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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

Primary schools - deciding factors

33 replies

Kelwa · 01/12/2018 19:17

Hi everyone.
We're having trouble deciding on the order of schools in our application :(
Our current first choice is the furthest away of all of the schools we've viewed and I'm worried about missing the catchment area this year (although we were well within for previous years - it is a fairly new school). However our current second choice is the closest to us. Should proximity actually be a deciding factor in our application? Is it better to be closer to your primary school for friends, ease etc. Should we actually switch our choices around?
Thanks

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HexagonalBattenburg · 01/12/2018 19:41

I thought local was better when I did our applications - in our case it wasn't and it was desperately the wrong school and we ended up transferring to one that's out of catchment but is bloody amazing. It's a pain in the arse having to deice the car on a crappy winter morning for the school run and not what I would have originally wanted (and there are days I'm up and down to school a fair bit for various things) - but it's a much better place in our set of circumstances.

So don't overthink it basically - generally local is a good plan but it really does depend on the schools.

Rudolphtherednose · 01/12/2018 19:47

Yes, proximity would be a valid deciding factor - especially if the further one is not walking distance (is it?) Before you decide, calculate how many extra months of your lives you’ll be spending on travel and consider if it’s worth it. (Maybe it is - I don’t know the schools or your child.)

(Do put your actual first preference first, even if you’re worried about getting in. It will not reduce your chances of getting a place at the second on the list).

fizzicles · 01/12/2018 19:54

How much further is it in the car? Multiply that by 10 for the extra time per week. Or by 400 for the extra time each year. Do you like the school enough for DC to spend that long on the school run for the next seven years?

(And double it for how long you'll be spending on the school run)

I think if your local school is decent, then the benefits of being local and being able to be fully part of the school community and having friends nearby shouldn't be discounted.

QuickWash · 01/12/2018 21:16

I really rate proximity - I love being able to walk/scoot/cycle to school and to be able to nip back if we've forgotten anything, or there's a drop in morning or harvest festival etc. I really enjoy being part of a community and knowing most families in our immediate local area.

Imo, you could probably always find a 'better' school if you kept driving! Where do you draw the line and how do you balance the 'better' factors against the negatives of car journeys/parking/trickier parties and play dates etc.

It's impossible to say without knowing your child and the schools in question really. Good luck!

Original poster

Kelwa · 01/12/2018 21:19

Thank you very much for your replies.

Until the last open day yesterday my husband and I had agreed on what is now our second choice. Our main concern was possibly how strict and demanding of its children it might be. My own personal concern is of the religious side of things as it is a CofE school and I am an athiest and not keen for religion to be a big focus. However, even with those in mind it seemed to be a good school and it's our closest. Walkable in 10 minutes.

Yesterday we visited what is now our first choice and really liked it. The atmosphere and ethos were generally lovely and we liked how the school was run, the classes, extra curricular activities etc. If this was the closest it would definitely be our first choice without question. Last year their catchment went as far as 1.4 miles and we are about 0.9 so well within for last year, but i'm worried that as the school becomes more well known and popular (it opened in 2014) this catchment may reduce considerably. It is also not walkable (0.9 is a straight line!) and would probably take 15-20 mins in the car with traffic.

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Starlight456 · 01/12/2018 21:20

Come year 5/6 children do gain independence can go call for friends , walk to school . However this is irrelevant if wrong school for your child.

Original poster

Kelwa · 01/12/2018 21:24

I've also now complicated things further by researching online and found that the closest school's results have not been great recently. In fact, the worst out of all the schools we've been to see :( Also some not so favourable opinions from some mums too (others have disagreed) so now I'm even more confused!

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Dawsonforehead · 01/12/2018 21:25

If the school that is further away is better suited for your child then choose that one. Yes in the ideal world the best school for your child would be on your doorstep but it isn't always the case.

Jorgezaunders · 01/12/2018 21:27

Proximity is important but not THE most important thing. How is public transport to the more distant school? Could you bike or scooter it?

Original poster

Kelwa · 01/12/2018 21:34

Jorgezaunders not sure about transport. It probably wouldn't be impossible but driving would definitely be easier. If we were to take a bus there would be a bit of a walk at either end. I also have a younger daughter so she would have tooining us for each journey 😕

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Original poster

Kelwa · 01/12/2018 21:35

*Sorry... she would have to join us for each journey

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Original poster

Kelwa · 01/12/2018 21:48

Rudolphtherednose you said that putting our first choice first would not reduce our chances of getting our second choice, but couldn't that one have filled its places with people that put it down as their first choice? (If that makes sense?)

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JassyRadlett · 01/12/2018 21:54

Are you in England? If so that isn’t the way it works. You will be treated for the sixth school on your list the same way as you are for your first.

So, say, you don’t get your first two choices and live 0.8 miles from your third choice. You will still have priority at that school over the person who lives 0.9 miles away but put it as their first choice. The LA does the allocations, not the individual schools.

