School distances

[bellamountain]

Looking ahead to secondary school places in the next few years and the secondary closest to us is currently Ofsted 'requires improvement'. For as long as I've known it, it's never been a 'good' school and was inadequate for a long time. However, it is under a new SLT team, is due an updated Ofsted any time now and is quite a small school where the teachers know all the pupils. A bit further on, is the 'good' school which has always been either outstanding or good. It's recently been redeveloped and the facilities are excellent. Most of the children from my DDs primary go onto this school. The reviews are always very good and it would be my first choice for sure.

Where we live, however, we are just on the outskirts of town and in most years would have got into the good school on distance. However, due to new housing developments in the area, that distance is closing up. This year, on allocation day, we were just 100m in and they are still building new houses closer to the good school.

So, do we stay in a house we love with a decent garden, garage and driveway (overlooking a lake and woodland). It's ex council but non estate and a real mix of homes along our road from Victorian cottages to newer 1960s homes. Or, move closer to the good school to ensure our children have the best school opportunity? Although, we could make that move, end up with a bigger mortgage on a house we don't love and find we could have actually got in at our old address. We'd definitely sacrifice something by moving closer to the good school. Our view definitely being one but likely also potentially decent parking and garden. We are currently not overlooked.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation? What did you do?

For example, I can see there'll be a predicted 6.5% surplus in my area for 2027, compared to oversubscribed currently and all schools admitting over PAN.

Where do you find this information?

I absolutely want to do what's best for my children and a better school will give them those opportunities and I do get the demographic argument (our children are best placed to learn with children around them who are supported at home). It can't all be down to the teachers. This is why some schools can never improve.

We have 3 years left of primary.

I would just hate to go through all the stress for a new house that we don't love if we could have got in at this address. That would be a hard pill to chew. It's also quality of life, being able to afford holidays etc and not have to worry about stretching ourselves every month.

locrating.com is a really good resource and one I have spent hours looking at ahead of our upcoming house search. You can look at school 'catchments' for this and previous years, so will be able to get an idea if they are currently growing or shrinking. You can also see destination schools that pupils go to from your primary, and feeder schools of the secondaries. Good breakdown of results and progress scores etc too.

@SpringBunnies thanks I found it for my local area. Doesn't look good with an increased demand for sure in this area and when my DD is due to start, the demand will be particularly high (the highest by a long shot).

@bellamountain didn’t know your oldest is already in year 4. If I were you I will plan the move because you want to be in your new place either in 2023 or 2024. Completely understand you want to be in the school with better peers.

Yes, you should move.

I am regretting not moving. DD16 has been educated at an outstanding school and it is a truly fantastic place.

Sadly, DS10 didn't get in on distance. DH had been telling me for 2.5 years that we should move but i was confident hed get in. He didnt and im gutted.

The gulf between a good and outstanding school in my experience is wide. If its a choice between requires improvement and outstanding definitely move.

Sure, but rural counties like Suffolk and Norfolk solve this problem by writing the criteria so that younger siblings follow older ones, that way those out on the edge of two catchments don’t get pushed in either direction.

Most places have phased out sibling priority because its widely abused by people who rent near a popular school to get first child in, then move and get all subsequent children in with sibling priority. Even in suffolk and norfolk they still can't allocate a sibling a space in a class if its already got 30 other siblings in.

The reality is, school choice is really a myth. Most of the things that kick in where distances are too far, are limited to where you have chosen your nearest/catchment school, and if you've chosen to live a long way from all schools, what you get is whatever has space. You are almost lucky you didn't get an even less popular school even further away.

The council will expect you to:

• put kids on wait lists and hope for a movement
• use a childminder near one of the schools
• accept the free transport. Ignore the talk about finance being limited, they will provide it. Its not a normal taxi, they are vetted dbs checked driver used to doing school transport.

Its not the councils responsibility to consider your personal logistics and take into account where either of you work or the fact that you didn't choose your closest school for eldest.

I suspect I know the answer to this, but if you look around in your local area, is there an option C of a house you still like but is within the catchment of a decent school (maybe not one of the two in your OP)?

Unfortunately, I wouldn't trust the nearer school to improve- new SLT is all well and good, but sometimes this can push existing teachers (who may be good or less good) into leaving, and it's very hard to recruit for some subjects at the moment. That can push a school into a vicious cycle it's hard to get out of.