Which school felt more comfortable to you?
Put ofsted results and attainment to one side. If you had to pick a school you think your child would thrive in based on the feeling you got when you visited, which would it be?
We've gone against the grain of many of my parent friends and chosen our catchment, requires improvement school over the further away good school which I left 20 years ago.
Dd was happy viewing both schools and will know pupils from both schools due to a combination of her school peers and the various out of school clubs she attends. She isn't bothered about being in the same class as any of her current classmates but will miss her closest friend who is allegedly going to the local (private) grammar school. She moved schools at the beginning of year 5 so doesn't have deep relationships with her classmates from years of shared space.
Catchment school (school 1) has a long and openly troubled history due in part to the area it services - many esol pupils, itinerants and a poorer area. (Evidence available in the news and published statistics)
Good school (school 2) used to be the town grammar school when my father was a boy. It's still trying to maintain a grammar type reputation while covering up a great deal of poor pupil behaviour and a culture of bullying. (Personal experience and more recent anecdotal evidence from friends whose children attend as well as news reports)
I felt school 1 cared about their pupils and wanted them to achieve their full potential rather than school 2 feeling like a dictatorship run along business lines to get results. They are both academies.
The talk from school 2 was very much business terms and results driven. How many A*'s and A's were awarded at gcse and a level (or whatever their current scheme is). It broke them down into individual grades and percentages but missed out lower grades completely.
School 1 showed us one slide of (improving) results over a 5 year period then proceeded to acknowledge their past but that they were learning from it and doing x, y and z to improve the pupils attainment. Including using their own interests to help them in areas they struggled with (many of the extra curricular activities are not based on academics or solely sporting).
When I was walking round, school 1 talked to dd and asked her what her favourite subjects were, what she did as hobbies, were interested in her as a person.
School 2 directed every question to me and it was about how well she was performing in each subject. It felt like she was being vetted as to whether she would be good enough for them.
At the end of the day, you make the choice based on what works for you. In your situation, the better school is on your route for work, you can help out more with lifts etc for bad weather and extra curricular events.
But you said your head says school 1. What is your heart saying and why?
I know dd will be happy in school 1. I know she will thrive in an environment where she can bring herself to her work. I feel in school 2, even if she will likely know more pupils in her year group, the environment will run her self esteem down and I cannot out her through that. It destroyed me.