Been priced out- having to move DC's school?

[greenvoid]

I have 2 DC, years P1&P3 (Scotland). DC love their school and are thriving, plus they love their extra curricular clubs. They are doing so well and I'm so proud of them. We moved to this area a few years ago to a 2 bed flat with the intention of upsizing in a few years in the same area. We picked a 2 bed for a quick move as seller was already out and we needed to move quite fast. However, the price of houses here have gone up considerably. DC aren't the same gender so need their own room plus I'm pregnant (unexpectedly). Our max budget for a house is £250k and the cheapest 3 bedroom houses where we are are offers over £280k (in Glasgow it's generally 20% over asking for those that don't know). 4 bedrooms, which is what we would ideally like are offers over £360k. Neither are affordable for us. We don't know what to do. I'm soooooo against moving DC but I don't see what else I can do? DD got so upset when I mentioned the notion of it the other day, as she's already have to move schools in P1 and is really settled here. We have no possibility of an extension here. AIBU to ask what you'd do if you were me? I feel terrible at the thought of it

Do you think you could bridge the gap to the three bed home over the next couple of years? If you can foresee that then I'd hang tight and keep them in the same school.

If that is too optimistic, I'd pull the ripcord now and move further to get the four bed that you want.

Hmm, when you Rightmove it, there's 106 houses which are all 3 beds in Glasgow. 4 beds i agree is almost impossible, but perhaps you can convert a dining room into a bedroom, or do a loft conversion in a few years time?

@Hufflemuff that's true, but Glasgow is big and there are only the prices I mentioned that are within the catchment of DC's school. The second bedroom is already a loft conversion.

If DC are not the same gender they still might be able to share until older.

I had two kids and they voluntarily shared until age 11 (we had a spare bedroom instead).

Once your kids are in the school, the council will not remove them if you move out of catchment.... you might have to do a longer school run, but no need to move the school

Could you afford something slightly out of area and then travel in for school? Obviously I'm thinking a up to a 20ish min drive, not an hour and a half bus!

Rent out yours and rent a 3 bed in your area (you'd have to crunch the numbers carefully).

What is your realistic view on your finances in the next 3-4 yrs, will you be able to afford it then? If so, can't they can share for a bit longer while you put everything into saving to move?

If truly none of these are feasible then moving them sooner rather than later will be better I'd have thought ☹️ Definitely choose the house and area very carefully so that you can actually be comfortable and settled.

Good luck!

@Octavia64 that's true, but youngest DC (as in the one I'm pregnant with) won't get in, younger DC will still be there by that point.

You've got to move, there's no choice as you're going to have 3 DC soon and even your 2 DC doesn't work with your home. Much better to do it in P1&3 than later. Your DC will be fine. Go somewhere that you can afford a good 4-bed family home. That should be doable on your budget in other places further out.

I was brought up in Glasgow, and everyone I knew lived in a flat. Would it be possible to buy a large flat, you could possibly use one of those bunk bed dividers to give the children more privacy. Victorian Glasgow flats have large rooms, and often a box room which would be fine for a baby.

Which school is it?

Moving in p1 and p3 is better than moving when a bit older . I think you are going to have to move . Your DC may be upset but you will find the positives and frame it for them accordingly whilst they settle in somewhere new . They will come up against all sorts of issues over the years that you will need to support them through . This is a hold your nose and jump scenario

Even if older dc are at the school, won't your youngest get in? In England its catchment based but if an older sibling attends then they get in regardless I think

The kids will adapt - they might not be happy at first but they’ll cope with a move. you might find the new place is as good as the old place or better! Especially when you sell them a new bedroom each and a nice garden?

You could move and put in a placing request for your youngest, there are very few primary schools in Glasgow where a placing request isn’t granted and you could apply on the basis of your older two going to the same school.

My comment will differ from the others but I don't think it's necessary to move. Yes, a 2 bed can be a bit of a squeeze but plenty of our friends in London live in 2 bed flats with 2-3 kids, it's absolutely doable. You can move houses when you're a bit more comfortable financially in the next few years.

I think all squeezing in and making it work is madness for a school at this stage. Home life matters too and there will be other good schools. They'll barely remember this school in a few years, esp for the one in P1. Families move all the time without lasting trauma and regret.

They probably will - allowances are made for siblings - not that i am saying this should be the only factor. We're n scotland also (Edinburgh) and personally know people where this has been the case! (No guarantee, speak to the HT...)

Hmm. Having had terrible experiences with my children’s Scottish primary schools, if it’s a good school with low violence I’d put up with any housing situation to keep my kids there.

You will either have to make it work or hope that they adapt well. Have you looked into schools in an area you can afford?

Why do you need a four bed? Can you save until you have enough to afford a 3 bed?

At their ages, how you present the move will make a big difference to their attitude towards it.

You need to big up the positives ("oh look, we've got room for a trampoline in the garden" sort of thing) for the house, then "look we can can walk to this school, and your new friend Timmy can walk with you). If you concentrate on the negatives they will pick up on it.

Unless the new school is truly bad obviously. If its just that its different, they will gain more from being local.

Is it a tenement or modern flat? If it’s a tenement, do you have a lounge and a separate dining kitchen? If you’re really keen to keep the kids in schools and have the third baby, then can you and your partner change living room into bedroom and use kitchen as family space?

Not ideal, but none of your options are and as pp said people have been raising families in tenements like this since they were built.

Why wouldn’t younger sibling get in - surely they would if one of the older two is still there? Or has your council introduced a sibling catchment rule too?

I think move further away is unavoidable. Choose somewhere with decent primaries and then you can either move the older two (maybe not immediately but once they’ve got used to new house/area), or keep them where they are and do the long school run, and third child is sorted either way.

Is there any chance of commuting from a different area to the school? Is the school over subscribed? When your baby is born you'll still have children in that primary school, don't they also count that as priority for a place in Scotland?

Although personally I'd just move and get it done. You'll put roots down again and DC will be too little to be that upset about friends.

I am in Edinburgh and siblings are not guaranteed a place at a school. Her current kids could stay where they are but the new one has no guarantee. They can apply of course but it depends on the catchment and the numbers at that time.

But they're so little I'd move asap if you're going to anyway. No need for a 4 bedroom if you're just thinking of the kids as obviously two of them could share forever. There are also plenty of people who share with 3 in a room as well if you really don't want to move.

They'll honestly forget about the old place surprisingly quickly. We moved house a few years ago and my kids have almost no memory of the old house.