HELP BOYS V GIRLS!!

[ThatPinkTraybake]

My son is in year 1 with a class of 13 girls and 5 boys. half the boys will be going to a different Comprehensive so will only have 2 friends moving to comp with

I have rung another school which is in our catchment area, the full primary school will follow on to the leading comprehensive but has 19 boys and 6 girls in the class

My son is also summer born and the second school also has merged years where his current doesn't and he is currently being classed as immature or suspected adhd (which I have read is often misdiagnosed with August born children)

What should I do stick or move him
I'm completely torn please help

Leave him where he is if you're happy with the school. It's another 5 years before he moves to secondary school. Stop worrying about it now.

If he’s happy at the moment I would leave him where he is.
At secondary school children often start again with friendship groups. By year 6 he may no longer be friends with some peers or if so they could be split into different forms at secondary.

Agree with PP - it's normal and often a good thing for new friendships to form when they go to secondary.
Also, novel concept but boys and girls can be friends.
At this age, it can be a good idea to do some out of school activities where they can make friends (to varying degrees) with kids from other schools.

I wouldn't move just for that reason. My son is in year 5 and at the moment we can't wait until secondary school starts and he can get away from some of his current classmates. He's in a very boy-heavy class similar to your second school, which has actually been very problematic, behaviour-wise, according to the teachers. There are a group of boys who are very different in personality to him, and he has been relentlessly teased by them for the last couple of years despite lots of interventions. "Four-eyed nerd-freak" was the latest lovely comment.
I'm counting down the terms until he leaves and can have a bit of a fresh start. He does attend a lot of out of school sports clubs in the area, and I'm hopeful that some of his friends from those will be attending his new school. He's also excited by the chance to make new friends, and will keep in touch with his old friends through online gaming, phone etc anyway

He's in year 1? So you've very little idea who will still be at the school by year 6 and who else will have come. You don't know what the catchment areas will be, and you don't know whether he will be best friends with the boys or find them irritating and prefer hanging out with the girls. Just leave him if he's happy at school!

How do the mixed classes work? Presumably they change each year? So if say year 1 and year 2 are together, then in September presumably half the class will move up and another half will join. So there might be 19 boys in the class, but half might not be in his year group.

I wouldn't worry too much about secondary now. Lots can change before then and children come from a range of secondary schools. They will usually deliberately mix up the kids who know each other between forms.

I would be a little concerned what happens if a couple of boys leave. I don't think it's ideal being heavily skewed either way but I wouldn't rush to move him if he is otherwise happy.

My son was in the same situation as yours, mostly girls in his class, 15 girls, 4 boys. He ended up not getting along with 1 and only really got along with 1 of the boys, we found that fowards the end of year one the boys and girls really separated and the boys were excluded from parties and not playing with the girls at school. We had other issues with the school too but had the opportunity to move him at the end of year 2. He is also a summer born child. He moved to a blended year school which I was concerned about but it has been brilliant for him. He has ended up with friends in the year above and below and far more boys to interact with in his year group. He has a great group of friends and is excited to rejoin the ones from the year above that have already moved to secondary so he's less nervous about that in September. Only you know what is best for your son, but ultimately my son was very happy we moved him!

Thank you I think this is what I need to hear. Fingers crossed for the same outcome

It's a really tough call and really depends on how happy your son is where he is but for us it was one of the best decisions we've made. The one boy he did get on with has since moved abroad so I was really glad we didn't stick it out just for that one friend (though we did stay in touch until they moved), otherwise he wouldn't have had any. Have you discussed it with your son? Ours was very aware of the discussion so that he could have some input so it might be worth gently sounding out the idea with him? Keep us posted! Fingers crossed for you x

I'd not panic but keep eye on and assess each year