To have chosen the wrong primary school!!!!

[Toomuchtooyoung01]

DD is starting primary school in September and with the Covid situation we haven't been allowed to visit any local schools to get a feel for them. we have had to submit our school preference choices based on very short promotional video clips on their websites.
I was really unsure which school to choose and having spoken to the mums of DD's nursery friends, they have all chosen a different school to me!
AIBU to want to change school choice based on the fact that this is where DD's friends are likely to be attending? Starting school will be huge for her especially seeing as she has struggled with me leaving her at nursery, so I would much prefer her to go to a school where she knows some of her classmates already. How do I go about changing the school choice?!
Thanks!

Just to echo the PPs, my daughter went from a small first school where there were only about 6 girls in her year who were all pretty tight (because there weren't many options!) and when they went up to middle school, they stuck together at breaktime etc for the first term, but now have all gone on to make new friendships, as actually there are other children they all have more in common with. I really wouldn't change your choice based on nursery friends.

I’ll be honest when dd started reception 50% of her class were from the attached nursery. However all her closest school friends are children she didn’t attend nursery with so I wouldn’t necessarily worry about where her friends are going .

Given its passed the deadline, I'm not sure there is much your can do at this stage anyway tbh.

She'll make new friends, and if the friendships are very good they can endure outside of school

If it helps, I was worried with dc1 as his nursery was near the train station and the preschool friends were from all over our town, just with commuting parents. I was relieved when I found out one boy from his nursery was going and they were put in the same class. On the first day of school it was nice he knew someone, but by the end of the first week had a new best friend who went to a different nursery, and now in year 6, doesn't really talk about that other boy.

What i would say is living close to the school has been useful. The children have walked home from school together, bumped into each other in the park etc over the years.

Oh and a friend of mines ds was going to a primary they knew noone else going to. She put a post on the local Facebook group asking if anyone else had a child starting at xxx primary once the places had been announced. She arranged to meet another mum with her child at a local park over the summer before they started school so her dc knew someone else on the first day.

That could be an option for you

I don’t think you can change it now. Is the school you didn’t choose likely to be oversubscribed? Maybe you could ask to move her after the school places are announced.

Sympathise with you about choosing at the moment- we’ve had the same issue. If it’s any consolation, I’ve been reassured by foundation teachers that they have several children each year who know nobody, and they all settle in quickly- I think children that age make friends at quite a pace! All the schools we look at have a really good programme of trial days in the summer term before they start so that they can meet their teacher and some of their new class- so hopefully that will help your DC if they do end up at a different school.

It is hard, DD still thinks they will all go to the same big school. I think some of her nursery class will go but but not her particular friends. We chose a nursery that was a bit out of town so the class will be distributed across around 5 schools.

We chose the school based on convenience for us and word of mouth reputation because she will be there for 7 years!

Much better to be at the closer school. They will have friends when they go their local park and nearby to play out with going forward.
My daughter went to a nursery just out of area but had gone to her local primary school. None of her nursery friends went. She hasn’t mentioned them once. To be honest it was the best thing for her. She made a beline for personalities that suited her rather than clinging on to friends she had already made.

If it was that important to you you would have asked them beforehand where they were sending their children. My dd didn’t go to nursery but even if she did I wouldn’t be sending her to a school based purely on where her friends are going, she is going to the school her siblings go to so she won’t know anyone either. I doubt your child will be the only one.