catchnent school or not.........?

[maisystar]

just wondered what other people have done in this situation? we live in an ok but not amazing area. the catchment primary school i am happy with (but not ecstatic). the secondary school is dire. (pass rates english 33%. science 35%. maths 62%). attendance is poor. parents seem to be unintersesrd. my son will start primary school sept 2005. there is what seems to be quite good primary and secondary school in a fairly nearby village but would then be dependant on the bus. to get to a really good school would have to allow about an hour at the start and end of the day to travel. unless i win lottery()cant afford to live in better area. and my son will want to play with his friends out of school hours which will be hard if we live the other side of the city. am i being stoopid thinking about secondary school now? just want him to have a good consistent happy education. what have other parents done?

My DS is due to start reception this autumn. Basically, we are going for local okish schools for primary, and we'll worry about secondary later. The thinking is that most people only stay in their houses an average of 7 years, we will have the option of moving when DS is older. I also suspect that the quality of teaching in secondary school is more critical than in primary, in terms of future achievements in life.

The head of the "best" middle school in the city was adament in telling me last year that how kids do academically is most dependent on parental support & involvement. Well, we can do something about that. The head that the importance of parental support cut across social classes, too, outweighingthe effects of things like social class itself. That kind of makes sense to me... I know a lot of high achievers who came out of modest backgrounds with parents who may not have been that educated themselves, but they did have parents who gave them the right start in life, good self-esteem, ambition, praise, encouragement, etc.

Parental involvement is essential. Almost without exception the kids who do well have parents who are interested in them, and put a value on education (even if they have had little themselves). Another key factor is attendence. Children that I teach in the top sets seldom miss school. The further you go down the sets the more common poor attendence becomes (not talking about missing school for real problems but rather usinf a sniffle as an excuse).

Send him where you feel he will be happy. And to be honest (and I'm speaking as a secondary teacher here) the standard of primary education is key. If a child come into secondary with good habits of work then they are easy to work with; a delight. I would worry more about primary rather than secondary....give me a child until he is 7 and all that.

Our son goes to a primary in a different LEA. I thought the school run would be terrible but its 25 mins in the morning and 15/20 in the afternoon.

I chose it because it was the most suitable schoo,for him. Our catchment school has an excellent reputation and very good SATS, but my son is autistic and they have a reputation for hounding out children with Aspergers- I didn't think they's cope with non - verbal autism!

It's been the right choice. We're very happy with the school. Obviously the friends thing isn't really an issue for him, but it will be for ds2 and we plan to send him there as well (he doesn't have SN). Fingers crossed they have a place for him.....

We sent 2 of ours to primary schools 17-22 miles away (2 different schools) because we were unhappy with the school they were at & couldn't get them in anywhere else. This involved a 45 min drive each end of the day & cost a small fortune in diesel & car-servicing!

It paid off because both then passed the 11+ & got into the Grammar school where both are doing well.

The friends thing wasn't really a problem. Obviously it isn't the same as having friends round the corner but they had people over in the evenings or weekends/holidays, or they went to them. It just involved a bit of co-operation with lifts etc. Tends to mean sleepovers rather than an hours play (although we did that too) but it isn't insurmountable. Put it this way, if it's that important to you, it's do-able.

hi, am fairly sure he would get in. is 5 min walk to bus stop then 10 min bus journey then 5-10 mins walk to the school. would be dependant on the bus tho which is only half hourly so if bus didnt come he would be late for school. catchment school is 5 mins walk. cant drive(hav failed test many times:0) and cant afford to run a car anyway. btw catchment school is huuge 550+ pupils, villiage school is about 200 apparently.

TBH, small is not necessarily best. The school I moved mine from was only small (240 ish). One of the best primary schools here is enormous. If you have only one class per year group (& at ours the classes were mixed years as well) & your child & the teacher don't hit it off you are stuck. At least with a bigger school there is the chance of a level move.

Best thing you can do is visit both schools to get the feel of them. You can always send them to the local primary then move them further afield at 11.

Maisy star I would agree that you should visit botha nd get a feel for them. But I would tend to prefer a nearby svchool at primary age, unless it is really awful. It has been really wonderful for my chidren having friends in all the surroiunding streets and good for my social life too, I feel so much a part of the area now. It is handy if you need to swap picking up or dropping off, and the children can easily play together after school without complicated arrangements. My eldest is now at secondary several miles away which is fine as he takes jhimseldf there but it does make socialising harder and I would noyt have done it at primary stage.

Maisystar - just remembered that you live in same city as me. My DD starts school in September 2006. Which schools are you considering (obviously I understand if you want to keep it secret on here) although you can OM me too if you want. I teach (secondary) around the area, and my friend is a primary supply teacher within the area too so may have some 'inside' info for you???