Why did you choose your DC’s primary school?

[Cloud1220]

We’ve just started to look at schools for a reception place next year and I’m interested to know what others have found to be the key deciding factors when you’ve been choosing schools - what really ‘sold’ it to you?

Because it was small and friendly and not overwhelming and in a village and at the time didnt fall into any catchment area. The schools in my catchment area were underachieving. Although I think two of the three have got better now.

@name3958

Obviously you want to send your child to a school you think they'll be happy at - that's not necessarily the most academic school, but it also may well not be the nearest one either.

At the potential cost of pushing out the children who are actually local to that school. But no so long as the parents with the means and time to get their kids to the school they want can, screw everyone else. I have to drive my kids 4 miles (getting stuck at every school along the way) because of attitudes like that; it's crap for the environment, my work life balance and my kid's independence.

So I should send my child to a Catholic school when I’m not even a Christian, because it happens to be the closest? No thank you.

Schools offer places based on distance around here. If you live out of area, you only get in once local applicants have been offered a place. If they haven’t applied, that is up to their parents and hardly the fault of the further-away kids for applying as well.

If your child was offered a spot four miles away, there are either a lot more local children than spaces, or they had to make a lot of sibling offers.

@Changechangychange no, I'm just saying it's not a "victimless" choice to make. There are repercussions for some children when others feel entitled to seek the best, it's the system that is flawed not the parents, but don't take the privilege of being able to select and get into the school you wanted for granted, many of us aren't in that position for a variety of reasons.

If your child was offered a spot four miles away, there are either a lot more local children than spaces, or they had to make a lot of sibling offers.

And no, schools here don't do it by distance, so parents from across town choosing schools this side of town reduces the number of spaces for the local children. Every authority does it differently, ours thinks it's being inclusive stopping property price bubbles, but it just means the parents with means are able to send their children where they want.

@name3958 how do they do it then? Lottery?

I quite like have fixed priority areas. Stems from living a 'black hole' where there were no schools close enough, so you got whatever was left. Every family on the street had been allocated a different school. Meanwhile in the centre of town people could pick and chose.

@name3958 I don't understand how they do it in your area then & how you think privilege helps them get in.
I've only heard of lottery allocations for a few LAs for high schools.
Everywhere else is catchment of distance and/or faith etc
If you didn't get anywhere close to you it normally as you just didn't qualify for them - you were too far down the criteria etc

The big problem arises when too many schools in an area are faith and prioritise admissions on faith. That does indeed leave black holes where some DC cannot get into any local school as others who qualify on faith take precedence. In my view that should be changed big religion can be very against inclusion of everyone despite the schools often being established to educate local children - no questions asked.

DD's school (independent)

• We walked in and immediately felt welcome (believe it or not, not the case at all the private schools we looked at)
• Friendly, confident, chatty children
• Bright, jolly classrooms
• Wonderful headmistress
• Very small classes
• It reminded me of my primary and I felt at home there

Unfortunately it's girls only. I don't feel similarly positive about any of the schools we've looked at for DS.

Very small classes doesn’t float my boat. I want enough variety of DC in a class to have a choice of friends and have enough breadth of attainment to ensure DC fits in and has someone to work with. Later on in juniors I want sports teams, music, art and drama at a high standard if I’m paying.

In Scotland, the school was in our catchment area.
A Catholic Faith school also has an excellent Secondary School.

DD has all that TizerorFizz, perhaps with the exception of sports teams to a very high standard. (I’m not really sure how good the sports teams are but it doesn’t bother me either way. She competes in her favourite sport outside school anyway.) But I do feel we are very lucky with her school.

I would expect to see sports teams in any decent sized school whether my DC was involved or not. It’s about the ethos and DNA of the school and having choice for everyone who attends. And sports facilities at private schools matter.

Sorry, I read that as ‘sports teams at a high standard’ - which smaller schools (state or private) will generally struggle with more than larger schools just because the pool of pupils is smaller!
I absolutely agree about the ethos of the school and I don’t think that smaller necessarily means less participation - often it’s the converse as fewer students necessarily means fewer to choose from for teams, plays, etc so there’s more impetus to encourage everyone to join in. That was something I experienced at my primary but my secondary was a strong contrast where it seemed like the sporty/musical/artistic kids were decided in Year 7 and there was then little opportunity for others to break in!

Anyway, we are getting off topic here. To the original question - some parents like small classes, others don’t; some children thrive in small classes; others don’t. But small classes don’t necessarily mean you don’t get the positive things you mentioned in your post.

It’s the only one in my village. I am happy with it though. Not sure what I would’ve done had it turned out to be pants.