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Education

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Original poster

Advice needed over small vs large primary school (Please help!!!)

13 replies

luceymay · 22/02/2007 18:49

My son will be starting primary in Jan - Easter 08. Our local school is V small, (48 children), with only 3 classes which are obviously mixed. It is within walking distance and when visited seems pleasant. It has class sizes of between 13 - 18 and good facilities e.g.: IT room, its own kitchen, large playground and field etc, etc. Earlier this week I went to visit another school which I am slightly out of catchment for. It has over 350 pupils and class sizes of 25 ? 32. It has much better extracurricular activities available, (music, French, clubs etc). I saw the head of both schools and the smaller school was nice but I didn?t leave feeling anything spectacular about the school. The larger schools head was so passionate and had the same core values and principles I consider to be important in a school and I came away V impressed by him.

My question is do I go with the school where the head ?sold? the school even though I will sacrifice the small classes etc or do I go for the local convenient school where the head may well hold the same views as the other head but didn?t really show this. Will my son get ?lost in the system? of a larger school and benefit more from the small one, or will he be cocooned from reality and be better off experiencing the realities of life at a larger school.
This is all so new to me and I just feel like this is such a major decision I don?t want to mess it up! I probably am making this far more complicated that it needs to be!!
Any advice would be much appreciated!!!!!

OP posts:

interstellar · 22/02/2007 18:54

hhm, hard one but don't be fooled that smaller means morecosseting/protective environment.Also,at bigger school there are more children and therefore more likelihood of yr son meeting and making like minded friends.

Themis · 22/02/2007 19:01

A difficult one, a larger school may get more funding and have better facilities .

I wouldn't be put off by the class sizes as they will no doubt have class room assistants etc

I wouldn't consider the school on the basis of the head alone, you never know he may apply for a nother job this summer and disaapear by next Easter.

I dont know how your LEA sorts school out , whether they have catchment area or admissions areas ( which can vary from year to year) . Also when you apply is it an equal weighting system on your choices i.e if you have three choices of school then they are all considered or do you have a preference system where your first choice is the only one that they will really consider. If the latter is the case and you put down the further school and you dont get in then you may not get any school that you want and could end up quite some distance.

If you are considering the further school then really think about the reality of you getting in there and the consequences if you dont.

Twiglett · 22/02/2007 19:02

personally I'd go for the larger one .. which to me is actually a small school

roisin · 22/02/2007 19:11

My boys got to a large state primary school (c.470 children 3-11) and it is fantastic. IMO the most important thing about a primary school is the HT, so if you feel on his wavelength, that is very important.

A school this size is not big, if it is well-managed. Our school is very much a community, and all the children know each other, and the HT knows all children by name within a few weeks of them starting. They certainly do not get lost in a large school.

My boys have 30 children in every class, but this does not seem to be a problem, as they have lots of 'extra' staff - TAs, literacy support, non-teaching HT, non-teaching SENCO, deputy heads have extra mgt time too, specialist teachers (part-time) in IT, music, and languages. A larger school has economies of scale in many things, and if it's oversubscribed then they can guarantee they'll be full, and therefore guarantee the budget, which makes things a lot easier.

Another advantage of a large school is that they have plenty of peers from which to find friends on a similar wavelength.

hana · 22/02/2007 19:12

something else I'd consider is how you'd get to school
do you really want to drive tos chool for the next however many eayrs?

hana · 22/02/2007 19:12

there are 2 threads on this!
thought I was going crazy as I thought I had replied
duhhh

Original poster

luceymay · 22/02/2007 19:25

Sorry, I posted it in education and then thought it was better off in primary !!

OP posts:

doglover · 22/02/2007 21:38

We moved our 2 dds from 100 pupil primary school to 650 pupil school and have no regrets. There are far more opportunites for extra-curricular clubs and the specialist teachers bring their own expertise to their subjects. The 4 class teachers at the small school were great and very hardworking but just couldn't offer the breadth of experience that my daughters now enjoy. More pupils also encourages a wider view of 'life' in all its varied guises!

merlotmama · 22/02/2007 22:26

Another thought:

If the small school has only 3 classes, that means your child will only have 3 teachers, an average of 2 1/3 years being spent with each. Now, this is fine if they are fine. However, if there's a duff one, your child is stuck with that person for a loooong time.

A friend of mine had to move her child from a small to a larger school farther away, for this reason.

The same problem could happen with the children. It'll be Hobson's Choice re. friends and if there's a clash of personalities....

There again, you need to think about all the commmuting to the larger school.

Good luck with your decision...not easy!

mummyloveslucy · 13/02/2008 19:34

I suppose it depends on the childs personality too. If he is shy then maybe the small classes would be better.
Surely small classes means more attention and better results?

tiredAli · 13/02/2008 20:09

I teach in a small school at the mo. Have taught in both large and small and each have their advantages/disadvantages. Small schools do not necessarily have better results but small class sizes mean more attention for your children certainly. No cocooning from real life in our place either! I love the school I'm in, I know all the children and it feels like a very caring environment - I'd want my son to go there. Your gut feeling is what is important, heads are important but do consider that they move on and you could get a right numpty (as happened in my previous school). If your ds likes large crowds and being with lots of others then a big school may be right, if he likes small close knit groups and developing special relationships then the smaller environment will suit. But really - both kinds of personality will be catered for in both schools!! Not being much help really! Go for another visit to both if you want and don't listen to the head this time - look at the kids, classrooms and teachers and see what that tells you.

critterjitter · 13/02/2008 21:02

I'd go for the large one - more opportunities to interact with a real mix of kids/ ideas etc. Small schools can be cliquey......

lovetIngles2 · 13/02/2008 21:57

I'm moving my ds's this September from their very small village school(75 total) to the larger one in town(300)
It has been a great experience for them at Infants level but now I think it's too small, there is not enough funding so the dc with SEN in their class are very disruptive as there is no TA's,121, there is not enough choice of friends, and ds1 who is exceptionally bright is v.v.v bored as he has had the same teacher for 3 years! and my infant child and junior child are in the same class and even sit next to each other! Please do not assume they will get a better education due to the small numbers. I have found this not to be the case.
Afterthought,..I don't know if you have the same situation as us but the secondary is ENORMOUS! like 1500 pupils enormous,...think it would be a hell of a shock going from 75 to 1500!

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