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Original poster

Massive school 25 min walk away vs tiny lovely school 1hr walk away??

102 replies

Mummywantsaweewee · 06/12/2021 10:16

Thinking about where to enroll my 2 y/o when the time comes. The school closest to me is a massive primary which combines 4 villages children in one. 25 minute walk to get there (uphill all the way so chances are it will take a bit longer than 25mins)
A bit further away is a lovely small school very similar to the one I attended as a child max 30 kids from reception to yr6. Am keen for my children to have the same experience as me, tiny school so like a second family but it is a bit further away, about an hours walk or 7 mins by car.
Am I mad to consider the one that’s an hours walk away? I’m sure kids walked that far or further in years gone by and I’m sure it will be a better school experience.

OP posts:
Billlius · 06/12/2021 10:17

Do you have a car?

GingerAndTheBiscuits · 06/12/2021 10:20

What chance do you have of getting into the smaller school given you live so far away?

Bettybantz · 06/12/2021 10:20

An hour each way will be miserable in winter, especially with a tired reception aged child in tow. I can see the appeal of a smaller school but I’d want a fall back to get there.

Popetthetreehugger · 06/12/2021 10:21

What if child ill ? It will take you and hour to pick up and an hour walk with a poorly child back ! Unless your happy to carry on with a buggy, too far . Also bigger school more options?

CovidCorvid · 06/12/2021 10:21

Crazy. You would spend 4 hours a day walking.

bassackwards · 06/12/2021 10:21

I wouldn't dream of making anyone walk for 2 hrs every day just to get to and from school but a 7 min car ride is obviously fine..

SandysMam · 06/12/2021 10:22

An hours walk is too far twice a day (and back again for you!). 7 mins in a car is fine so if you’re not planning to walk, then it doesn’t really matter re walking distance!

campion · 06/12/2021 10:22

7 minutes by car is nothing but an hour's walk each way for a 4/5year old? Seriously? Not sure which years gone by you're thinking of.

Tiny schools aren't necessarily better. They can be very restricted in terms of teaching and not stimulating enough for some children. I'd go with the nearer, bigger school.

skgnome · 06/12/2021 10:22

Do you have a car?
Are you willing to commit to driving?
Is there a bus?
An hours walk, that’s an hour in the morning and another in the afternoon…. Yes an hour walk in nice weather is one thing, but winter, rain after a full days school maybe a bit too much?
What age would you be comfortable letting them walk, by themselves for an hour? Before that you’re either walking quite a bit… or driving…
Also you say 7 mins by car… cycling?
Again, unless you have very fit, keen walkers, you may need to drive them back for the first couple of years… or bus halfway?

SilverHairedCat · 06/12/2021 10:22

Do you have any other methods of of transport? Is cycling an option?

What will you do on days like last week when it's 60mph gusts of wind and torrential rain? A small child will struggle walking an hour like that twice a day, no?

SirChenjins · 06/12/2021 10:22

You say 7 minutes by car - does that mean you'd have the option of driving? I wouldn't be walking 4 hours a day to get my young child to and from school.

TheSpiral · 06/12/2021 10:22

I think you would be mad to do the hours walk, yes. Doesn't that mean four hours a day walking for you - there and back, there and back? When you say an hour's walk is that at child pace? It's too long a walk for a four year old every day I would say. If you are thinking of car it is doable though.

We had a slightly similar choice, except our nearby school was 10/15 minutes walk (still weren't in catchment though!) and the school we thought was lovely (and was very like the one I attended as a child) was about 40 minutes walk child-pace. We invested in a bike with a trailer and did that for the first two or three years, then we did a car share with someone who lived nearby.

oneglassandpuzzled · 06/12/2021 10:23

IF you can be local, I would recommend that -- for the times when you have to dash to the school for whatever reason. And it's easier for after-school socialising with friends.

Aroundtheworldin80moves · 06/12/2021 10:24

30 kids per class, or 30 total?

I'd be worried they plan on shutting a school with only 30kids. My DM went to a school like that, only girl in her year. The nearest person in her age was her younger sister.

