Relocation to Dorset

[RosieLeaLovesTea]

Hi all
We are planning to relocate to Dorset from Hampshire- not too far 1.5 hrs away. We saw a house we liked and we went to view it. Put in an offer and it was accepted! It’s close to a really good secondary school and we would be in catchment.

But I had been in touch with school admissions and there is only one reception place In a school rated as inadequate and no year 3 places in any of the schools in that town. So it’s likely that a
Place would be offered further away and they would go on a waiting list.

How does any one relocate areas when it involves school places? It just seems like a real leap of faith.

We really love the area and to be so close to the Jurassic coast and great beaches. Nice town and good secondary school. I would travel to my job 1.5 hours each way once a week and the rest working at home.

Positive of new house - bigger lounge, bigger kitchen diner, 4 double bedroom, bigger bathroom, double garage.

Negative smaller master bedroom than we have now and smaller garden. But more manageable garden for me as current garden labour of love.

Does it sound like a good move?

What town is it that you are looking to move to? Personally, I wouldn't apply for a place at a school that is inadequate and I would want to make sure they are both in the same school (otherwise, school run is an absolute nightmare).

Our situation is slightly different - we moved away from Dorset to Devon, but our local school was not over-subscribed. It was easy to put in an in-year admissions and we got the notification of the place about 2 weeks later.

One thing to consider is that schools in towns tend to be harder to get a place than in villages. We lived in a village in Dorset and no schools near us were over-subscribed and all rated good. Do you have other (non-town) options near you and how far would they be? I wouldn't want to move schools and then go on a waiting list and move again. It's been a really important part of settling in that our dc could make new friends and really settle. There's no way I could move them somewhere different now after they are happy in their new school. So that would be a big consideration for me.