Choosing a primary school - near to home or near to work?

[Shelduck]

We're choosing a primary school for DS at the moment. Very very torn and lots of different factors to consider, but one choice we might have to make is between a school that is near home and a school that is near to where DH and I work. (It's about a 30 minute commute.)

All things being equal - and quite aside from the issue about how likely we are to get into the school that is further away from where we live - could any of you give me the benefit of your experience either way?

Advantages and disadvantages I can think of so far:

Near to home:

• DS will live near his school friends
• but I'll almost certainly have to reduce my working hours in order to be able to drop-off and pick-up EVEN making use of full breakfast club and after-school club hours

Near to work

• Wouldn't have to reduce my working hours
• We'd be near to DS if he was ill and needed picking up
• Wouldn't live near any of school friends (although would at least know loads of children from his pre-school to start with)

...And the real bugger is that the school my heart really likes is in between home and work! Bah!

I have never been asked to go to an assembly at DDs school. Nativity has one performance in pm the other in evening. Parents evening runs until 7pm. Only thing so far during school day is sports day. OP try asking the two potential schools how often you may be expected/asked to attend during school day to help with your decision as it's clear some schools do much more than others!

We have ds in school near our work - I can make it to the school gate in 10 minutes walk from my desk. It means I can pop down for assemblies or show and tells as needed.

The playing with school friends isn't so much of an issue: he has school friends and home friends. As we both work he goes to the after school club so he doesn't take part in the after school play date circuit, instead he sometimes has school friends around at the weekend.

That said, we live a mile from work but in a highly populated area so there are six primary schools within a mile and a half of our home. However we choose not to go to the school one street over from our home but the one nearest work.

I don't buy the 'not part of your community'.. We are members of the local community association, we support local businesses and our kids play with neighbourhood kids so I think we are part of our community.

Not in the UK but we have chosen a school near our work, in part because the one near home was a bit rubbish but also because it means I can pick up and drop off and easily get to them if they are sick.
It also means I can volunteer at the school occasionally and go back to work afterwards.

In terms of commute time, it's about 20-30 minutes in the car, probably and hour door to door on public transport (but doesn't feel that long!). In distance, it's about 8km.

Overall, I am happy with our choice. I do feel a bit left out of the school community at times and if we could move, I would move house close to the school! We are a one car household too with both of us working in roughly the same area downtown and this likely to stay the same even if we move jobs.
Pick up and drop off means I know what their teachers look like, what their classrooms are like and I know their friends. I really value that. It has also been useful when having to pick them up on the occasional sick day.

I do feel the advantages outweigh the outsider feeling I sometimes get (I don't think the kids get that) and the other children on our road don't attend the local school either so they are not missing out on that stuff.
The secondary school that their school feeds into is actually the same one as the local school feeds into so that takes care of that!

Hello, I am weighing a similar choice. It's hard to get advice as most people aren't in this position?

Did you make up your mind in the end? I was in a similar position but decided the school with the better academic results in KS2 and KS4 won. Also, one school had a stronger program for talented children. It suited my dd as she is particularly academic and the school I chose, happened to have a number of their cohort annually get into superselective secondaries. Vs the other still good primary school who didn't have any entries into a superselective within last 4 years. Both state schools.

I would set aside the commuting issue and really look at school data and how the school is run/leadership qualities/parents view etc closely to see how that fits in with your dc.

Near to home. Always.