would you send your child to a primary school this big?

[barmouthdreams]

We are looking at schools for ds who is tiny - 2nd centile, shy, low pain threshold and can get quite anxious and very upset quickly.

We are looking to buy a house, have found one that ticks many boxes BUT all the primaries nearby are huge! I didn't know they got that big. Two are over 700 pupils and one almost 500.
I am really worried that he will feel intimidated and lost in such a big school. Any views or experiences of such large primary schools?

Mine go to a small primary about 200 pupils in total. It's great if they are in with a good year group, but mine ds is in with alot of boys who are frankly not great, they encourage each other but due to the size of the school, they can't be separated. What I had seen as a great small primary has become a major disadvantage !

My son attends a really big primary school, I think you need to look around them to.see how they're organised to see whether they feel big.

Yes definitely. Small schools are not good for shy quiet children.
Big schools have more children to find a friend similar to you. My shy children have had an awful time at their small school (teachers have just said there is nothing they can do until they go to secondary where there are more children to choose from), my boisterous ones have been fine.

3 or 4 form entry is normal here....and actually each year spends time mostly together so they don't get phased by bigger kids. They hav e different playgrounds and times. The DC get to know tons of kids. Loads if +ves

Sent mine (twins, one particularly anxious) to a small (think 65 kids in whole school) primary and have just moved them to a much bigger 2 form entry primary down the road for many of the above mentioned reasons - more space, better resources, more kids to form friendship groups with etc. What feels right when you are looking at schools for your precious 3.5yr old feels completely different when they are 6 going on 7 and you can see the 8,9,10 year old emerging...so I'd say think longer term when choosing a primary if you can :-) they are only the littlest for a relatively short time and it's amazing how fast they grow - I wasn't expecting mine to outgrow their little school so fast....

I would choose a 3 form entry school over a smaller one for lots of the reasons mentioned above.

Primary schools in many cities come much bigger than that though (just for information )

Thanks everyone. You've all been really encouraging : )