New school in yrs 5 and 6

[CornishPastyPirate]

Hi
I’ve two primary age children currently in years 4 and 5. Their current school is failing and is really not helping them but they love their friends there.
We have the opportunity to move them after September to a different ‘outstanding’ primary school that’s closer to wear we live.
is it worth the upheaval? They will loose their current friendship groups but it’s a better school. I don’t know what to do for the best. If the kids could take their friends they both said they would move but obviously that’s not possible.

Will they end up in the same secondary?

Very common at my DC's junior school (the school was a feeder for a perceived "better" secondary school and lots of parents moved their children in Year 5 or start of Year 6 to move them up the priority order). I would say they all fitted in very well. This is exactly the time that existing friendship groups start to break up (particularly girls) and everyone is keen to make new friends. Actually my DD's main friendship group in Year 6 was almost entirely made up of girls who had started new that year.

Do you live close enough that they can still see friends out of school? They are of an age that they could just play out now, and might like having school friends and home friends.

My son started a new school at the start of year 6 and it was fine because some of his classmates went to the same secondary. If we'd waited for him to complete year 6 then we might not have got a good secondary so it was well worth it.

My DD moved schools at this time in Yr5. Its worked out really well for her. She's Yr6 now, looking forward to secondary with a lovely group of friends