How snobby were you with school applications?

[mollysmum82]

We have two very different schools on our list so far:

School A is described by Ofsted as serving a disadvantaged area (21% free school meals) and has 44% pupils with English as an additional language. It achieved an outstanding Ofsted recently and has scored 90% + in key stage 2 sats (level 4) for the last few years. I visited this school and the staff seemed really warm and friendly, both to me and DD. The Head seems to be a good leader and have her head screwed on.

School B serves an "advantaged" area (3% free school meals) and has 3% EAL pupils. It got a good Ofsted and its Sat results range from 70-80% Ks2 level 4 over the past few years. I haven't visited this school yet.

Now obviously I need to visit School B but on the face of it I much prefer A. I think it says a lot that the school can achieve so well considering the catchment it serves. I don't view the high percentage of EAL pupils as a disadvantage as I have friends of many cultures myself and hope DD will too.

However DH is the polar opposite. He worries school A will be rough and that DD would be bullied there. He's heard School B has a great reputation and wants her to go there. He freely admits he's a snob. He too has friends of many cultures but he does worry the teachers will have to spend longer helping the EAL pupils (to the English as a first language pupils' detriment)

So just wanted to know really, are these the kind of factors which influenced your applications? Or did you go with your instinct following visits? Many thanks

You see. this is why you can't take generalised advice from the internet. DS's school is NOTHING like the school PushedToTheEdge went to, or People's experience. There is no fighting at all, bulllying behaviour is extremely well dealt with immediately and at the first sign, and academic achievement is high. The able kids are in enrichment groups and do special projects, while those who need more support have a full range of strategies, including a special teaching room, booster clubs etc.

The two children from families which arrived as refugees are the top achievers working at a very advanced level, and speak 3 languages. The diversity is a plus, and because there are so many differnt backgrounds, no-one is in a significant majority or minority, iyswim. So tolerance and understanding is high and any kind of 'ism' low - everyone is different!

You can tell none of this from paper reports or assuming that one school with any particular demographic will be like any other with the same.

I hated myself for the 'DailyMailitis' I developed when researching schools. I was a horrible (but I kept it all in my head).

Now DS has started I am delighted with his school. Behaviour is managed brilliantly, and he is developing really well academically. Most importantly he is happy.

Go with your feeling about the school, not the stats about the intake.

RE the number of children on FSM, the school receives a significant premium for each child on FSM. In our school this is used to fund a high level of TAs. So in every KS1 class and Yr 3 there are at least 2 TAs, in addition to the SENCO staff, enabling grups of children to receive special support at a variety of levels, including advanced.

There may be 30 children in a class but the adult to child ratio is never more than 1:10. usually more because any statemented children have 1:1 and some children are taught in the special support room.

Thanks loads for your replies everyone. I really appreciate you sharing your experiences and you've given me some great suggestions.

I promise I'm not a reverse snob - I will go and see school B with an open mind. I just felt I had to apologise for DHs views as I knew they could cause some offence.

Aaargh how do I stop obsessing about schools?

I would prefer the closest school, not sure which one that is. The school that my dd2 attends has a higher than average number of EAL children, but actually very few are at an early stage of learning English. It's just a London primary, and the parents come from all over the world.