Struggling to make up my mind! Advice needed!

[Sofia2011]

Hi guys, I need some advice we used to live in a lovely little village where we were really happy unfortantely the landlord wanted to sell the property we were in so we had no choice but to move. This happened earlier in the year and at the time there were no properties available in the village we were living in ;( so we had to move out the area. When we buy in the future i really dont think we will afford to buy in that area as its a very pricey village.We have moved around twenty minutes away by car and even though where I have moved to is not a bad area it's no where near as nice as the previous area we lived in. My daughter is at the nursery in the old village we lived at and it's part of an outstanding school which is in the top 4% of school in the uk. The facilities are great however it's very big with over seven hundred students so hasn't got a very personal feel. My daughter is very settled at the school and happy. However I'm finding the commute a bit stressful as I have to get her their before work and it's around a half an hour commute in traffic and hard to find a parking space when I arrive which means I'm then rushing to work everyday. I have looked at another primary which is a five minute walk away but only prob is its next to a really rough council estate and the school is what you call an improving school. The staff have worked really hard to get the school a good. It's small and cute and i found the teachers to be very friendly. It will be a lot more convient if my daughter does attend this school as its So local with a cheaper after school club than the other. I'm concernced about the fact the school has a mixed reputation and I'm worried she won't have the same oppurtunities as the bigger school. I'm not being a snob as I'm a very down to earth person but I also worry about her mixing with rough kids as we r not a rough family but I also don't won't her to be around snobby kids! It's so difficult both schools have advantages and disadvantages but is suppose I worry if I put her in the local school her education wouldn't be as good as if she was in her current school. But I really don't know if I can cope with the commute for the next seven years. I would appreciate any help! As you understand I want the best for my child if any of you are local balsall common is the outstanding school and whoberley hall is the local school.

Are you certain you will stay in the area you are now in? If/ when you buy is that where you will choose your house?

Is there no chance a rental property will come up back in the village you like?

I would say choose the more convenient school if it will DEFINITELY always be convenient. I wouldn't move her from somewhere she is happy if a couple of years down the line you would have to move her again.

Work it so that longterm she can stay where she is, sounds fab school. I cannot believe the difference between a truly outstanding sch (not just Ofsted report) and a ho hum theoretically good one. I drive dd to a similar school and it is head and shoulders above the local option. It is a pain to drive but the pluses outweigh the minuses.

If the school is so outstanding I'd imagine it's oversubscribed and so you may not get a place in reception if you now live some distance away. Have you checked the admissions criteria? What was the distance of the furthest away admitted child last year? It may well be that you don't have a choice at all and so I would be exploring schools near to where you live to see what is available.

Unfortantely due to two landlords giving us notice in the nicer areas in two three Years we've had a bit or a hard run of it. Everytime we have got settled somewhere a landlord hasn't wanted to sell the property which has been very unsettling for us as a family so moving again at the moment can't be considered as this is my daughters third home in three years. We r hard working parents I manage a Care home and my husband manages a restaurant and we hope to save the deposit to by over the next few years but my company is financially insecure at the moment so that's a worry. Balsall common is a lovely area but with the average price of a three bed home around three hundred thousand it makes it very unafforble for fist time buyers like us. However their are a number of more affordable properties nearer to where we live now their is a housing estate called allesley park which is a family place and quiet affordable so that is an option. The only thing that worries me at the moment is my daughters schooling and getting it right for her. I was always raised on nice areas and went to nice schools and want the same for her. The two schools have a completely different feel balsall common is very big wit facilities like a swimming pool and ict suite an whoberley is very small with less amenities but has a very warm feel. So hard to make a choice I must have changed my preference on the form at least ten times.when I phoned admissions they said everyone that applied to balsall got in last year as its a three form entry and has ninety pupils in each years covering a wide catchment area. Also I don't know where we will be living in five years time ;/

You cant plan for everythung, sounds like you're doing your best! What's your priority and what is practical? Also i'd just be careful about putting too much identifying info on here. Good luck, OP

Did you tell the admissions department that you live 20 minutes away by car? I know they said that everyone who applied got in, but how far away did the furthest person live?