Choosing a primary school - help!

[Cato9lives]

DD starts primary school in September, so need to decide on one by January. We’ve narrowed it down to two very close-by, small village schools. Both schools are on a par in terms of academic outcomes. One school has around 100 students and has 3 mixed age classes. The other school has around 200 students and has does not have mixed age classes. The smaller school seems like a lovely school and has better funding, but I’m concerned about the mixed age classes and potentially small / cliquey friendship groups?
I’m Im looking for some advice from anyone who has experience with this kind of scenario. Any input welcome! Thank you 🙂

200 pupils is twice the size of the other, but still small enough to feel intimate. Only 100 pupils across 3 classes would be much too small for me. It might seem lovely at first but it must be pretty claustrophobic for the kids come Year 5/6, and it must be a massive culture shock for them going off to secondary school.

Personally I would opt for the bigger school, which is still quite small but will much more scope for friendships. It's surprising to hear of such a tiny school having good funding, most schools that small are threatened with closure these days. Despite the funding, I still think school 2 has more positives in the long run.

I agree with PP re both bigger school and the oddness of what you say re funding!

I’m interested to know what makes you think the smaller school has the better funding. Is it part of an academy chain?
Do the schools work collaboratively with each other (as they’re close) and other small schools?
I’d go for one without a mixed reception, if I had a choice.

Go for the bigger school. 100 pupils is to small. Especially as you go up the school. DD used to go to a school where her year group was 15 but an uneven gender split (something you could also find) meant she was one of only 5 girls. In reception this was fine, the boys and girls played together and coming from nursery they were used to similar class sizes. By year 2 the class had started to divide itself a bit more, the girls then subdivided themselves into a trio and a pair and it was really claustrophobic and upset if the best friend was ever off school. Another thing that isn’t an issue in reception but would be further up are sports e.g. 5 girls isn’t enough for a netball team. We moved her for Y3 to all girls, 2 form intake and she couldn’t be happier.

Bigger school definitely. More choice of people to click with. That’s the only thing I really cared about, that they had a friend that made them happy.

Go for the bigger one, smaller does t always mean better. I got bullied at a ‘nice small village school’ and ended up moving back to my big primary with a two form intake. More opportunities to make friends in a bigger school. The other thing I would look at is the nurturing / holistic side of things, as this would indicate an inclusive school that works with differences.

I would have originally gone for the smaller one…..until we did! It got smaller, years became mixed and the same issues people said above were clear - very small pool for friends, not learning the necessary social skills and less funding/fees etc….
200 is still small but I would definitely go with this…..

Mixed classes are difficult to teach and if your child is an outlier or very bright or needs extra support they could really struggle.

In my experience the tiny schools near here don't have the bulk buying power to do all the activities our larger school has. Eg paying for computer systems to do coding/subscribing to accelerated reader to encourage reading. Maybe some of that is offset by more individual attention/different social demographics but it would worry me.

Other things ,beside the academics, being equal ( ease of journey, wrap around care, playground facilities etc) I would go for the larger school. Bigger pool for friendships, clubs etc. I have nothing against mixed aged classes when they are necessary, but if you have the option not to have them then so much the better.

Also take into account the falling birth rate, if the smaller school loses out on getting pupils in through the door it could be in a difficult situation as your child progresses through. The larger school has that extra buffer of pupil numbers.

I think 100 is too small - can be difficult. And with the changing demographics meaning there are for fewer DC in KS1, it might shrink even below that.

200 is still small c.28 per class. I'd go for that.

Do you have a chance of getting into both?
If so I would choose the bigger one, I always thought I would prefer a smaller Primary school for my DC (god knows why after my own awful experiences at one) BUT they ended up at a large 3 form entry one and it worked well

Personally I'd go with the larger school.
But also go with your gut instinct, if you (and your child) prefer the smaller one then choose that one.
Also if one is walking distance but the other is a bit further then definitely go with one you can walk to because school drop off and pickup parking is always an absolute nightmare!

Thanks for everyone’s input! Greatly appreciated.
BoleynMemories13 - we live on the boarder of two counties. Both schools are equidistant from our house. The smaller school is better funded per student by its local authority.
I get the general gist that smaller school may = cliques? Obviously we want to avoid that scenario.
Did anyone else consider secondary schools when choosing primary? Or is that too far off to bother about at this time? 🤔

Yes absolutely. If the primary is a feeder to a good secondary then you’re sorted.