Would you choose your local secondary school or "shop about"?

[northernlass167]

My DS and DD (twins) will be starting secondary school next year (2016) I have been thinking about secondary schools and we don't really have that much choice in our area.

We have the local school which is an academy opening in September that is a merger of two failed schools in the town but is under a new head and new management. This could either go really well or really badly as the schools were known rivals (fights, bullying etc) and now they want them to get along :S
The catholic school which my DCs have no chance of going to because I refuse to "pretend to be religious" to get them in (I don't think its fare on real religious people if we steal there places by going for a few weeks when they've gone for years)
After that we can go to the next town which has the same choices just about or go further afield where there is a "good" school about 20 minutes away which is ok academically or an "Outstanding" school about 30 minutes away. The outstanding school is the where all the parents want there children and it is the best by far around here both academically and for what they offer extra curricular wise. However, it is really oversubscribed and when you do finally get in there is the problem of arranging the 40 mile round trip transport.

After thinking all of this I just thought, whats wrong with the local school? Is it worth it? Would it not just be as good an education as if they went to a school 20 miles away?

What would you do?
Have faith in the local comprehensive academy or shop around to get what is apparently "the best"?

Thank you

PS. We don't have the option of opting out and going private
a) the budget doesn't stretch
b) there are no private schools in a 40 mils radius so it wouldn't be an option if the budget did manage to stretch

It's hard because you don't know how the local school will turn out with the merger.

You need to look for the school that will most suit your DC. If they have SEN, you need to find the one that will give them the most support. If they are sporty, the one with the best teams and facilities. If they are academic, the ones that will stretch them and provide them with the best chance of getting into a top university.

Obviously it's not going to be as straightforward as that, so definitely attend open evenings, look at prospectuses and try to find the best fit for your DC. This won't necessarily be the "best".

Interesting op.
I am going for our local school. It is a fairly new Academy and previous school failing pupils to extent all locals [esp middle class ones] avoided it like the plague. It seems to me on the up. Recent good ofsted, moving and shaking head teacher who has high aspirations for all pupils. However, bottom line results still below other schools [though rising] and consequently middle class jitters all round. Also for all parents the spectre of 'old' school remains. Apparently not big number of able students yet but ofsted made clear school does well by ALL pupils including more able ones.
I feel it will be ok for my ds. There is a determination at the school to do right by all children and a bubbling spirit of hope for all and my gut says go for it and don't jump ship.
So, it is local school for me and a thick skin to gasps of surprise from other parents. My ds keen too as will know a lot of children going there [although some very good friends won't be] and closest school to us and he is crap on a bike!!
Have you had chat with Head teacher? Maybe worth it if you have any concerns as well as attending open day.
Good luck...

We can only give personal examples op.
Look at website, be obsessive and perhaps try and get hold of gov minutes if not on website! Make an appointment to see Head of local school armed with questions. Be realistic about what schools are possible to get into from your house/ catchment areas.
Again, Good luck!!

I made a shortlist of the schools where they would meet the admissions criteria (based on children in previous years) and then visited/researched those. There is no point in looking at or considering schools where they won't be offered a place.

For example, in our case, these are our closest schools (and our chances of being offered a place)

School A: we live 0.8km away, in previous years the last child offered a place on distance lived 1km away. (probable).

School B: older siblings attend, in previous years every child who applied under sibling rule was offered a place (very likely)

School C: New school, last year not all places were filled (probable)

School D: Catholic, last year only practising Catholics were offered places (extremely unlikely)

School E: we live 5 km away, in previous years the last child to be offered a place on distance lived 3 to 3.5 km away (very unlikely).

We visited A, B and C and then put those three on the form in the order we liked them.

We didn't choose the local one as didn't feel it was the best for our DC.

Open days are useful

^^please ignore - have reported to mumsnet as I posted in error

No one really knows how it will pan out.

We put DD1 in an excellent school. The head left, half way through her year 10, to be replaced by a very uninspiring head, who has also now left, after just over a year. Lots of teachers have left, and who knows what will happen with the new head, once they find one?

So, really, you can only go with the information you can get, now.

I would look at all the schools you mention, and ask lots of questions, particularly about GCSEs. What options do they get? (E.g. if your DC are into art, and they have a crap art department, what use is that?) What guidance are they given to choose? What MFLs are taught? Can they do triple science? Can they do further maths?

Settling them into year 7 is important, but you are sending them to secondary school to get some qualifications. How well does the school achieve that, or how are they hoping to achieve that in the future, as the results in the past have not been good.

If you are a bit short of money, can you afford the fares/car journey/time to reach the school that is 30 minutes travel away and not your catchment school? Will it not be full from its catchment anyway? What about after school activities? As mentioned above, you need to judge which schools you can realisitically get into and completely discount those which are out of reach unless you move. What are other parents thinking?

I would look at all the schools. Look at their exam results etc. too.
Look at how the twins could make the journey to each school "by themselves".

Also think about what are your children like, what are their interests, how academic are they etc.

Its a hard thing.
I did not send my kids to my local secondary.
I have no regrets in the hassle it caused.

And becoming an Academy will not change the underlying characteristics of the school no matter what the Government say.

Shop about and visit them all, and speak to admission staff about their chances of getting in, transport links etc. And do some research into where the actual figures come from, and read the ofsted reports. I'd also really recommend going off how you feel on the visits about the atmosphere and staff, rather than just bare facts.

