DS is about to go into y5 so we need to start looking at secondary schools for him.
We are very fortunate to live in an area with plenty of choice.
School A is a well regarded grammar school. It's not super selective, but well regarded. It's academic but also sporty. It's about a 20/30 minute bus ride away. On a bad day it may take 45 mins. It's single sex and people travel from the nearby cities to go there and travel up to an hour. About 50% of people come from our of county.
School B is out local state school. It's consistently one of the best in the country. It's a 15 minute walk away or a 10 min cycle. It's a pleasant walk. It's very well regarded and lots of people move to live nearby. It's considered to be an inclusive school. Most children walk and live nearby as it has a small catchment area. Behaviour is good and it's as academic as state schools get.
DS is very bright on paper but has ADHD and struggles to apply himself/focus. I'm confident he would be able to pass the 11+ with minimal tutoring but I expect the reality is that he would be towards the bottom of the grammar school purely because of his focus. His ability is good but his performance is just above average.
Part of me thinks if he can pass the grammar test then he should go there. But another part of me thinks it might be better to be top middle of the pack somewhere else and have the life balance of walking to school and living near his friends. Grateful for all opinions!