Which school would you apply for?

[ssophie]

Sorry girls 😆

Option 1: not catchment school but head said it’s a low birth year so very likely to get in, 5 classes per year so big school, lots of extra activities & funding, teachers/head were super friendly & warm, family vibes

Option 2: catchment school, 2 classes per year so much smaller, scoring 50% above average in most areas according to Ofsted, seems very academically focused, teachers/head seemed nice, kids were very polite & talked to us, generally seen as a better school

Option 3: view a third school (not catchment) & throw another into the confusing mix because we’ve heard good thing 😁

Please help!

I'd go option 2. It's in your catchment so presumably walkable and part of your local community so friends will be nearby. Plus it achieves well academically.

My daughters school is 2 classes per year and is still huge. 6 classes a year sounds massive.

Definitely 2.

The school in catchment. It'll be so much easier for play dates, extra curricular stuff etc and, assuming you send him to the catchment secondary, he'll go up schools with all his friends.

Option 2. local friends are so important.

Option 2.

The being “academically-focussed” may be a good or bad thing. If it means putting more pressure on the children in key stage 2 than your child can cope with (and you won’t know this yet) then there are still likely to be places fairly quickly in Option 1.

Which one would suit your child best? That is the best way to decide, as we don't know them :)

Option 2 as presume since I ts chat meant school, it's walkable which is imprtant for socialising

Option 2. How can staff properly know and care for 5 forms in a year group. That's the size of a secondary school.

When we go into DD's primary school, every adult knows her by name. It makes her feel safe and that's the basis to everything.

Your catchment school sounds lovely.

A 5 form entry school is much too large for primary. Most children really will get lost in the system. There's no way staff can know every child in the school, or children all the staff. The children won't even know everyone in their year group!

I'd definitely go for your catchment school, without hesitation.

2

I can't see any reason why you wouldn't go for 2 really, unless you much preferred the vibe of 1. I agree that 5 forms sounds massive, but I think it's not abnormal in some parts of the country. A friend of mine was talking to me about primary school choices and wanted the 3 form entry option because it was the smallest one in her town! I'm sure they manage.