I recently moved to a new area about 4-5 miles from where I previously lived and where my DD7 goes to school. The area I’ve moved to whilst nice is a step down from where I was previously but I just could not afford a house there so made the decision to buy out of area.
Everything so far has been great and we have managed to settle and get ourselves into a good routine. I wasn’t initially bothered about moving schools as DD is very happy and is doing well academically however after speaking to family and local parents in the area they suggested that I consider moving her as it will be better to have friends to go to high school with as none of her current classmates will be going where she does which made sense. DD is also an only child so has no siblings to follow etc
I did some research and the local school has a very good reputation but was oversubscribed. I was advised however to put in an application so that she could be put on the waiting list in case space became available. I didn’t hold out much hope as there were people already ahead of me and months went by (I’d almost forgot), then out of the blue I received a notification from the admissions team at the local council to say a space had become available.
When I told DD, she was very reluctant, and said that she is happy where she is. I half expected it so I spoke to the headteacher who advised us to come in for a visit and said she was very happy for my daughter to be joining them. the visit went ok but I was a bit disappointed in the state of the facilities and couldn’t believe this was the same school that had been talked up so much to me although I know this is not always a reflection of the teaching, just funding. DD was shy and didn’t engage much, which made me feel like I wasn’t doing the right thing as she is normally quite outgoing, but we discussed the benefits of her moving later and arranged a settling in session where she would spend half a day there. She said it was ok but she is just adamant she does not want to go.
I can be quite unsure of myself, so was hoping to get some advice on what others have done or would do in my situation? My gut is saying to keep her where she is based on her feelings and my initial gut feeling but I’m not sure if this will be the best thing long-term. Academically the schools seem to be on par with each other but the facilities at the current school are much better (it’s was fully rebuilt in the last 10 years).