Is there a website which shows or rates school facilities, size of grounds, etc. ?

[3point14]

Looking at schools for my daughter I find myself frustrated by wasting time researching schools which may well be good academically but which have little or nothing to offer in terms of facilities.

Whilst I am not expecting polo ponies on the school green, I certainly do not want to send my daughter to a school where the only outside space is a concrete yard. I do want grass and more if available.

I could think of a grading system for schools but I wonder if anyone knows of a web based resource which might cover things like this.

I haven't come across any. The school's website should have a few pictures showing facilities or you can always ring up and ask before planning a visit.

Or ask for a prospectus beforehand. They'd always be keen to show off in those.

You need to visit them really. The prospectus will help, but nothing beats actually looking round for that kind of information.

I used to think like this and although ds's school has a really boring quite small concrete area with no playground equipment and a field which doesn't belong to the school, really limited facilities, it's such a happy little school I no longer think it matters that much.

They still do extra curricular stuff e.g. sport at local clubs and PE in the hall. It would bother me more when he is older though so I guess it depends on what age your dd is?

I suspect you'd be in a tiny minority in thinking this is a meaningful way of shortlisting schools. It might be the deciding factor in choosing between two schools you otherwise like, but I don't think many people would put it top of their list of factors to consider.

As I am relocating to the UK (or more precisely to the suburbs of London), I am not constrained by the location of my house. I will simply take a house to facilitate entry to a school of my choice.

I remember my primary school. Old Victorian buildings, always freezing in non summer, a yard with perhaps 20m by 5m of concrete. Sports were take on a field so far away that walking there and back too more time than we spent on sport itself. Swimming was so far away that it died a death. We had to play all our football matches away as we had no home ground. I certainly want substantially better for my daughter.

I will visit the schools but given my freedom to live virtually anywhere, I cannot get hold of hundreds of school prospectuses, nor can I even review hundreds on the net. I certainly cannot visit hundreds.

It is a double edged sword, my freedom and choice of where to live. It sounds great to have that choice but it ends in information overload in many cases.

Nevermind, back to the drawing board !

You could try asking on here for people with knowledge of schools in the London suburbs - MN probably covers most of them! That would also give you a general feel of the school from a parents point of view.

Why not use google earth?

No - the government thinks that League tables are all you need to know!