choosing between a school of 70 and one of 220 any thoughts?

[daysoftheweek]

We might be moving and if so we would have the choice of a primary school of 70 with mixed classes and one of around 220 which also seems to mix the ages.

we can't look around the schools now but would literally have to arrive look round and decide within a day or 2 so I thought I'd ask you lot

thanks

could you walk to either?

Do you know how many in a class at each?
70 sounds too small to me, TBH - roughly 10 per year if its recep +yr1-6.

we had similar situation and went for the small one too, just because it seemed like much more of a community feel to it.
the big one was fine, but i think ds1 would have felt a bit lost there.

I went for the small one, then swapped to the big one.
small one, lovely for infants, but too small at junior.
No choice of friends, not enough children for teams, sporting or otherwise, not enough funding for SN support, not enough funding full stop...
big one suits us much better.

I'd say the larger school. But go to ofsted.gov.uk and find their latest inspection reports as a starting point.

Smaller school can have problems attracting and retaining good Heads, there are fewer opportunities to share good practice and ideas amongst staff as there are less of them, and there are fewer opportunities for your child to mix with a wide range of other children.

Iam very interested in general views too - no experience of primary education at all but am in similar situation. My nitial thought is to go with larger, though mainlt because I will have two boys in consecutive school years and would like to give them a better chance of autonomy/independrce of one another.

only 70 would feel claustrophobic to me, i think...also i'd be asking myself if a school of only 70 in danger of closure in the current economic climate

Go for the bigger one, much better preparation for secondary school.

That was exactly my problem Pushka. Two boys 17 months apart.
In the same class for a couple of years, even sitting next to each other when I had expressly asked for that not to be the situation.
Personally, I thought the teacher relied on them to support each other.

the larger one
more selection for friendships

I would probably go with the bigger one, but do find out about class sizes etc first

Ingles2,..mine are 17mths apart too. Tell me, (and I know personalities are relevant but) did you feel they would/did benefit from separation at school? Much of the opinion I have sought suggests it is a good thing,...eg some teachers have said they feel twins and close age sibs get on better separate in class. Are they at a larger school now?

The small one.
Small schools usually have a family feel, good community, the staff are used to teaching mixed classes so it's not usually a problem, and I've never had a problem with siblings being short-changed in any way if they are in the same class. I don't think it's a particular problem when they go to secondary school - children from tiny schools have often been given responsibility and they 'step up' willingly.
Obviously though this is my personal view. My children went to a small school (60ish) and I've taught in 4 schools with between 30 and 100 children (and one with 300!)

big un, my dd's school has about 220 and it's a bit too small. Rubbish clubs, no school teams etc etc

220 doesn't sound like a big school anyway! My DS' school has 250 and has a good community feel to it. Its a nice size, plenty of kids to make friends with.

Look whether the 220 school is actually a 1 form entry school with 7 separate years groups that is full (10 over capacity) or is it a bigger school that is not full. That is a clue as how the local population gauge the school.
You can do the same with the 70 pupil school. Info will be on the school admission site of the local authority - there is a booklet with admissions to primary schools that has this information in it. Compare the net capacity of the school (or admission number times 7) to the actual number of pupils.
Either of the schools could have quite large classes in it, so see what you can find out from websites for the schools on classes in the school.
Out of personnel preference I would go for the larger school all else being equal as the pupils tend to adapt better to secondary school.
It is also worth checking whether the pupils from both schools go to the same secondary. If not what are the secondaries like is a valid question to also be asking.
Have you actually checked that the schools could accomodate your child in the appropriate year group?

220 seems tiny to me - my dc's primary has nearly 500 ...

I'd be very wary of only 70 pupils in a school as friendship issues could be really tricky

The bigger one, which is still small. You're not moving near to me are you - I live between 2 with around the numbers you have quoted?!

Small is way too small IMO, and likely to lack facilities and potential friends. I also really don't like the idea of class combining if it's done purely on an age basis - are they both done based on age, or on ability?

I would consider which was nearer and where the nearby children went to.

if there was nothing to choose (and having looked at Ofsted as well) then I personally would prefer a primary of 220 to one of 70; that's only 10 in a year group so 5 (say) of the same sex as yr DC; not a big friendship pool.

There are advantages and disadvantages to big and small schools IMO, but the friends thing is a big one.

220 btw very far from a big school. It's only an intake of just over 30 (curious number actually). The norm where I live is 60 (= 2 classes) in a year.

Pushka by yr 2 and 3 it was obvious they needed to be separate and with bigger friendship pools. Ds1, loud, confident, sporty, followed round constantly by his quiet, dreamy brother and the school encouraged it.
I waited until yr 3 and 4 as they moved to a junior school and both loved it immediately.
Within 3 or 4 days, ds2 was like a different child. He didn't seem unhappy particularly at the first school, but the difference after the move was incredible. Best decision I ever made.

Ingles, thanks for posting that. My gut feeling was that for one adademuc year ( reception and year 1 )they'll be ok, but thereafter i suspect one may "eclipse" the other. Your post is really helpful because it confirms my instinct when I have no other folk in the same position.

int MN great at times?!

Glad I could help

thanks all
interesting comments

I'm sorry if I've confused everyone over the numbers I don't think 220 is exact, it waqs just around 220.

We would be moving so would find the house to suit the school I think

I'm inclined towards the small one right now, will go and look at their websites again, one thing that did worry me was the comment about how full they are and what the local community thinks. The one of 70 has space for more pupils, however it is in an area without lots of children so I'm not sure that it is a big negative vote from the locals!

Oh how many children can the 70 pupil one take?

And if it is a lot more, yes, why is it not full? A school that small (and that is small) could be in danger of closing.