Original poster

Kelwa · 01/12/2018 22:00

JassyRadlett thank you I didn't realise that. I just assumed that first choice places would be allocated first.

So if we were to put our first as being the furthest away and we fell out of the catchment we could still get our second as we're really close to that one? Yes we're in England.

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Rudolphtherednose · 01/12/2018 22:19

Yes. If you’re too far from your first choice to get in, you will still have exactly the same chance of getting your second choice as you would have if you’d put it first. It’s just based on distance and any other stated admissions criteria.

Original poster

Kelwa · 01/12/2018 22:21

Rudolphtherednose thank you. I had no idea :)

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RedSkyLastNight · 01/12/2018 22:22

Results are hugely influenced by the intake e.g an affluent intake with mostly middle class families is likely to get better results than a very deprived area. Are the results in line with what you would expect for the intake.

Also, good results could be the result of nothing by SATS practice in Year 6 (have a look round MN and spot the threads from despairing Y6 parents) - which is really not a good thing.

Have you checked how distance for admissions is measured? (sometimes it is straight line; sometimes shortest walkable distance as it sounds like it will make a big difference in your case. (though my mind is boggling as to how 0.9 miles in a straight line translates to a car/bus ride.

I wouldn't worry about religious teaching in the CofE school (unless you are aware from local knowledge it is substantial. Any English school will be obliged to have collective worship that is "broadly Christian". C of E schools often have religious admissions criteria - does this bump you off the bottom of the list? Actually, please just read the admissions criteria carefully and make sure you are not making any assumptions - the fact you didn't understand about equal treatment of preferences leads me to surmise that you haven't ...

Original poster

Kelwa · 01/12/2018 22:44

RedSkyLastNight thank you for your own assumptions(!)

Firstly no the results are not what I would expect for the intake. A local school in a less affluent part of the town actually has better results than the school in question.

Secondly, as you have absolutely no idea of my local area your mind will have to continue to boggle as to why I would need a car or bus.

Next, yes I have checked how distance for admissions is measured which is how I know we are within the catchment for both schools. I would not have wasted my time visiting a school I knew I would not have a hope of getting my child into. As I said previously, the school that I prefer is a fairly new school with currently a large catchment. However this is decreasing in size every year and unfortunately nobody, myself included, can predict what this will be when we apply.

And lastly, yes I have read all admissions criteria for each school. I know that our religion is not a problem (again I would not have wasted my time visiting). Just because I failed to understand one point of the application process having been unable to successfully find information about it but which has now been politely explained to me by others, does not make me completely incompetent with regards to everything else.

Thank you

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Rudolphtherednose · 01/12/2018 22:54

Just checking have you looked at the sibling criteria to make sure you won’t end up with 2 school runs?

Rudolphtherednose · 01/12/2018 23:00

(By the way I also misunderstood that point about preferences when I first read the admissions criteria - only realised after I had applied - you are much more clued up than I was at that stage).

shouldwestayorshouldwego · 01/12/2018 23:10

Yes do check that your dd will get in with a sibling priority even if the catchment shrinks. Driving to a school is hassle - what is the parking like? Have you gone to the school at school pick up and drop off time. A nearby school looks the picture of calm and tranquillity during the day even on a school day. For 20 minutes either side of pick up it is a complete no go zone. Having said that it is worth it for the right school. Although in yr5 and 6 I will probably still need to drive and pick up ds, I am planning to do this a few streets away and drop him so he will still get to walk some of the way on his own and develop his independence.

Original poster

Kelwa · 01/12/2018 23:12

Rudolphtherednose thank you very much for not being at all judgmental 😉

Yes it seems that all of our local schools take siblings first before anything. Then there are children in care, children of staff etc. before proximity. That is why before you explained what you did I was even more concerned, as our first choice filled half of their places with siblings alone last year!

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shouldwestayorshouldwego · 01/12/2018 23:13

Oh also if your local school is undersubscribed and you go to the far away school you can probably get in at a later point if it doesn't work out, harder to do that with a more popular school further away because when spaces come up there will only be one at a time and within a 0.9 radius that could be quite a few children who might be on the waiting list.

shouldwestayorshouldwego · 01/12/2018 23:18

Half filling with siblings is fairly normal. If you think about it if on average people have two children, in any one class half of them are likely to be older siblings and the other half younger. The initial catchment for the first two years might have gone further out because parents are more likely to put children in the same school so the eldest years are more likely to be children without primary aged older siblings. It is great though that you have a fall back school which you kinda like. Put the schools down in the order that you think will suit your dc and family and see what you get.

Original poster

Kelwa · 01/12/2018 23:20

shouldwestayorshouldwego thank you that's a good point. I might actually do a trial run one morning to see how long it would actually take us. It could always be completely different to what I imagine.

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