Primary, pros and cons of school size

[jackierussell]

We will be choosing a primary this year for the first time and are probably going to have the option of either a small (68) school or a larger school (205). We can see the benefit of the small school it's in our village and walkable but are worried that's a very small pool for friendships etc. the larger school is also pretty close and ofsteds both good. Any experience / advice would be good. Thanks

Am finding the different views here very interesting. Our children are currently at a 3 class school of about 70. It is our village school and good but not great. The walk makes life so much easier than a drive and tbo the politics of small schools round here means if you send out of catchment you basically remove yourself and your children from the community. Not completely, but would definitely say people who do live on the fringes of the social side of the village, the child generally socialising with children they go to school with.
My main concerns are social, especially as they get older, an long term financial viability. The birth rate round here is falling.
We are in the process of moving and much as I love the school set up we have, I have a preference for a 7 class school and have ruled out schools with less than 50 on roll.
All schools are different though. For a small school to work, much depends on the individual so check out the schools and if possible the relevant cohorts (including the parents!)

Such interesting posts, it's seems likely that we need to do a detailed visit and will watch how pre school goes for the rest of the year many of the same children would be at the small school. Thanks again for all the advice

Yes, large or small if often a product of if you live in a rural area or not. Appreciate many people don't get to choose about size at all. I guess all sizes make it work...it's just a different experience.
I've never lived so rural that the schools are so small. Actually, it would put me off going to an area if schools were that small, but I can see that if you are already there or have grown up there, to move because of schools is a big thing. And if you grew up there and also went to small school you're probably not bothered by it. Although I don't like the idea of less than 50 in a school, I have no direct experience of it.

Support your local school.

Ds goes to the small local primary, 15 per year, mixed years.

In hindsight I would have chosen the larger primary due to the friendship issues ds is currently experiencing, it's stifling at times and if there are fall outs it really impacts as the group is so small, also just because the school is small doesn't mean that you're going to have a close friendship with other parents, there was already an established friendship circle at ds school and unfortunately this does impact on the playdate scenarios, which again can feel much more exaggerated in a smaller school.

There are positives though, I'm sorry to have focussed on the negatives. Ds is doing so well academically, he's very confident with his work and he's taught by the same teacher for two years so the teacher really gets to know his strengths and weaknesses. All the staff know the children really well and in general the school has a lovely 'feel' to it.

I'm still debating whether to move ds to a larger school, this may bring about another thread.