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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

Very small secondary school

38 replies

SheWoreYellow · 17/03/2022 15:08

Any cons that I’ve missed?

DS could go to a school with just 50 in each year. It will suit him in many ways. The other choice is the other end of the spectrum, and really large. Both are private.

So far I am thinking small could mean:

Less choice of friends
Less chance of interesting after school clubs due to numbers
I need to check about whether they stream for maths

Facilities look fine.

Anything else I’ve missed?

OP posts:
TeddyTonks · 17/03/2022 15:11

Fewer or lower standard sports teams -if that's his thing
More chance of a skewed-sex year. Eg if there are 35 girls and only 15 boys potentially very limited pool of friends if he's a 'lads lad' or vice versa if he prefers the company of girls

Original poster
SheWoreYellow · 17/03/2022 15:45

Good points, thanks! I will ask how about the boy:girl ratio.

OP posts:
Beamur · 17/03/2022 15:46

I'd ask about the range of GCSE options.
Also after school/lunch clubs .

Reluctantadult · 17/03/2022 15:50

Was going to mention gcse options choices, which might be narrow. And, do they have a sixth form. Needing to make be friends at 16-18 can be a tricky time for some.

ChicCroissant · 17/03/2022 15:58

The lack of GCSE options would be the main one for me as well, I would check that before even entertaining the idea of it. It could be really limiting.

ItsaMeanOldScene · 17/03/2022 16:12

My youngest son went to a secondary school of similar size - he needed to access the special educational needs unit attached. It worked for him. However I noticed the range of GCSE choices was poor, the school offered only limited extra curricular and few team sports. This was why his rugby loving elder brother went elsewhere. Also good teachers tended to leave for promotion (as promotion within the school was limited due to size). Finally you always had that feeling that the school might close.

caulkheaded · 17/03/2022 16:18

Two local schools of that size have merged recently - one with a much larger school and one with a similar size. Both moved site which would be a pain if it’s significantly further. I don’t think you can find out if it’s going to happen but something to be aware of.

GU24Mum · 17/03/2022 16:31

It would probably also depend why it was that small - rural area and/or just has been that size for ages is one thing; used to be 120 in a year and on a slide down, not great; 8-13 school which has just expanded to run to 16, could mean it's on the up but you just have a smaller year group.

My gut feel is that, everything else being equal, 50 is a bit too small.

TeenPlusCat · 17/03/2022 16:33

What do you call 'really large'' about the other school?
Private schools don't tend to be large by state standards on the whole.

DD's comp had 250 per year for example. Is your other option even bigger than that?

HerbErtlinger · 17/03/2022 16:40

As others have said, GCSE options. My DD in at a small secondary with 90 in her year group and she's loving it. She's made so many new friends and goes to a different after school club every day. The school is part of s trust and some of her GCSEs may have to be accessed at their sister school but the school provides the transport to lessons if that would be the case and the benefits of her attending the smaller school, for her, outweigh the slight inconvenience. She's like a different child since starting in September

Original poster
SheWoreYellow · 17/03/2022 16:41

It aims to keep small. So it has a waiting list but says it will never go over current numbers. It’s been how it is for a good while as far as I’m aware.

GCSE options look fine - a few in addition to the obvious ones.

Good point about sports teams. DS is good at sport but hasn’t really had the opportunity to get good at anything.

The other school has 2,500 pupils, so is large.

OP posts:
Original poster
SheWoreYellow · 17/03/2022 16:43

Thanks all!

The other thing is, he hasn’t actually got a place anywhere else, only the small one, although he has passed two assessments and is on their waiting lists. One I don’t think he has a hope of getting into, so I’m discounting it.

OP posts:
OutlookStalking · 17/03/2022 16:45

Wow that's tiny!

axolotlfloof · 17/03/2022 16:45

Way are the gcse options?
Do they have computer science, tech, pe, photography, drama?
What is he interested in now?

Original poster
SheWoreYellow · 17/03/2022 17:09

They don’t have most of those options, but it’s only computing of those that he’d be interested in.

Oh and I meant to say, they do have a sixth form.

OP posts:
EdgeOfSeventeenAndThreeQuarter · 17/03/2022 17:12

😂 my DC are in a secondary school with fewer than 50 in the entire building!

Rather than “fewer friendships” and only socialising with their own year, they cultivate friendships with children of ALL ages. Makes the teens less arsey too.

TizerorFizz · 17/03/2022 17:18

My DDs went to private schools with 60 intake. Lots of subjects. Lots of friends and sport was top notch. Very expensive though. 6th forms offered lots of subjects. It totally depends on the school. Private small schools offer more than state schools. If they do not, why pay? They also had amazing drama and music.

titchy · 17/03/2022 17:19

Financial security would be a concern, and staffing. A large school will have enough classes to recruit several full time Music, Spanish, DT teachers. A small one might only have one which can be an issue if they leave, or with the lack of team to bounce ideas off.

OutlookStalking · 17/03/2022 19:33

Doesnt sound like this private small school is offering more than state if they're not even offering standard gcse choices....

hupfpferd · 17/03/2022 19:38

I didn't think that was actually that small for a private school?

My DD had about 50-60 in her year group. Don't find it very small.

Is it co-Ed?

NeverEnoughCake2 · 17/03/2022 19:48

I'd add limited number of teachers per subject as a potential con. If there's only one teacher of [insert your DS's favourite option] and they're not great, then he could end up not choosing something he previously loved for GCSE/A Level. In a bigger school, your DS would have more chance of not getting the weaker teacher, and the weaker teacher would have colleagues teaching the same subject to bounce ideas off/provide peer feedback.

flipflopjump · 17/03/2022 20:00

Is the small school financial secure?

MiniDaffodils · 17/03/2022 23:14

Less likely to find his tribe. Lack lustre teachers looking for a quiet life.

TizerorFizz · 17/03/2022 23:24

In a private school, you probably know what the tribes will be! You are not going to find breadth of background by and large. Some teachers relish small private schools. Some definitely don’t want the angst of difficult to teach children. Like most schools, you can get a mixed bag!

angelsandinsects · 18/03/2022 00:13

Smaller size can be good or bad when it comes to things like sports teams or musical ensembles. Less likely to be a really strong team or group as they won't have as many to select from but more chance of being in one of those teams or groups if you're only average.
I went from being 1 of 120 to 1 of 30 at 13 and went from being the reserve's reserve for the hockey team to always being in the starting line up. It was the same across other sports and activities. I was fortunate and some of the other girls were just amazing so we still had a good team.
Also, perhaps less likely to find your tribe but more likely to mix with and get to know everyone. At a bigger school, you may simply not get to know chunks of the year meaning you could miss your tribe due to timetable logistics