Choosing the right school

[Katherine]

I am really torn between 2 schools in our area, but of which have perks and cons and was wondering qhat other mums made of the options.

School 1 - large village school supported by church so loads of facilities. Starts at 4 so DS could have started already but he was only 4 in August so I held him back. He will start at Easter in reception yr. Excellent reputation. "The school to be at" if you know what I mean. Cons - about 20 mins away. Friends will come from a much wider area. Feeds into 3 secondary schools so who knows where his freinds will end up. Told they are a bit busy to deal with problems whatever this means (by a mum whose kids don't go there).

School 2. Much smaller local village school - think they only have one classroom. 5 mins up the road. Children will come from local farms and village so friends will live nearby. Cons - because its so small far fewer facilities. Start next Sept when all children start.

School 2 also has advantage of being closer to nursery where DD will start at Easter. If DS goes to no2 then they will have a term together at nursery.

I simply cannot choose between them. DS is very shy so will probably so well in a small school but worried about the lack of facilities. Do I drive the extra distance for the sake of the reputation. Always feel a bit skeptical about these things as schools can change so quickly.

How do I choose? What is most important?

I have a similar dilemma, Katherine. 1 school has 1 intake a year, the other has 3 I think. Small school closer, 2nd one still just about walkable. Small school = less facilities. Both are next to each other in the league tables.

I'm going to go with whichever one I feel most comfortable with. We've looked at the smaller one and have yet to visit the larger one. The smaller one just didn't seem quite right so the visit to the larger one wil, hopefully, make my mind up one way or another. There's a 3rd school a short drive away which we could consider if neither of these 2 seem right.

In the end, I think our decision will be based on our gut feeling about which school is right. Both the ones we are considering plus the 3rd possibility are one after the other in the league tables so that is not a consideration.

Can I suggest (teacher hat on) that you go with the one that 'feels' right, there is an atmosphere in a school you can pick up on really easily.
We live in a rural area and the school my children will (eventually) go to is small, only 3 teachers, and not a lot of facilities. But, to be honest, the staff are so good that I don't care that they will be sharing computers etc.
Give me great teachers over lots of 'stuff' any day. Just my opinion, cos you don't mention what the staff in each school are like very much... suppose you don't know, I used to work in the same schools secondary dept so I know what is going on.

Have you had a look at their results on www.dfes.gov.uk/performancetables/

This may sway your judgement. If the results are similar go with your heart. R

Have to agree with the previous excellent advice...trust your instinct. I looked at 4 schools for dd's. Didn't go for the one highest in the league tables, or the one with the 'best' facilities, but the one where all the staff, inc. secretary and Head felt right - warm, genuine, interested, caring. Now, after both our own experience, and talking to others, I know it was absolutely the right choice. Dd's love school, which, IMO, is the most important factor, and are thriving. It's small, so everyone knows everyone else, the older kids look after, and out for the little ones, and parents are very involved. Go with your gut feeling!

Katherine, I've said this on another thread but my Dad was a teacher and told me when I asked him what I should be looking for in a first school for ds "choose the one where you think he'll have the most fun". I did and I think it was the right choice for the right reasons. I agree with the others, trust your instinct about the feel of the place and sod the league tables. Good luck.

www - thankyou for a wonderful way of saying what I was trying to say! Do you mind if I use that when talking to others about it?

susanmt, use away!

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We've had experience of large (450+) and small schools (28) and for us small is beautiful, because of the wonderful teachers. As Susan says, it's the quality of staff that counts, not the facilities.

Robin is quite right in saying that smaller schools can't offer so much variety in friendships etc but all our local village schools are teamed into a cluster group. They do lots of activities together and so chldren get to know others. Also, if the school is very small I think it's a good idea to meet other children via ballet, Rainbows or whatever your child likes to do.

For info on village schools, look at the Small Schools site.

And a school with a strong PTA shows that the parents are interested in the school and what it does and helping it to fundraise.

Katherine, as well as organising a proper visit, why not go to some of their social and fundraising events, if you have time before your final decision. Some events, like Christmas fairs, are going to be open to the public. Others, like the Christmas play, might be for parents and friends only - however there's no harm in asking if you can come along. The events will give you an idea of how the children behave off duty when they don't know you are a 'visitor' and if the school is a fun one it should hopefully show here. Also you'll get to see the parents and, if you're lucky, chat to them direct about the school.

Good luck.

I agree with Batters - definitely visit the school. We moved this year, and read endless ofsted reports and prospectuses, and visited some schools. It was definitely the visit that was the most important. We knew immediately that it was the right school for our boys - some people might have preferred other schools - some had slightly better SATs results, but we liked this school the best. We had to go on a waiting list, and only heard on the last day of term that there was a space! But the last 4 weeks have definitely confirmed my belief that it's a fantastic school, and the right one for my ds.

