Which would you pick? Going round in circles!

[Ineedcoffeeee]

I’d appreciate any views or thoughts on this please as driving myself a bit mad. I’m 4 months postpartum - we’re considering moving house and thinking about schools. I don’t know what to do…

All being well we’ll be moving to a new estate (definitely not our dream but very practical with 2 young kids). There is a new school on the estate - that school is oversubscribed so we won’t get in unless we are in catchment. It opened 3 years ago, it’s one class per year (30 per class) but no older years at the moment. They’re only adding reception years in. It’s small at the moment but growing. The head is amazing and I really like her vision (she also knows my DC). It is obviously on the estate where we’d be living - I like the idea of DC having friends nearby.

Our current catchment school is in the same trust as the new school. It’s also oversubscribed. It’s bigger (as it has all year groups) and has much more going on, but it has 2 classes per year (22 kids in each). The classes get mixed from year 3. It would be a 7 min drive away from the new estate, although DC2 will go to nursery near our current house so we will be driving back this way regardless of schools.

DC has nursery friends that will go to both schools.

Initially I was keen for DC to go to the new school, but I also see the benefit of our current catchment school. Any thoughts on which you’d go for?

Well if you're moving and both are over subscribed that pretty much decides it doesn't it? You'll need your closest school, which is also the one you can walk to and your kids have easy friendships.

Thanks for replying! We’re in the process of moving - the council have been great. As matters stand, we won’t get the new school as the deadline has passed, so we will be offered our current catchment school.

They did say that (if we want it) they’ll give us a grace period for the new school we move by a certain date. So I don’t know whether to continue to push for that (but know that to some extent it may be outside our control) or to stick with our current catchment school…

Ohh I see! I didn't realise your oldest was already school age. I'd still look at moving to the school closest to you. Otherwise you're looking at driving through two lots of school traffic and it will be more than seven minutes. That hassle adds up reallllllly fast. So I'd push for the new school and get on the waiting list for a space to move if not. Then your youngest will get straight in as you will be catchment and also have a sibling at the school.

And just to clarify we’re not moving for the school; we’re moving because we have now outgrown our current house. We were set to move before the deadline and so the new school would have been the catchment school and that would have been decision made. But there has been a delay which and naturally, with a bit of time, I’ve started to question which one I actually want DC to go to. Again; it may be outside my control eventually but I don’t know whether to continue to push for the new one…

Sorry my post wasn’t very clear at all. My brain is currently mush (as you can probably tell!). Our current catchment school is less than 10 mins drive even with traffic (we have friends on the estate that do the drive now) and we will have to come back this way for nursery (the nursery is near the current catchment school). So either way it’s going to be a bit of time in the car in the morning….