Help deciding between two schools: Great school but far vs nearby school with mixed reviews

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Hi,
We’re a family relocating to the UK from abroad and are currently facing a difficult school decision. I’d really appreciate thoughts from other parents who’ve gone through similar situations.
We have two children, aged 7 (Year 3) and 3 (preschool), and both have received offers from School A — a private school that we really like. The facilities, class size, and teaching philosophy align perfectly with what we’re looking for.
However, we unexpectedly found housing further away, and now the school is 13km from home. According to Google Maps, this commute can take up to 40 minutes one way during peak times. My husband won’t be able to assist with drop-offs or pick-ups, so I’ll be doing all the driving on my own. Since the younger one is too young for the school shuttle, that’s not an option either for now. With two small children, I worry about the daily cost in time, energy, and car expenses. It also limits how much I can do during the day while they’re at school.
On the other hand, School B is just 2km from home — a much easier commute. However, it has a lot of negative reviews on Mumsnet, which is giving me pause. Additionally, the school has an immersion program with around 30% of the instruction in French. My younger child may adapt naturally to this, but I’m concerned about my older one, who would be joining Year 3. Most of the children already have 2 years of French, and she doesn’t speak French or English fluently yet (we speak another language at home). I also don’t speak French myself, so helping her at home would be challenging. While the bilingual aspect could be a long-term advantage, I worry that it might be too much too soon, especially during a big international transition.
Since we’ve never lived in the UK before, I’d love to hear what other parents think. Is it worth enduring the long daily commute for a school that feels like the right fit? Or is it more important to prioritize location and convenience, especially during the early years? If you’ve had experience with French immersion programs or similar moves, your insights would be especially helpful.
Thank you so much in advance!

I would do everything I could to be closer to school A, even if that meant sacrificing a bedroom or garden space. Failing that, I'd go for school A and look at moving asap to be closer.

If you can't get any closer to school A surely there are other schools you could look at other than school B? It would be a lot to put on your children, especially your eldest to undertake such a huge move and then expect them to speak another language whilst also learning English.

I think it might be a bit much to drop them into two new languages, new house, new country at once so I’d be looking at school A. Also, in England 40mins isn’t actually that long a commute.

Are you talking about London or sw London? If so almost every prep school has spaces so find a school nearer to the house you want. If school B is Hampton court house then approach with caution and look at some of the MANY prep schools near by.