How far is too far? (Primary school commute)

[surreygirl1987]

We are house hunting at the moment. We are still torn between two state primaries and the private school I will be working at (thats a whole other thread) but we are struggling to decide where to buy too (we are relocating).

Houses are much cheaper out in the countryside. We can get a lot more for our money if we don't live near the two towns the schools are in. Would you rather have a smaller house and be nearer the primary school, or a larger house with a longer journey?

One of the state primaries (my favourite) is only a few minutes' drive from where I shall be working so would be a great commute for me (though further for my husband). But this is where the most expensive houses are. What would you compromise on - house or travel time?

From experience of living in a rural area, indeed it can be beautiful in the summer months, but winter living and road conditions can be a nightmare. There are also other things to consider like the availability of delivery services, provision of Childcare facilities and Medical centre catchment areas. Also check if your Dream home with its pretty little stream or village pond nearby is not going to flood and cause problems every time that there is a heavy shower. A lot of back lanes will not be griited by the

local council during winter, and community hubs like local pubs and the village store will often finish trading due to lack of demand combined with high running costs making them unprofitable for the owner. I have recently sold a property due to the problems listed above, it was stunningly beautiful location wise in Summer, but I much prefared the house we have now where good facilities, public transport, and childcare is plentiful and only a ten min walk away, and 3 miles from a small town centre.

The area I live is semi-rural and it used to be you could pretty much take your pick from the schools in the area. When my now Yr9 child started secondary he was amazed at how many kids lived in our village but had gone to different primaries.

There's been a lot of development and even the less desirable schools are nearing capacity.
Sibling priority saw one intake of the most popular school being nearly entirely siblings.

Another school had siblings out of catchment lower down and that has caused issues. (I appreciate it's not relevant to your situation now but something to keep in mind if you plan on any more DC.)

So I'd look carefully at any developments due to be completed and the admissions priority list.

@arianadumbledore thanks, good advice. Yes, there are a couple of new developments at the moment and I guess this could have an impact. Very hard to tell qt the moment but of course you are right- I shouldn't get complacent as a result of historic data as it could all change within the next year!

@savannahLands many thanks. I had a semi rural upbringing where I lived in a small village and had to be driven (or get the bus) to my school, and I think the area we will be moving to will be quite similar it terms of how rural it is. I've never lived close enough to walk to school. Then again thinking about it, my best friends did end up being girls who lived in the same village as me, so perhaps I shouldn't dismiss the importance of living close to the school...

@arianadumbledore great point about siblings out of the catchment. We have two children (not having any more). If we get our first in, we will have an excellent chance of getting the second in, but if we go out of catchment and our application for our first happens to be in a bumper out of catchment sibling year, that might impact things. Gosh what a palava!!

It will seem a crazily long time off, but I actually think that location for secondary matters more than primary. For most of the primary years, you'll be accompanying your child to friends' houses or after school activities (ie either you or the friend's parent will be dropping off and collecting), so it doesn't make a huge amount of difference whether you're walking or driving IMO (though walking is obv preferable if all else is equal). It's only really when they're in maybe Year 5 that they'll really get the benefit of being able to get about independently. But once they're in secondary, there's much greater benefit in them being able to get to school and to friends' houses independently, whether walking or by public transport. So if you're definitely not going to be moving again, I'd be focusing more on a good location for secondary than primary.

Surreygirl1987, one of the problems with our rural location was the lack of any pavement or footpath up into the heart of the the village along a busy main road with a 50mph speed limit. You had to take your chances walking along the edge of the road, not safe for children at all. The Bus service that ran along this road did two trips per day, and nothing on a Sunday. The majority of our Neighbours were not within shouting distance, mostly Elderly, and quite frankly a fair few busy bodies who had nothing better to do but to complain about the slightest thing! One threatened us with court action for not erecting a Rabbit proof fence into her garden from.our field, allowing damage to her plants! Another day watching and taking notes regarding how many times a car stopped to collect a Celebration cake from a lady who was a Hobby baker across the Lane, she tried to report her for not paying business rates! There was also quite an air of Snobbery reminiscent of the 'Keeping up Apperances ' TV comedy with some of them, we bought tickets to someone's charity fund raiser ' At Home' event, hoping to make a few friends, but instead they viewed us as though we had just dropped in from outer space, served us cheap wine in a filthy dusty Glass, and offered around a large bowl of Peanuts that their dog kept eating out of!
I'm sure there are some really nice community friendly villages, but ours was not one of them, and the couple we sold to were elderly and retired too, but it wasn't our place to inform them of the faults of the area on the Sales particulars!

Thanks @savannahlands. Worth bearing in mind. The rural area I grew up in was wonderful but I'm aware everywhere is different.

@knighterrant many thanks. Yes, you have a point there but our situation is a little different as I'm hoping the kids will get in at the private senior school I shall be working at, and the kids come from all over the place (30-40 mins away for many) so I don't think it will matter too much... and as for the school run, we'd be going to the same place anyway. Definitely Italy worth considering though - although I just don't know if I will still be working there in more than a decade's time, and if not I suppose we will probably be moving anyway for my next job! Hard to predict.

I live semi rurally. 3 miles from anything but the occasional house, no pavements. We deliberately chose this house as for the money we got twice the house and land we could have got buying in the catchment for a decent state primary, or within walking distance of private school. We decided we’d spend the extra money on private schooling. Don’t regret it but only on the basis that we were committed to a) one of us working locally (DH) so he can do drop off and b) private schooling through to the end. I am not averse to state schools but we want choice and there’s only one state secondary that we are in catchment for and it isn’t great. Very few kids at my kids’ school walk to school, even those that live within half a mile…

You’re going to be doing the school run for quite a few years, twice a day. I would definitely go for the shorter commute.