Which compromise?

[KimGa]

We are happy with our current 3 bed semi. But if we don’t want our child to go to the failing local comp, we need to move. To get the school we want, we’ll have to buy a worse house.

Which compromise would you pick though? No parking other than very limited on street (we currently have two cars and a driveway), no garden (2 children aged 5 and 10 used to a lot of playing football in current medium garden) or less inside space (from large kitchen diner to a small kitchen and two toilets down to one).

Or suck up the crappy school?

I'd downsize. If it had a front and back garden could you look to extend in the future?
There's no way I'd give up parking or a garden.

That’s tough, OP. Are those really the only two options? How about a different school?

Does the new location have any public transport? Can you walk to school & local shops? It so, I'd compromise on parking and ditch one car.

Similarly, what options are there for parks in new location? If the kids can walk to a park with a football, you don't need so much garden. Especially as they get older they will want to hang out with friends.

Finally, have you visited the schools and looked beyond the ofsted headlines. If you are moving for a school you want to be sure that school is right for your kids.

I think you should visit the school, Often is by no means a full assessment of whether it is a good place for your child, it takes very little really to pull the whole score down. I'm not saying it is fine, but I'd want to go along and talk to some teachers etc first and judge for myself too. If you are considering this type of move would going a bit further afield to a slightly cheaper area help? I wouldn't give up parking or a garden if I could avoid it.

Top priority is a garden.

I'd ditch parking but we're car free by choice so I would say that!

The small property - what is extension potential? A second loo is not essential IMO.

So based only on what you say, I think the third one sounds best.

From these options I would go for no off road parking. I think you'd all feel the impact of the other options more although no parking would be a pain too if you are used to a drive.

I'd take the no parking compromise. The garden and inside space are essential for everyone. The no parking is a nuisance for mainly the driver. The passengers can be dropped off while the driver goes to look for parking.