Village school vs town school

[BeTheChangeYouWantToSee]

Need to make the school application for my eldest to enter foundation. I'm torn between a traditional c of e tiny village school (think orchards, 20 per class, very intimate and endearing school with fantastic head and great staff) or a greatly impressive and very progressive primary in the town. (Open plan classrooms, great links and sharing with adjoined secondary, fab ict, music, after school provisions, class sizes 30, more social and cultural diversity-this is quite important for me, think it's good for children to be around their community and understand differences)

Each obviously has it's benefits, I'm just so torn. It feels like a huge cross roads which could determine and change so much of my children's future perspectives. I realise how lucky I am to have this choice... Help! What are your experiences of these types of schools.

It's a bit of a tough choice. There are some things to consider:

How far away is each school?
Are you C of E? (not very important but could be a factor)
How old does each school go to? (Year 3, 6 or 8?)
Does either school have a waiting list?
What are the results like at the end of schooling?
Are you working and do you need after school care?
How many other children do you have, how does that tie in with after school care, would your younger DCs get places at the the same school as DC1?

I would be tempted to go for the smaller school because:
-class size is very important to me
-the teachers are great (in your words)
-sounds more socially supportive

However: if the village school goes to Year 8 I would not choose it because 20 children in a yeargroup(?) or class gets a bit stale around 10/11/12 but is generally nice if you are leaving in year 6.

Also I am not a big fan of open plan classrooms.

The benefits of the larger schools are obvious but bear in mind that usually after school clubs etc are not that great until the children are Year 4 or so.

I can't really comment on social/cultural/ethnic diversity, this point has never been very important to me (is that bad?). I have found that if, in general, there are a few children of each minority everybody is forced to mix but if there are two large groups then sometimes there can be a self-imposed divide but this is usually at secondary level not primary and is certainly not universal.

Look into the pastoral care side of things, ask how each school stretches particularly bright children and how they support underachieving children.

So for your question on experiences in these types of schools:

For primary, I went to a small all girls school, between 3 and 21 girls to a class from R to Year 6, when I proceeded to the attached senior school. It was a lovely, small school with great teaching and a good music curriculum, P.E. department and library. I loved the school. It did have good ethnic mix for the area (very white neighbourhood, the school attracted a lot of asian families and, when I was in year 1, the only black girl within 20 miles... we were all very jealous that she didn't have to wear sunscreen!)

I don't have any family members in primary school at the moment, but my neighbours have are sending their four younger children (two sets of neighbours) to the local primary which is co-ed and has 900 children, classes up to 32. They all seem happy enough and the children are doing quite well though the school has a very mixed reputation around Years 5-8 as to academic achievement.

This has turned into a very long answer! Really, just ask around, ask parents at the schools, and then pick one (or can you apply to both?) it seems both choices are perfectly good and it won't matter either way.

I went to a tiny village school. I would never ever send my child to one. Because the school was small all the children got clumped together for things so therefore the elder children were held back more. When we all went to secondary school there was a massive difference between children from larger schools and children from the smaller village schools. On the flip side, we were far far more innocent than the kids from larger schools!

DD went to a smallish village school and it was brilliant. It was outstanding in every way and offered a rounded education with lots of after school activities. It had high academic standards and the pastoral care was great.
There wasn't much ethnic diversity, but the area in general has one of the lowest levels of ethnic diversity anyway so I couldn't do much about that.

I'd be torn like you because the little school sounds good for the infant school stage but the bigger school sounds better for the junior school stage.

I think I would go for the bigger school overall though as good after school care gives you as a family many more options and the links will give a head start when the secondary years come around (which they do all to quickly in my experience)

I was brought up going to a tiny village school (7 kids in my year group) and was slightly terrified when my DS ended up with a place at a massive primary school in the closest town (when we moved house between YR & Y1).
He's in a year of 90 (3 classes).
We couldn't get into the village school as it was full so ended up in the town.
Mostly it's been a very positive experience.
The negatives are mainly around the school run - I have a lot of driving to do & the unavoidable school parking issues are massive due to sheer numbers (nearly 500 kids)
Positives - DS is bright and as they have 3 teachers per year they can 'set' and respond very well to pushing him where needed, correspondingly one of his friends who struggles gets attention at his level too. DS goes to another class for phonics/literacy/maths which was odd for him to start with (his old school didn't do this) but works very well.
DSs school has fab after school clubs & wrap round care for all ages - the sheer numbers mean that the maths/logistics stack up.
The school is aware of it's size and works well in splitting itself into smaller chunks for plays/assemblies etc - the kids don't seem bothered by this.
The school doesn't seem to go on as many trips as his old school but I'm not sure if this is logistics or more because it's in an area of high social depravation.
DSs small old school had no male staff (there weren't that many staff), thus one has a good mix which feels more balanced.

I have just moved one of my DCs from a small village school of 45ish kids to next town school of 250 kids. He had moved into year 3, and I felt the teacher (who he'd have for 4 years) was not very dynamic, and would not interest or push him enough. He's only been at new school for 3 days so far, but all seems good. Very dynamic head, and excellent teachers. Plus it will prepare the transition to secondary school better.

Do they feed to the same secondary?

Do they have friends from nursery going to either?

We do village primary and it's lovely but town not an option for us

Quality of teaching is the main thing

Better than shiny ict at primary

Which is your catchment school? Can you walk to either? Mine went to the catchment school in walking distance, which is a large town primary. We moved to the local town from a village when my son was four. I have friends with children who went to small village schools and on the whole I'm glad my children went to the bigger town school, which was excellent.

You tiny toddler yet to enter foundation will become a primary child and a preteen much faster than you realise, and unless changing at end KS1 is realistic, those years last longer.

What sports, drama, music and extra curricular activities does the smaller school offer for the older children?

What pastoral care does the bigger school offer?

I agree with wonkylegs. My first choice is a 90 intake school which has all the upsides that it brings. My daughter is in nursery there and thrives - I a class if 45 with 3 teachers. Reception will be 30 per class. The size means hugs number of extra curricular etc. I am very pro a diverse intake too.

One of my main things is that they have more people to make friends with - in a small school I would worry that she would be on a class of eg 10 quiet girly girls when shd us a boisterous tomboy !

What is your child's personality like? Are they more suited to one school or the other? DH went to a tiny village school with two classrooms and enjoyed being a big fish in a small pond. Maybe this is the right option for your child?

My DD went to the local larger infant school (90 a year). They were so much more self assured at 7 than the village school children who joined them in year 3 at the junior school. Mine had been in a class of 30 but the teachers were superb. They were better taught than the village school children who seemed like babies on arrival at the junior school in year 3 . Obviously that is what their parents wanted, but the children from the outstanding larger infant school had a broader and more imaginative education. There seem to be parents who think their children will never cope in a larger school. The vast majority do and it is better preparation for later. At junior school, (90 per year) we could not imagine not having a full orchestra, choir, lots of sports teams, clubs and friends. Very small schools can be a small bubble but those within the bubble will need to break out at some point and join the wider world.