Secondary school choices, house move and catchment worries for Year 4 son

[Blueskybay]

I’m really struggling with secondary school choices:

We’d like to move house as we’d like a garden. My son is academic and loves sport. He takes music lessons but isn’t overly musical. He will need to walk to school daily but we also need to stay walking distance to my daughter’s primary school. He’s finishing Year 4 so we need to decide soon!

• Closest school: 5 min walk (but we want to move to a nicer area with more space). Good ofsted but reports of disruptive behaviour. Results below average. No post-16 provision. School facilities are good (building is only 20 years old) with spacious sports pitches. All my son’s friends are likely to go here.

• Next closest: 35 minute walk. Very good by all accounts (Good ofsted but some outstanding) though quite strict. It has post-16 provision. New school (5 years so nice building). Little onsite space for sports. 10% spaces go to highest scoring on those who sit a music test and school is more music specialist. We aren’t in the first priority area so would probably need to move to get in. The area doesn’t really have any roads we’d want to move to, or those that we may consider are extremely limited/ risky as on edge of area or in outer priority area or they have other major drawbacks. My son likely wouldn’t know anyone going there.

• Furthest: Very good academically, has post-16 provision. Some reports of bullying. Great headteacher but changing next year. Little sports space but they can walk to another pitch nearby. Really hard to get into and we’d have to stretch ourselves very hard to afford a house in the right place and it would still be a huge risk that we wouldn’t get in. Still a 35min walk if we moved closer due to having to go a long way around because of a river. My son likely wouldn’t know anyone going to the school. Some reports it’s a bit split in terms of two main areas the kids come from, which we don’t live in either.

• Private: my husband teaches at an independent school and gets a significant discount but we’d need to spend all our savings to afford two kids at once so couldn’t afford to also move house. This option isn’t really an option especially as we need to save money for university too (we aren’t really able to save much year on year currently and promotions unlikely but have received some inheritance recently so need to save that wisely).

Am I just overthinking this and he should go to the closest school and we can probably find somewhere to move to close by ish? My husband being a teacher means it feels like pressure academically and both of us were really fortunate to go to very good schools, but that isn’t everything is it? I just want him to be happy!! I realise we have the luxury of choice by reason of having savings enabling us to consider other options but it’s making me so anxious currently!

Would appreciate any honest thoughts (please be kind!)

I don’t know what the housing market is like in your area, but given that, in general, it’s stagnant for selling and very much a buyers market, you may have difficulty with your timeline, even though you’ve considered your options in good time.

On the face of it, I would choose the nearest school, because it is near so he can get there easily and the facilities are good. A 35 minute walk with heavy bags, is likely to be quite tiring and may have an impact on after school activities. I’d discount the furthest away school. Things change when heads change and the uncertainty can be unsettling.

In terms of post 16 provision, are there 6th form colleges that he could get to? It’s often seen as an advantage for school to have a 6th form, but less so for students. I think they have to become more independent at college, which sets them up for higher education, if that’s what is wanted.

The schools you’re looking at now could change significantly by the time your son actually goes to secondary school. And again while he’s at the school. So yes, you’re overthinking. Just move to the closest school you’ve mentioned and be prepared to support him with extra curriculum activities and tutors if needed. All schools have bullies. All schools have good and bad teachers. Make his and your life easy and don’t make him go to a school with a 35 minute walk each way.