Moving for a secondary school catchment with a preschooler...

[squirrelclub]

An "It could only be on MN" thread... 🤣🤣

We have preschool child who will start Reception in September 2020. We are happy with our catchment primary school but we are not happy with the secondary school it feeds into. For context, last year 40% of children achieved 5 or more A* to C including English & Maths at GCSE; this year it increased to just over 60%. However, there's a school about half a mile further away which consistently and regularly achieves 80%+ - but it's very popular and it's not our catchment school. The admissions for this school prioritise children in the feeder primary schools and then children who live in catchment.

Part of me thinks it is silly to move now (to a feeder school catchment) for a secondary school place when so much could change by the time our child is of secondary school age and nothing is guaranteed, but we obviously want to offer the best opportunities.

Has anyone been in this position and decided to move? We really like the other area but we would be paying a fair whack more for a similiar sized house to what we currently have. We're thinking of moving generally (mostly because we want a flat garden and ours is tiered/sloping) but we are deciding whether to stay put in our current area (and purchase a slightly bigger, probably detached house) or move to this neighbouring area (and purchase a similar sized, probably terraced house).

Has anyone made a move at this stage for school-related reasons? Do you regret it? What was the outcome?

Thanks!

I would stay put and weigh your options up at a later date. Schools can go up and down, take one step at a time.

But I would look at how many children it takes from inside the catchment area as well as from the feeder primary schools. That way if you feel that in years to come you want your child to go to that other secondary, you could move into catchment but keep your child at their current primary whilst waiting for an in-year move to a feeder primary.

If that doesn't happen you are in catchment for the secondary.

I will add that we moved house when Ds1 was in year 3 for a secondary but we are right on the edge of the catchment for 2 schools, and so edged our bets. But I did keep both my children in their outstanding primary a few miles away. My house here was much cheaper because the nearest primary was "good" heading toward "requires improvement" but is now outstanding!

Remember school catchments can change each year and a new leadership team can frantically change a schools grades! So the whole situation could be very different in a short period

So secondary school start would be 2027? Far to early for a move. There are two secondary schools in my town which were outstanding with really good results for as long as everyone could remember - they were the two secondary schools everyone wanted their child in. Both schools had a change of head teacher 5yrs ago and both are now schools that are ofstead 4 and really crap results (made even worse by the fact that the average child in their intake area was an above average achiever at the end of primary).

Conversely in the past 8years there are a few schools that have gone from bad or mediocre results and ofstead 3 or 4 and parents desperately not wanting their child to go there, to having really good results, ofstead 1 or 2 and being majorly oversubscribed.

Remember school catchments can change each year

Nooooo no no they can’t, not if they are true catchments.

True catchments are fixed and defined. They only change by proper consultation. Not all schools or local authorities use them, however. Schools which admit by distance create ‘admissions areas’ which do vary slightly year by year. Many people often incorrectly refer to these as ‘catchments’, which causes a lot of confusion. Estate agents are some of the worst culprits.

No point moving now for secondary. Our child has just gone to secondary, well regarded and oversubscribed Now, was thoroughly crap 10 years ago!

Sorry but if you only have a preschool aged child who won't even start reception for another two years, then how can you honestly say you're happy with your catchment primary!?

Give.it.time! Secondary is almost a decade away for your family, and a LOT can change during that time.