Anyone with experience of small schools? In need of wisdom!!

[ediemay]

My first choice for DS, who will start reception next year, is a small school where the children are taught in 2 classes, (Reception, Yr 1 and Yr 2 together then Yrs 3 - 6 together). The atmosphere is fantastic, happy & friendly. My only concern is the small peer group for DS. I would welcome any input from anyone who has had experience of small schools. Thanks very much.

I went to a v small school back in the late 70s/early 80s. (90 pupils across 7 year groups, my yr group was 12 pupils) and LOVED it.

Every one knew each other. Yes, when there were fall-outs it had repercussions cos there weren't many others to play with, but that made us sort things out faster.

Involvement was total (Unless child v shy) - everyone got starring role in nativity play, if you were in top 2 year groups you HAD to be in netball team cos there were only just enough girls etc.

I'd recommend this experience to anyone.

Thanks sassy, the involvement is a big draw to me - everyone is in the play and on the teams, as you describe. I also liked the way that the chiuldren seemed to be looking out for each other and making friends across the age ranges. Was there anything you didn't like and would you choose it for your children?

My ds goes to a small primary - P1-P3 in one class and p4-p7 in the other. Both classes are actually taught in the same classroom!
I like the atmosphere - that is the main plus for me. All the children seem to look out for each other and I have seen P6 boys happily playing with P2 girls. They all take part in the school pantomime etc.
The fact there are actually only 5 pupils in P3 doesn't seem to worry ds. The staff are very approachable. I do worry about him transferring to a large secondary - but parents of children who hav ealready been through that said that the children managed fine.

Thanks scotlou. I worry about the transfer later on too. It's hard to think ahead, isn't it!

Ediemay, my dd's have been to a school with about 30 pupils, with which we were very happy. If you search 'small school(s)' and my name in the archives something should come up. Hth.

I went to a small school. There were 8 in my class. I hated it. My best friend left and then there were 7 and I was the odd one out. I truly think to this day it has had an affect on me.

DS and dd will go to a school with a total of 21 pupils and from what I've seen and heard it's great. THe children experience more of a family feel with connections across all age groups. For my ds it means he won't be anonymous - he'll be noticed and have loads of one to one attention. one of my friends said that it's as close to an independent school as you can get in terms of the time given to pupils.

As for the transition, every other child attending our local secondary will have all been to rural primary schools with anything from 20 - a few hundred pupils so they've all had a similar experience of life.

I'm looking forward to ds going next year on his behalf - I wish it was me!

We have recently moved our boys from a small school. Agree totally with all the plus points however it only takes one or two really badly behaved kids to ruin happy school days for everyone.

The school my kids go to now is still small IMO (one class of max 15 kids per year group) but has enough diverse mixes of kids to allow for spats and new friendships.

It really got my older son down that there were never enough kids for a 'proper' team in any sport. My younger son was in a class with a set of emotionally disturbed twins who were beyond control. Every lesson was a case of fire-fighting for the teacher.

My boys still see their 'old school' friends regularly but are both much more happy with more friends and opportunities in their new school. I'm pleased that we made the move.

I have now heard that 3 other children left my younger son's class this September so I know that my experience of how intense a small school can be was not unusual.

My sister in law teaches in just such a school as you describe and she really dislikes it and made sure she sent her own children to a much bigger one.

Her main concerns: - small peer groups, this seems to affect girls in particular.

Major problems with friendship groups and fallings-outs - because it's such a small school the ramifications seem to affect everyone. Even parents can get involved, and by the same token personality clashes amongst parents affect the children too. Parental cliques apparently worse too.

Resources - often more problematic than in larger schools.

Teams - sports, choirs etc, often hard to make up proper teams.

My sister in law has taught in schools ranging from 50 to 300+ pupils, and her preference both as a teacher and a parent is for small-medium, so at least one class per year.

Thanks so much everyone, I really appreciate the mix of comments. This will really help in making the decision - much appreciated. Wish I could pass everyone a glass of wine!