'Best'/ least worst time to have to move school

[TBC45678]

Looking to leave current area at some point in the next 10 years. 2 kids 2 years apart (both pre-school age) and we won't be ready to move before the eldest starts primary, so at least one of them will have to move during the primary school years. What age/year group do people think would be best?

If we moved in time for eldest to start secondary then the youngest would have to move for Year 5. Or we could move in time for youngest to start primary, meaning the eldest would move in Year 2. My thinking is the younger the better? Has anyone got any experience of this?

Interested in this

the younger the better but definitely before secondary ideally so get 2 years at new primary so chance to make a few friends before secondary but at the end of the day if you have to move you have to move; you can't commute 2+ hours a day to stay in same school
I think definitely once they chose options I think in y9 ready for Y10 it is to be avoided unless absolutely unavoidable
so ideally before eldest is 10 but definitely before 13

As early as possible, ideally before end of Yr4.

Thanks all, this is what I thought. I think we'll work towards moving before the youngest starts primary. I can't remember being in Year 2 myself so hopefully it won't be too traumatic to start a new school then!

Good point about needing a few years to make some friends before starting secondary school

For noth of mine the worst move was Yr4. Both older and younger was fine.

Its worth considering if moving for Secondary that you need a new address by October of Yr6.

We had to move my eldest's school due to a house move, and we ended up moving when he was 6/7 but we kept school the same for a year and did the commute (which thankfully was only about 35 mins each way). We then moved him when he was about to go into Year 3, so he'd completed Key Stage 1, which seemed to be a great time for him to change. He was terrified on the first day, but then declared it the 'best day of his life' and never looked back.

Good luck! I'm sure your little ones will adapt really well - we made sure that he got to know a few children in the village before the move so he could recognise some friendly faces and that helped enormously.

The younger the better, definitely.

Many children will be fine moving any time, but it’s quite common for older children to take a while to settle in and form genuine friendships, whereas younger children seem to take it in their stride a bit more.

Definitely before Secondary age. Don't do it between Y6 and Y7 because it's awful ime.

We moved areas when dc were in Years 4 and 6. They begged to be allowed to stay in the same primary and we agreed and travelled an hour round trip to enable this.

Ds1 then went into comp in our new area in Y7 - so he was the only one from his primary. I thought it would be fine, he'd settle in quickly etc, I wanted him to be able to finish primary in the same school. I was wrong. He struggled so, so much. He hated not knowing anyone at all, struggled to fit in in Y7 and throughout Y8, begged to be allowed to change to the secondary all his friends went to. He's fine now (Y10) but it took a good 2.5 years for him to properly make friends and settle in. Bad, bad decision on our part.

Ds2 continued in his old primary throughout Y5. But we were aware of what a mistake we'd made with ds1 as he was in Y7 and having an awful time - so we moved ds2 to a primary in our local area at the start of Y6. He was terribly upset for a couple of weeks after we told him (in June of Y5) he'd be moving school in Sept. He cried, begged, said we were unfair as ds1 had been allowed to stay in the same primary. It was awful and the guilt literally ate me up for months.

He slotted into his new Y6 class in September with ease. Nervous at first but realised some boys in his class lived 2 minutes from us and made friends quickly. By January he had a new group of friends and when comp transition came, he moved with ease with the rest of his class and zero trouble. He's now thankful he moved school in Y6 and grateful we made him.

So in my experience, even an awfully late Y6 move can be fine - but moving up to comp with friends is key to a smooth transition.

You need you new address before October of Y6 to get a choice of popular secondary schools.
I'd suggest for starting Y5 for oldest as a "latest target". Obviously you can move after this!

The only "absolutely don't if you can help it" are part way through Y10/11 (ie GCSE courses) or part way through Y12/13 (ie Alevels or equivalent).

We made sure to move before Y4. Didn't want DD navigating a new secondary school, hormones, periods and zero friends all at the same time.
So ensured enough years left in new primary to at least conquer the friend aspect and threw her into as many local clubs as possible to gain friends outside of her class too.