Original poster
Mummywantsaweewee · 06/12/2021 10:25

I do have a car and I know the school accepts kids from even further away than me (probably keen to get as many kids as possible to stay open).
Was thinking of before everyone had a car and children had to walk to school!

OP posts:
Aroundtheworldin80moves · 06/12/2021 10:25

@Aroundtheworldin80moves

30 kids per class, or 30 total?

I'd be worried they plan on shutting a school with only 30kids. My DM went to a school like that, only girl in her year. The nearest person in her age was her younger sister.

Posted too early. She said it was very lonely.
Accidentgirlfriend · 06/12/2021 10:25

When my kids were young we lived about a 20 min walk from school , up hill all the way …
I hated it ! The kids hated it !

My daughter moaned all the way , her little legs were tired . The snow days were awful , we were soaked by the time we got to school in the rain .
Then all the way home she would moan she needed a wee .

The only good thing was we could go a couple of different ways but the kids still moaned . They do remember those days even now .

An hour walk , no way !!! Remember you would need to also get home and go back for school pick up which I dreaded . 4 hours a day walking backwards and forwards ?
It’s gets very boring very quickly .

luverlybubberly · 06/12/2021 10:27

If you take an hour to walk it then you need to assume that your child will take 1.5-2 hours to walk it. Is there a younger child to worry about ?

My kids went to a primary 25 minute walk away (about a mile) and that was hard enough- especially on rainy days. I could walk it in 15 but on crappy days when they were tired, it could take more like 40 minutes- especially in Reception when they aren't used to the distance and are tired after school.

Personally I'd never pick a school with 30 kids. Is it economically viable ? The limited pool of friends make it problematic if your child doesn't get along with one child. Plus you've got the problem of going from y6 to secondary. Our local secondaries are 240 per year and that was shocking enough for my kids who went to schools that were 30 or 60 per year.

Original poster
Mummywantsaweewee · 06/12/2021 10:28

@Aroundtheworldin80moves I was the only kid in my year too - and that schools still open amazingly!
@TheSpiral thanks - bike with a trailer a good idea and something else to consider!

OP posts:
Notonthestairs · 06/12/2021 10:28

It's what happens when they forget their water bottle, PE kit etc etc. What about play dates?

I wouldn't make a reception aged child walk 2 hours a day. Mine could barely stay awake after school during the first couple of terms - they'd ask to go to bed by 6!

My kids went to a one form entry school. Excellent in many ways but extremely limiting when it came to friendships. They also struggled with funding some elements.

ginghamstarfish · 06/12/2021 10:30

So you have a car and would drive the 7 minutes - why mention the 1 hour walk? Clearly no-one would expect their small child to walk this far to school, alone or with parent.

Benjaminsniddlegrass · 06/12/2021 10:31

One of my school mum friends has a Babboe which she uses to bring her daughter's to school/nursery - maybe consider similar?

We live similar distance from our primary school, we are in a rural area and this is our closest primary school, we couldn't walk it if we wanted to as it's along a busy A road, so we drive every day.

PineappleWilson · 06/12/2021 10:32

We looked at a tiny village school for our DC but decided against it. Your experience may have been good, but your DC's may not - if there's too small a range of children your DC can feel isolated if they can't easily make friends. I'd go with the larger school. More children and also more facilities. The village school we looked at didn't do day trips as they couldn't afford coach hire and they no longer had a staff member with a minibus licence, and they didn't have swimming lessons, despite them being in the curriculum, because they couldn't arrange it.

Original poster
Mummywantsaweewee · 06/12/2021 10:32

Thanks everyone for your views so far - neither school is exactly close by and both involve a longish walk so just wanted other views /experiences! Problem is where I live doesn’t have its own school - kids round here go to either school and I’m not sure which is best!

OP posts:
SoftPillow · 06/12/2021 10:33

It's so weird that you mention the walking time.

Our school is 5 hour walk, or a 20 minute drive. Clearly I only ever mention the driving time.

Rather than focusing on giving your children what you had, I'd focus on giving them what they need.

Small school doesn't necessarily mean better school or happier children.