Happy hunting!

PS It seems a bit late to be applying. Have both these schools got spaces?

KMG - Noah has space a place as the larger school and could have started this September but I felt he was a bit young and asked to wait until Easter. The other school is so small there will be no problems. I must stress that the "larger" school is still only smallish with a 160 pupils in all. I find it so hard to choose as both schools seem very good. One has the better reputation but I know that doesn't necessaily mean much. One is very close to a tip which bothers me a bit. Both seem to offer plenty of out of school activities etc.

It just seems such a huge choice to make. No sooner do I decide on one than something else comes up to make me question my descision. The problem is not so much which one to choose as which one to reject if you see what I mean.

We went for a walk near the larger school this weekend and I have to say it looked wonderful. Peeping in the windows and looking and the gardens was inspiring. I half wished he was already going there, but I suspect that most schools will look appealing with the pictures etc on the walls.

I am trying to pin DH down to a time so we can visit both schools together, if I wasn't waiting for him I'd have visited long before now. I'm sure once I walk in the doors it will hit me which is the right school.

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Hi - I wanted to revive this thread because the question is very similar to my own current dilemma. Katherine - may I ask what you decided and how has it turned out?
I'm asking because we are househunting at the moment and we are moving to Derbyshire (isn't that your area, Katherine? I remember a picture of your house on another thread!). We don't know the area and obviously our choice of house is very much tied to finding a school. Ds is currently in a village school of 150 and this seems a good size (he started in a big three form entry in London, spent a year there before our first move). However, there are few village schools of this size and they're in the expensive villages - so we are looking round at cheaper villages and there, most of the schools are around 50 or so, only a couple of classes etc. It's not just the quality of education that concerns me, because I can see how that could be equally good, if different, but how we, and he, as incomers, would fit in at a school that small? Is it easier, or more difficult to make friends? Do they mix across the age range and sex divide for friends? How does working across the age range matter? It also occurs to me that if there are only three teachers in a school and you have one that's no good, that could really affect your education as you could have them for years. Being in the school with the village, being able to walk there, is quite important to us, but is that so for others?
Any advice, suggestions or experiences would be welcome! Thanks.

Inkpen, I think it depends on the village.

Some of the villages not too far from here (I'm midway between Nottingham and Derby) have a fairly fluid population I think e.g. new services being set up at East Midlands airport, DHL staff being transferred, new pilots moving in, and the village schools are prob quite accepting. One partic school that my friends children go to is raved about but it finishes at 9yo whereupon they transfer to a not-so-popular school in a bigger town (or go private).

I do know some people who have lived in villages for years complaining about new unaffordable-for-those-who-grew-up-in-the-village housing being built in their villages (and campaigning against it even) but equally I haven't seen them being obnoxious to people who move in. Perhaps it's because most people who move to villages here are around most of the time, rather than shooting off into London to work and only appearing at the weekend.

If you want to be accepted, I think it's important to show your face around the village - use the local shop/PO when you can, make friends with the WI, pop into the church hall when they have something on, drink at the pub, etc.

Mind you, having said all that, villages are not my thing - I love the community idea and have experienced it via friends for years but the difficulties of finding babysitters can be enough to put anyone off!

Thanks SueW. Another Notts/Derbys mumsnetter! Anyone else know what small village schools are like?

A friend of mine said she wouldn't have sent hers to a tiny school because of the bad teacher-stuck-with-them-for-years situation.
No experience of my own yet though.

Mine started off at a small village school because I liked the "family" atmosphere. The downside was mixed-age classes covering 2 or more year groups, & also if your child doesn't get on with a particular teacher you are stuffed.
In our case, they built an enormous housing estate next to the school, which then increased too fast. DD started with just 3 classes covering ages 4- 11 (& one of them taught by the Head). By the time she left at 11 there were 8 classes. She's now Y12 & that school has 12 classes..!
It soon lost its nice atmosphere & we moved the others out after DD left. Not only that, the incomers got priority over the locals & there was a lot of nastiness.
Having said that, DS3 is at a village school of about 200 kids with just 1 form per year group. He started Y3 in a class of 34 but it's been a wonderful school & he loves it. The best way to check out a school is to visit & trust your gut instinct. If you don't feel it's "your" school when you walk in, DON'T choose it, however nice the teachers or buildings. (It's a bit like buying a house).

Sorry, I've just gone back & read the earlier posts & realise I've just repeated what everyone else said! With the mixed-age classes, DD found she did EXACTLY the same work for years 5 & 6 and was bored stiff. Also the bright kids in Y4 repeated their extension work in Y5. it was all a bit of a shambles by then.