Arrgghhh I can't decide!!

[plus3]

the deadline is fast approaching and I am still in an absolute dither about which school to put first...(breathes..)

We are in Bucks and DS didn't get the golden ticket (11+ pass) - not entirely unexpected, but disappointing nonetheless.

Our dilemma is that our local school is in special measures - The GCSE pass rate last year was 45% 5 A-C's....it improved under the last regime from 42%. I do believe the new head will improve things, but it just feels like such a gamble
Our other choice is an out of catchment Boys school - initially the thing that most drew DS to the Grammar, was that it was boys only. Their GCSE pass rate is up in the 70s%

The problem is that I can see DS at both, for different reasons. Local school walkable, OOC needs short train journey or us dropping him there.
OOC has better results, better facilities, Local seems slightly more nurturing, but at academic expense.

On the open day I had made peace with the local, but now I have to commit to apply, I am having cold feet again

friends: only 1 other boy from DS school is applying for OOC school, lots of others are applying to the other local secondary which neither of us liked.
DH went to an all boys private school - had to commute in, all his friends lived locally to the school - he said it was a pain, but doable.

There is no guarantee that we even get the OOC school, so could be endless worry for nothing, and I slightly loathe myself for not automatically going with the local.

Any help/advice???

put ooc first . Friends is a red herring as social groups will shift anyway.

I think you are right about friends being a red herring.
I do worry about the train though (PFB....)

How do they assess the preferences?

I actually don't know

What does your ds prefer? Friends is not an issue as it really all changes at secondary. Go with your gut feeling is all I can suggest. It's really hard and we will have the same decision for our dd in a few years.

Put the boys school first and the local second - if it is anything like our closest comp (and by the results you have posted, it absolutely is!) it is going to be undersubscribed and you will be offered a place regardless of whether you name it or not!! Put it first and you will not get a look in at the boys school you prefer!
If yu change your mind in the meantime, are offered at the boys school but decline the place, you will almost certainly still get your local comp, but there is a slight risk you will be offered something even further away...
We expressed many other preferences on our CAF when my eldest was going in to Y7, we did not name our closest school (but preferences were not unreasonably far away either). Guess what? Local school it was.

I think ohtobe has a good point, but find out (ask) whether your local school is undersubscribed every year. If so, it's not a massive gamble to put the OOC one first - you would probably get a place at the local school if you change your mind later, and the worst that happens is you have to stick with the OOC. So if you are still undecided or leaning towards OOC, that could be your plan.

Have you got a third preference lined up?

ontobe I think that is exactly what will happen - even if we don't list local as a preference, and we list all out of ooc schools and don't get in, we would still end up at local!
Maybe I just need to be more confident in the Boys school choice - just looked at train - it is a 11 minute journey! School just across road from station, so technically fine.

spindelina no third preference because the other local secondary is actually out of catchment as well (although much closer than Boys school) - we just didn't like it at all on the open days - it is, however, the one the all the others in the year are putting as their first choice, with the local as fail safe option. It has slightly better results than local, but I can't put my finger on what I didn't like.

put a 3rd schools down, otherwise you run the risk of being allocated somewhere fairly random which happens to have a place. 11 mins by train is nothing and I bet others do the same trip.