To ask for your help in deciding on a village school V a larger school? Hellllppp!

[runningwilde]

aibu to be in such a dilemma about this?!

My dc will be going to school next September, at the moment I am really really torn between a village school (about a ten minute drive away) that is really great and has a lovely feel (ofsted report is outstanding) and my local primary school that is also a fantastic school (ofsted good with outstanding areas). The village school will take 8 this year and the larger school
Will take 60 so there is a big difference in numbers per class. The local
School tends to have mixed aged classes but a lot of 1 to 1 attention but it does lack in certain facilities you would get in the larger school
(playing fields, sports, etc).

I am driving myself potty going back and forth with which one to go with. Can anyone help me? Both schools have excellent headmistresses and teachers. My ds is a confident and outgoing little boy who would be fine in a big or small environment, but which one do I go for? Which is best?! Any advice/experience on this would be most welcome.

Thank you.

Bigger schools have lots more money.

Can you walk to your local school? Would DS be closer to his school friends in the local school?

Larger schools can offer more opportunities and facilities; smaller ones are great for those who thrive in a family-type atmosphere.

If your DS is confident and outgoing he might well benefit more in a larger school. (That's not to say he wouldn't do well in the smaller one but my instinct says big).

look into the village school really carefully. we chose one for ds because it was a small cosy school and I felt he needed that. At the time of applying the school was undersubscribed and had an average of 24 children in a class. The school is now full and the average is way higher. Also all the classes are mixed so when he goes into year 3 he'll be in an class of 37 with one teacher managing 2 age groups. Teachers are stretched to the max too - his teacher is a full time teacher, Deputy Head, SENCO and IT coordinator. We're now considering moving him to a private school for KS2 so that he'll get the small class sizes we thought we'd get in the village school.

I am not a fan of small schools. I guess with only 8 in a year that it is a case of all the infants together and all the juniors? That leads to a massive spread of ability in one class and makes it tough for the curriculum to be tailored to meet the needs of everyone.

It might be difficult to get a place at the village school if their intake is only 8 and you live 10 minutes drive away.

I will be interested in the responses to this - we are a year behind you in terms of starting school, but I am already thinking about a similar dilemma.

We live in a tiny village just outside Bath - our nearest schools are all in Bath itself but we would have to drive to get to them and that would be extremely difficult due to the fact that the lanes round are village are used as a rat-run into Bath in the mornings. Parking is also impossible around the two nearest schools.

Because of this, our quickest, easiest school run would be to go away from Bath down the little country lanes (which I currently do to take DS to nursery on my work-from-home day). It's a pain in the neck to keep stopping/reversing (hence a massive ranty thread about rude drivers a while ago!) but it would still be about 5 times quicker than trying to drive into Bath. Going this way, there are two village schools within a reasonable distance - both consistently outstanding/good over the last few years. One has an intake of 60 and is sometimes oversubscribed, sometimes not. The other has an intake of 15 and is rarely oversubscribed.

We have a better chance of getting DS into the smaller school and it would be slightly easier to get to. DP is a bit concerned about it being such a small school. DP's mum is very pro the small school (not least because it is near to them so they could occasionally help out which would give me better work options).

I just don't know!

My older children went to a small village school 10 mins away. took in 12 children a year. the oldest was there for 6 years before husbands job meant we relocated. we are going back to area after 4 years away and we are putting youngest child into a bigger school.
both schools have a great ofsted report but feel the smaller school lacked in things like after school clubs, team sports, could be clicky, no sports field, they had to use village playing field.
The bigger school, has loads of afterschool clubs, great music dept, wonderful school trips, they offer one to one if needed.
some of my elder daughters friends found it hard moving to the secondary/grammar school, having been in a school of less than 100.

I'd go for the closest if you feel he'd be equally happy at both.
I would choose a small school if I could, but my DD started at a 2 form entry school this September (60 per year) and she's so happy. I went to a village school and loved knowing everyone, but my super social DD already seems to know millions of kids that are in the older years. We went to the local sunday school this week and I was so happy when a year 6 girl came over and said hello to DD1 and used her name. I didn't think it would be possible in such a big school.
As happy as I am with DDs school (1 mile away), if a place came up at the one at the end of my street I'd move her straightaway. Both outstanding schools and I have another DD to consider and a bump!

So much depends on the individual school. Our children go/went to our local small village school (less than 60 children in total, foundation to year 6) and it's been excellent. The school has a really nice feel to it and everybody knows everybody else. The classes are mixed ages, but I've always seen that as a positive. Yes, there are less facilities, after school activities etc, but I think in our case the positives outweigh the negatives.

