Wibu to apply to these primary schools?

[SchoolAlready]

School 1 - 30 minutes walk away, but is large, over crowded, bad reputation, known for bullying.

School 2 - great school 5 - 10 minute drive away

School 3 - also great school 5 - 10 minute drive away

Obviously I'd rather put school 2 & 3 down as a first and second choice. However I currently don't have a driving license, there's no one else to take DC and we don't qualify for transport.

I'm currently taking driving lessons and asked my instructor if he thinks I'll pass by September, he laughed and said definitely, I should be ready to take my test in a month or two. But I guess there's always a chance I'll repeatedly screw up tests and fail?

I have up until January to apply, so fingers crossed I'll pass in the meantime, but if not.. what would you do?

Yabu: Apply to the school you know you can take the child to or you'll be screwed.

Yanbu: Take a chance, trust that you'll pass before September.

Great school and you’d be in catchment area a 5-10 minute drive away?

Are there any other criteria apart from distance for entry?
Have you checked the council website to see where the furthest applicant lived who got in last year?

I checked the catchment area, we are in for both of them. I didn't know you could check where the furthest applicant was?

You've got eleven months - that should be fine. Is the nearer school usually undersubscribed? If so, then if it gets to July and you haven't passed, you can probably apply for a place there at that point.

Check your catchment area and how many kids from outside it they let in. If 500 catchment kids apply for 25 places, then non catchment kids aren't getting in. Some years siblings take up twenty spots and only five newbies get in. It's a list and where you are on that list can depend on between 8 and 12 different criteria or more.

They're on your council website. Unfortunately primary school catchment is a long game to play.

Also some schools will prioritise church attending kids, which means even fewer places to catchment and non catchment children.

Very important to do so

But is is unusual for a genuinely great school in this country to have a catchment area that includes a 10 minute drive away

Anyway yeah, apply for the best school you think you'll get in. No point going to a shithole because of a few weeks and a test.

As you're already taking lessons I would choose the good schools but check the waiting times for tests in your area. I'd get a test booked now and up your lessons. DS has his test in a few weeks, it was the first date he could get when we booked six months ago.

She could be super rural? We have a good school with a fairly large but empty catchment as it's basically about 9 farmhouses. So about 50 kids from outside catchment get in, based on distance.

In the towns, of course, they run out of spaces 250 metres from the door.

When you pass will you have a car to drive?

Unlikely “super rural” with a very large school half hour walk away