school choices - small village or larger school?

[mamatilly]

Help! Choice to be made before january 2010 application.

Small village school with cosy feel yet no facilities (no hall, no playing fields - they use village), shared classes, cramped conditions, but part of rural community, more laid back, one big family,etc etc

vs

well regarded larger school with excellent facilities, excellent reputation, several pupils go to grammar schools each year, but more conformist and mainstream etc.

How small is the small school? Is it 70 or so or around 30? Do you know how many other children of your child's age and gender there are likley to be going there?

If you have no preference and it isn't obvious that one or the other would suit your child/ren better then choose (by far) the school that you can walk to, that your neighbours go to and that is most part of your community. You will all have a much better quality of life.

smaill school has a roll of around 60, neither school is walking distance so we need to drive to both.

I'd go for the larger school for many reasons, the most important being a bigger pool of friends.

Presumably you have visited both?

we had the choice of a small 1 form entry and 2 largeer schools we decided to go for the bigger schools because our daughter is the youngest in her year ( 30th august) and we wanted her to be in aplace where there would be more summer birthdays.

you know what is best for yor child

Small school !Our school is a similar size apporx 50-60 pupils.Everyone is included no-one is overlooked. It means they pick up on any problems super quickly.Older kids love to look after the little ones which creates a real family feel.I would advise visiting both to see what the teachers are like as what they are like is crucial.We have fabulous teachers who make ever effort to make sure they have the most opportunities that they can.ALso try and meet the headteacher .

Oh and I forgot to add that shared classes are a really good thing in lots of ways and usually it means you will have a higher ratio of staff to pupils.We have 16 puils in reception/yr 1 mixed class and one teacher and two classroom assistants.

It sounds as if you are choosing between the exact two schools I had to last year - you aren't by any chance in East Kent are you?

We went for the smaller school because we decided it was more 'us' and what we wanted for our dc - dd is in reception this year- I love the smaller class sizes and the mixed years works well for dd but she is a December baby so quite old for her year. There really genuinely is a sense of family aswell - lots of the Y6 kids greet dd by name in the morning which is absolutely lovely and what we were looking for but these have come at a bit of a price ....

I didn't think the lack of facilities would be a problem but when I see what goes on at the other school I do think dd is missing out quite a bit (not that she realises and she is quite happy!). Also - something I didn't think of- is that when you have such small classes the ratio of boys and girls can be really out of whack and it may be that your dc is only with a couple of the same sex children - which may or may not be a problem for them.

I think at the end of the day you just go with your gut feeling about what is best for you and yours (but be prepared to spend a wee while wondering but what if ......)

That's a good point beagle about the ratios. I have a friend who teaches in a very small school, about 45 pupils, and in one year group there are only two children.

Luckily they are both boys but hey, better hope they both like Lego! (or football, or PSP).

I do think this is an issue with small schools. I know someone who was bullied at a small school and had nowhere to go as there was no other class or even another friendship group . (not saying this happens at all small schools but still)

Clary, but did take your comments re: local school into account. Went to see head teacher after scary presentation of school, and she admitted it wasn't a great reflection of school. Decided to go with local school as you suggested, and OFSTED report came out about 6 weeks later giving it a decent rating (can't remember what's one down from outstanding...)

So, thanks for advice, even though I'm not sure I said, 'thanks,' at the time...

Ah that's good ilovemydog, glad you got it sorted. Hope you are happy you made the right choice for you and DD

Bigger - my dd's school it "too small" at 220 kids - I wishe she was in a 2 class school - friendship groups are a nightmare.
After school clubs are crud, well just getting better now dd is in yr 6.....

We don't have a choice here, 3 nearest schools are all small, the one where DD is going will have 14 in the class which is considered big, this years reception has 6.

Here it's 30.

If your child is bright and you think she will succeed academically the choice is wide open IMO and if you fancy the cosy atmosphere of the small school , go for it. If you think she might struggle there may be more support available at the bigger school.

my dd has 33 in her class, but i do wish i had gone for 2 form entry

Well we moved from a primary with over 350 children to one with just 60.

LARGE SCHOOL ADVANTAGES
More specialist teachers ie likely to be member of staff who is an art specialist,science specialist etc .Makes a huge difference to teh quality of provision

Bigger friendship pool.The biggest drawback with a small school is finding someone on the same wavelength (there might niot even be someone of the same sex as you in your year group

Likely to be Better facilities for music and sport
Bad teacher has less effect.you are only likely to be stuck with them for a year

SMALL SCHOOL
Staff know children and their families very well
Children all get to play in teams , have a part in plays
Every child is significant.Very very good for quieter children who might just fade into the background in a large school.
More trips etc because much smaller numbers to deal with
likely to be better teacher: child ratio but classes will be mixed age with 2 or 3 yr groups in a single class.A 3 yr group class is very difficult as their are huge differences in maturity
One drawback -sometimes 'village' parents have gone to school together as did their parents and their grandparents.All very insular and you can feel like an outsider if you don't even live in the village.

Thanks for all your thoughts - it seems a real mix of opinions and i know that i have to make a decision soon, but it is sooooo hard! Both schools seems lovely, just totally different. Watch this space!

which are you in designated area for? If you pick a school out of area you may not get help with school transport which you would have if the designated area school is more than 2 miles (iirc) from your house.

Walking to school is always a good thing, now and as they get older and can be allowed to walk them selves to or from school as practise for secondary.

Mamatilly what did you decide? I live in Northern Ireland & am facing the same dilemma (our deadline for applications is Wed 20 Jan) - a school with 150 pupils, great teachers but limited facilities or a school of 550 with great facilities, good academic record but not such a warm, friendly atmosphere.