we're moving in January and dds will be going to a very different type of school. at the moment they go to a surburban london school - 60 kids a year, lots of different lunchtime and after school activities, people from different backgrounds (albeit with a suburban middle class bent). They will be going to a rural village school with less than 60 kids altogether. it's economically mixed but whiter than white, and while it does some great stuff it just can;t sustain the same choice of clubs and activities.
dd2 is very sociable and makes friends easily. dd1 - who I;m more worried about - paired off with her best friend in reception and they are always together. she's quite shy, can be insanely jealous of her more gregarious sister, and this can manifest itself in the form of showing off. Having said that when I see her at school she does seem to chat and get on with people - although never gets invited to play (apart from with her best friend)
the new school has invited them to come for a whole day some time before Christmas. My mum, a teacher, thinks this could be too much - just kind of leaving them as the new girls/visitors for a single day - and I kind of see her point. But could it make the first day of term easy? so any tips re helping them socially?
and then there's the academic aspect - should I ask the two schools to talk to each other about dds? to get an idea of where they are academically and what topics they've done? or is that a big no no? If I turned up with some examples of their work, or their school reports would that be pushy or helpful?
I'm aware that we're asking a lot of dds by uprooting them (although they want to go) and I want to make this move a really happy experience for them