Which school would you pick?

[redbluechristmas]

I'm driving myself slightly mad with this decision.

We are moving to a new area and need to decide on a primary school for DS, who is in year 2. Our options are:

School A - local village school. 10 minute walk. Fairly good reputation, has been a bit mixed in the past but still a relatively popular school. Results very slightly better than average.

School B - school on edge of nearest town. 12 minute journey by car (I have timed it at school run peak!) Excellent reputation. Very good results, well above average.

Both schools feed into the same secondary and are a similar size. I WFH so although it's not ideal logistically to drive to school, I could do it and still be home in time to start work just after 9am.

DS does well at school, quite enthusiastic about learning. Above average but not top of the class. He is fairly resilient but I don't want to get this wrong and have to move him again!

What would you do?

School A - YABU
School B - YANBU

School A every time.

Local friends in the village.
No commute.

Why are you questioning it?

It's only a primary school, go for better quality of life, that means not having to ferry kids in cars everyday

@hercwasanenemyofeducation because school B is a "better" school 😊

School A. Don’t underestimate the benefits of being able to walk to school and do play dates locally.

"better" how long ago?

Exam results/ofsted don't tell the full story.

If you're this bothered then you will be the sort of parent to supplement school work with home stuff too. That's the most important thing.

In the five years my eldest has been at his school, it has gone from below average in results to the best for miles around. The only way is up. The most important aspect to me is being able to walk to school, on the many occasions you need to (shows, fairs, parents evenings etc) walk to friends houses etc

I’d go school A for same reasons as Herc.

Have you visited both schools? Which one did you think would suit your DS best?

Did your timing include finding somewhere to park? School A.

School A.
Give him the opportunity to settle into the village and make local friends.

@altiara school B came across best to be honest and if both schools were equal distance it's the one I'd go for. But school A was fine too!

School A every time. It sounds like it's a decent school and you have the added bonus it is in walking distance, plus he'll make lots of friends in his local area.

@nocoolnamesleft yes, it included parking!

I voted for school A because I believe in keeping life easy but I don't have kids yet!

Dc school is 7 mins away. Bloody nightmare.. Forgotten PE kit.. 14 min driving. Need an antihistamine. 14 min driving. Been sick.. 14 min drive.. Stuck behind a vehicle /roadworks not a 14 min drive.. Seriously its a pita. Of mahoosive proportions..

In a few years he'll want to walk with his mates not be dropped off by Mum..

Also, I used to be able to drive to school and back in under half an hour. Before we moved, it was taking me from 8.30-10am some days... Mixture of two separate drop off times due to Covid... But also roadworks meaning I had to go the long way round and sit in traffic for ages that was going the wrong way round. Driving is unpredictable. Walking is constant.

No contest for me. School A. How is he going to make friends in your village if he doesn't go to a school in your village?

A

Mine are coming towards the end of primary, in their second school as we moved. The actual primary school really makes very little difference.

We live in a village and my children don’t go to the village school. They still make friends with the village kids through other activities and just playing together at the play ground. Our school is a drive away and is worlds better than the (still not bad at all) village school. Best of both worlds. Plus, there are other kids from our school who live in the village too.

@jinglepies phew, I was starting to think I was totally made for even considering school B! Thank you. Your situation is how I imagine life would be if we choose school B and it all works out for the best - we would plan for DS to join clubs in the village etc.

Honestly, it’s fine. Cubs, brownies, cricket, football etc all happen in our village with a mix of children. Maybe 75% from the village school? It’s all relaxed and my children have never felt lonely or left out of village life.

Whoever said that primary school doesn’t matter - pah. Pick the school you think your child will be happiest at and have the best opportunities. Walking to school is a massive bonus but it doesn’t trump everything else.

I chose the better school 10 mins drive away for my DS over the fine one 5 mins walk away. MN has a weird obsession about the importance of walking to school. Yes it’s nice to be able to do if all other things are equal but they aren’t, you like school B better. In most people’s eyes including mine, a 10 minute drive is nothing and certainly not a mahoosive pain in the area as a pp has described! Funnily enough quite a few parents agree with me as in DS’s class of 30, around 9 families including us live on our estate that same 10 minute drive away so DS is not short of local playmates, plus he has all our neighbours’ children to play with too.

A.
We went with the B option ourselves and the DC hated it. Ended up back at the local village school and loved it there. Might be better to be top of the class in an ok school than bottom of the class in a high performing one.

I would go for school A every time. There’s so much more important at primary school level than academic results, particularly if they both feed into the same secondary school.

I can’t understand why you would drive every day to a school out of the area when you can stroll down the road to your perfectly acceptable local school.

A 100%