School...big or small?

[norfolklass]

Firstly apologies for long post-I'll try to be as brief as possible!!
To cut a long story short we moved here 2 years ago when DS was 2 and couldn't get him in any pre-schools,school nursery etc cause they were all already full so he does his 12.5 hrs at a private nursery which is fantastic. We live in a town with a fairly large infants school which is our catchment school but the town has loads of villages around it all with primary schools within a 1.5 mile radius of our house.
DS is now 4(in Feb) and due to start reception in septemeber. We filled in the council appilcation form and put our catchment school as 1st choice and then 2 other primary schools in neighbouring villages as 2nd and 3rd choice. The decision as to which school we've got doesn't actually come out here for another month but I feel as though if he actually gets into our first choice then we've made a really bad decision.
We picked it as first choice because a couple of other children from nursery would be going there,its a lovely school with great ofsted reports and its near so could walk to it...but it just feels wrong somehow. Its quite big with a 2 form intake of 60 so 30 in each class which I know is the norm but just feels so many children. DS is quite a bright happy chap...nothing spectacular but very eager to learn. I have just got this awful awful feeling that he'll fall into the middle of every class and get lost in the system a bit ie that he's not hugely academic (well not yet anyway lol!) but doesn't appear to be a troublemaker (if that makes sense?)so he'll just plod along and like all other parents we just want the best for him.
Even if we get into this school I am seriously considering trying to get him into our second choice which is a small primary in a nearby village. It has a PAN of 15 in each year and always has less than that so hopefully he'll get in. He'll be in a mixed R/Y1 class which wouldn't bother him in the slightest because he loves being with older ones and it just feels like a better school for him. The reasons we didn't put it as 1st choice was that it was in another village so would have to drive everyday,he wouldn't know anyone else going there and because its a primary it doesn't finish until 3.30pm whereas the infants finish at 3pm in the other school! And yes I know how completely daft that sounds but I want his school day to be as short as possible...purely for my benefit lol!!!

So any thought?? Big school near own house so easy to have friends etc round but might not be best school or small school bit further away with no one that he knows but the potential to make a difference to his education!!

Goodness this parenting think is a complete nightmare isn't it!!!

Not sure if you met old Head or new temp Head but dh says these so-called 'super Heads' are more like Chief Execs - ie very good at management, vision and motivation of staff etc, not so great at inter-personal and pastoral skills (which ironically are often heads of small schools strengths!)

But dh pretty sure they are trying to recruit someone new and permanently for September, so will be a fresh start for everybody!

And a school day that finishes at 3 is fab -especially in the Winter - that half hour makes all the difference - especially when they start after school activities etc.

Am sure you know as well that as long as DS can go to loo independently, eat his lunch without help, dress and undress himself (especially shoes and buttons!), that will all make his transition to big school easier for him.

It's a minefield isn't it?! The right decision is so important, but it's impossible to second guess things.

Good luck with it all - anytime you want to talk Norfolk, seek me out - don't know if there are many of us on here.... perhaps High School advice next (!)

I sent my dd to a lovely little 1 form intake, I really wish I hadnt!
Smaller friends group = much nastiness
After school clubs are pants - and she wants to do them! Its not a childcare need
I just wish I had gone BIG

QOD-LOL sorry your reply just made me chuckle...about going big!! Don't we all!!! Its great to hear (well not great but you know what I mean!) about you went for a smaller school and wished you'd have gone bigger. Its just so scary having to make this huge decision which will shape their whole education.

It was definitely the old head I met...and I think she'd been taking lessons from Alan Sugar so think your dh is right lol!! Yes you're right about the 3pm finish Im sure it'll make a huge amount of difference especially in the summer as well because they'll have most of the afternoon to play outside etc. I actually work all weekend (or at least I do at the moment) so the prospect of him being at school all day and then us not getting home until 4ish and then me working all weekend was not exactly looking very inviting.

Once again thank you so much...and your dh too. You've been fantastic! Oh err don't even want to think about secondary school yet!! I went to a fantastic high school in norwich which has now got an awful reputation (I left in 1993 though) so it just goes to show how quickly schools can change for both better and worse.

Will definitely seek you out if need any more help...might need a bit of virtual hand holding come september as well!!!