Primary school choice - which would you choose as a preference ?

[Rainbowchaser8]

We have Two choices of school for reception 2018 - having to decide between the following - Which would you choose and why ? -

Option 1/
5 mins.Could walk or drive.
Ofsted good.
Well regarded school.
No before or after school care.
Not as many extra curricular activities.
Small village school.Very warm and friendly.
90 pupils - but larger class size of 30 due to dual forms.
Close to home for events/socialising - playing with friends outside school ,inviting people over etc.

Option 2 a
30 mins.Drive.No traffic.
Ofsted Outstanding.
Very well regarded school.
Large village school.
Ambitious head that manages the school brilliantly.
Lots of extra curricular activities.
Breakfast /after school care.
180 pupils - single form class of 25 - 28.
Too far for events/socialising.- playing with friends outside school etc.

CheapSausages. I would choose school 1, but I was really trying to say that if you choose a school 30 minutes drive away, you have to work around that. It takes time. My DD did have friends 45 minutes away from us. It didn’t mean less play, it just meant more driving. Sometimes you suck it up. Most parents don’t want to do this and that’s why school 1 would be best. However lots of prep school parents will drive for 30 mins to get to school and would consider it normal to get the education they want.

School A without a doubt. It's very difficult to know what school suits your child until they're in the thick of it, and Outstanding can mask a number of different problems. When was the Outstanding judgement granted? If it wasn't in the past two years or so it's pretty meaningless. A nearby school makes such a difference to your quality of life.

Combined year groups are a bit of a red herring. If you have good teaching, they're not a problem. If you don't have good teaching, you have bigger problems!

What is your child's character like ? I had a similar choice as yourself. My dd is on the shy, quietish side and I felt that she may get a bit swallowed up in a larger school. So opted for the village school with 90 children with a good ofsted rating. She is now in year 3 and her school also has classes with dual age groups. She loves it - is doing really well and what's lovely about it is she plays a lot with children in other classes too because there are only 90 of them. Glad I made this choice...