I personally decided to opt to send my children to a school further away (2.5 miles away) to an outstanding faith school as the schools round here were/are shockingly bad. Now I know 2.5 miles isn't a huge distance anyway but if I'd have opted for our local primary/secondary then it would have been a 4-5 minute walk as oppoaed to a 10-20 minute drive depending on traffic. But I couldn't face sending my children to a poor performing school simply because it would have been easier for me ie laying in bed longer, not having to leave as early, not having to sit in traffic but I have the time and I have have energy to take them further afield plus they're both extremely happy so I couldn't ask for more really.

I would definitely have a good look about. I'd listen to what other local people have to say, I'd visit the schools (I did in Yr5, too many options here to make the decision when all crammed into a fortnight in Yr6). I'd try to start with an open mind and then make a note of all the pros and cons. I'd obviously take into account the needs of my dc - special needs provision isn't always the best at 'Outstanding' ranked schools for example. Some children might struggle in a bigger school, but others would flourish with a wider range of opportunities. Some would love the mass of sports facilities or music or drama. You might prefer that classes 'set' , or don't 'set'. there are SO many differences in schools, it just depends what is important to you, and your dc.

A 40 mile round trip would be a very negative thing about a school, for me, (but then, I live in a City so would have dozens, possibly into hundreds of choices before I had to do that).

I'd also try to separate out the needs of each twin, as the same school might not be the best one for each dc.

I don't think I'd be doing my best for my dc if I just decided to put down the nearest school because I couldn't be bothered to look at all the options. However, having looked, it may well be that you decide the nearest is the best option.

Thanks for all the replies.

I've made a list as suggested TheSecondofHerName with all the possible schools on that the DCs have of getting into. Not that there are many that wouldn't take them as all the schools have taken kids who put them as first choice regardless of where they are on the criteria because there aren't enough children to fill the places.

I think we have narrowed it down to looking at 4, one in our town, the others in neighbouring towns both 10/15 minute drives away (as is usually the case when your not in a city). And the outstanding school. It doesn't sound like many but considering we only have 7 schools within an acceptable distance I think its a good enough selection considering one school they will not ever be setting foot in (yes, it is that bad) and 2 they have no chance of going to because of the religion thing.

We have decided to go and look at all the schools on the list. I wasn't saying I wasn't going to look, it was always my intentions to go and take the DCs along to all the schools.

Unfortunately BackforGood the school 20 miles away is the only school that offers anything, well, good really, that's why many people want there kids there. I think its about the only school (with the exception of the catholic schools) that my DCs would struggle to get into because in the past it has been really oversubscribed. We will go have a look anyways.
Thank you for the advice about looking beyond the outstanding grade and at what the school has to offer in things such as music etc. and I've got the twins to write down what they think is important for them.
I've realised im not just choosing one school but actually choosing two because they both want different things making things slightly harder(although they still might choose the same one in the end). Who knows?

Thank you everyone, I think my mind has been broadened that little bit more now I've realised its a lot more complicated going from juniors to secondary than it was going from infants to juniors.

the 40 mile trip wouldn't put me off if it was the right school, assuming i could logistically get my child there. My oldest did a 35 mile round trip and it worked out fine - parents organised a bus which we paid about 60 a month for. To drive myself would have been hard work though. where i grew up loads of kids did 40 mile round trips - mine wasn't much less. the only down side is that all my son's friends live a distance away, whereas my other kids have more friends locally

I am surprised so many of you can get into state schools so far out of catchment...
I don't drive and do think there is a lot to be said for a school a child can walk to.
Also I will be working when ds1 starts local secondary which will make local even more desirable for us.
Convenience does come into it for me!

Scented
Its called rural areas !
When schools are 10 miles apart and catchments are 12 miles across

We're in a comp county and had three comps dd would have definitely got into and one she may have got into on a waiting list. We didn't want the nearest one and would have been happy with any of the other three, but chose and got into the second nearest one. She can get a bus door to door or walk up a steep hill. (We are at the bottom of a valley.) We did shop around in that we looked at all four schools, two of them we looked around a few times.

5 years ago I sent my dd to the local ( improving) academy. Friends stuck their noses in the air in disgust and sent their twins to a school two bus rides away. Dds GCSE results 4 a* 7 a and a b. The twins as and Bs for one, Bs and Cs for other. Just sayin.

We didn't apply to our local school(s).

We looked around, but in the end went private. A different school for each twin, no less (picky).

We are happy with their very recent GCSE grades, but more than that, we're happy with their school experience IYSWIM.

I think there is some evidence that children with supportive parents will basically do well anywhere.

We are planning for DC to attend our nearest schools in all cases, which are fine. We did move here knowing that however.

I wouldn't set too much score by academies either despite government rhetoric.

poocatcher
I think there is some evidence that children with supportive parents will basically do well anywhere.
True up to a point.

My local school went for a term without a single permanent science teacher
and two terms without any MFL teachers
its hard to succeed under such circumstances

Our local comp has mediocre results compared to alternatives. Most people choose local because:

A) the want their DC to stay local
B) they can't afford the £300-£500/yr transport costs to go elsewhere
C) they probably went local themselves, and it was good enough for them
D) most local kids go there and most kids want to go with their friends

What I did: I let DC choose because we could afford transport costs. DC didn't want our local school but I would have been okay with it and feel sure DC could have reached own potential fine. DC's schools are 15 minutes drive away. Transport home can be a faff for sure. Certainly not cheap to drive there & back 4-8+ times a term, either.