From the sounds of his personality I'd go for the larger school. I'd imagine they have a lot more outdoor, and sports facilities like you say-if he's anything like my ds he'll love. The only time I'd go for a really small school is if I had a quiet child that would benefit from a more homely atmosphere

I'd say bigger school. I went to a tiny school where there wasn't enough kids (of similar age) to even have a footy or netball team. Struggled too when I went onto the secondary, was for too closeted and naive despite being one of the most confident girls in the year.

Small schools can be very claustrophobic. If there is any problem with another child or parent there is nowhere to hide. It is you and 7 other parents and him and 7 other children. I know we all have to learn to get along but numbers that small are pretty intense.

The same applies to teaching staff. If you are not keen on a teacher, you may have them for 3 or 4 years of your school life. In a bigger school there is more of a mix.

A larger staff base also means a larger set of skills. Our school is medium sized (about 200 pupils) and the staff share their skills, so if one is good at French he or she goes to all the classes to teach French. If one is great at Art, they go to all the classes to do Art (on top of specialist teacher visits) so the children get better quality input.

Totally agree with Mrs JM. I had a similar choice for dd1 and went with the larger school for the same reasons: better sports facilities, easier transition to high school plus larger friendship groups.

Thanks so much everyone! I'm in such a dilemma still as there are, like people say, advantages and 'disadvantages' to both. I think, with a bigger school I worry he won't get the one to one. Interestingly, the bigger school was a small village school before it relocated to my housing estate a few years ago. The headmistress of the larger school is very positive about the changes (from small to big school) and what they have gained since moving.

I adore the small school and everything looks great but I see that there they don't have as many facilities as the larger school. But, the learning is the most important thing, can a child learn as well in a class of thirty as in a class of 8?!

Children can learn better in a class of 30, as children learn a lot from their peers. Also they have far more chance of meeting children that can become real friends, especially if it is their local community school so they can see them more easily outside school.
Also the bigger school will have more money, which is going to become more important as the financial situation gets worse. A bigger school also has more resources, and probably has TAs. This could be important if at anytime your son has any kind of SEN (or is G and T).
Also how big will the next school be? Moving from a school with 8 in a year to one with 300, could be a bigger shock than from 30 to 300.

Runningwilde Which school are your DC's friends planning to attend? If both schools are 'much of a muchness' then I feel that would be a deciding factor.

DC1 goes to village school - < 30 children, split into P1-3, and P4-7. They are usually taught in these groups, but come together for some projects etc. I attended a similar school and loved it. (and had no problem adjusting to a large urban High School when the time came - if anything I was more confident, having mixed with a wide range of ages/abilities in Primary).

I'm personally less interested in a school that slavishly follows the curriculum (devised by Governent worthies not people dealing with the issues facing Education) than in a school which has the capacity to treat your child as an individual, and fosters a real sense of learning how to get along with people and other such vital 'life' skills.

The scope for flexibility (and personal attention) in the school day is far simpler in a smaller class, I don't imagine a teacher finds that easy in a group of 30.

Like Vernicious I do agree that facilities (including after-school care, clubs, sports etc) are frequently less available in a smaller school but the advantages far outweigh the negatives...what's the current time given over to P.E a week, 2 hours? So not much time on those lovely sports facilities after all?

Ask some parents with children already at either school for their views too.

It wouldn't be a class of 8 though, would it. It would be 8 children in the same year group taught in the same class room as different year groups. Possibly with just one teacher and one TA

VerMicious...apologies.

Send him to the nearest one. If only everyone did that ..........................

Will there only be 8 in his class or will there be mixed classes? He could be a class of 24 but 3 year groups for example. In my school we have a Year 4/5/6 class - I love my job and the kids cope well but it can be tough if you're a Year 4 that struggles. Also socially if you're a bit quirky a small school might be more accepting but you also might not find someone who you click with. In the past, I've had two girls who LOATHED each other and there wasn't the option to separate them that would automatically happen in a larger 2 form entry school (and would have been the best thing for them both! And their teachers lol)

The upside of a small school is the genuine caring, family feel and the number of parents that still come in and do things like listen to readers in Year 6 which never happened in any other larger school I have worked in

I doubt any school will be able to afford to have a class of just 8, it will almost certainly be mixed age groups

I have a similar dilemma so no help. Local one is around 40 children and very restricted in terms of facilities, wrap around care and friendship groups. Very.
Bigger school is around 180 and lovely but is a drive away and would remove DD from the village community to an extent.

Difficult.

elinorbellowed I agree. Locally there are several children that don't attend the village school - including the people that live in 'The Old Schoolhouse - that's attached to the school