DS was at a school with smaller classes from 4+ (about 15 in each class) and I felt he was very limited by the lack of other boys in the class to make friends with (there were about five others). He is now at a school with 24 boys in the class, and it is much better, I think.

Where are you, SolomanDaisy?
Are the schools at all selective where you are?

The Netherlands. There is a sort of streaming process at 12, where the results of a test and teacher recommendation determine whether the child goes to a more academic or more vocational school.

The Netherlands. There is a sort of streaming process at 12, where the results of a test and teacher recommendation determine whether the child goes to a more academic or more vocational school.

That sounds interesting-does it work well as a system? It sounds like our grammars?!

Our school has 2 classes for every year, of a maximum of 30 children. It is always bang on 30 and lots of people dont get in.

Rollon, I don't know really! They certainly perform very well both in educational league tables and child happiness scores. There is flexibility in the system from what I understand, so a child could change schools if they have been streamed to the wrong secondary. There are also something like five different levels, rather than the starker grammar/not grammar system.

You should be pleased if anything!

Well this thread has certainly helped me feel that way!

If its normally an intake of 15, do they double up the classes? So for example year 4 and 5 are taught together, years 3 and 4 are taught together, same with year 1 and 2

34 in my primary school, with a mix of years 3 and 4. 40 plus in the year above and ten taken out and taught in an ancillary room.

The problem is the children who sit in the middle achievement wise, who seem to be invisible.

However, my daughters were in a primary school with a class of 39 years 4,5 and 6. Their teacher was a super-Head who had no problem at all managing his class.

You are really lucky to have a class of 22.