Not choosing local school impact socially

[Mobey78]

Those of you who chose to not send DC to the local secondary school how has it been for them socially?

The town we live in has one secondary school which is not good - poor reputation and poor academic results.

We're considering sending our DC to a school in a neighbouring town but I'm slightly concerned about what impact this may have socially.

Does anyone have any positive stories of not using the local option but their DC still being able to maintain local friendships ?

OP problem is that ofsted and even results only tell part of the story.
I know quite s few DC who excelled at 'poor' schools. Schools are way more than academics.

My DC went to local grammars for us that have a large catchment area. They made loads of friends and quite often friends who lived far away would come for sleepovers, for example, if there were plays/concerts/train strikes.
My DC say they still know what is going on with their primary school friends due to social media and their friendship networks are far bigger than ours ever were. Apparently everyone knows everyone these days and as they get older they all mix private, comp, grammar at parties and there is dating going on etc too. We are in London. They even keep up at uni with each other it seems.

Just chiming in with my experience- I would personally go local UNLESS you have amazing public transport options. I know an hour commute is normal for London. If the local is absolutely not an option - move house.

i went to the better school which was a 45-50 minute drive in rush hour traffic. They had a great school bus system that was well organised with lots of stops- but they didn’t run apart from the 3:45 school finish.

It meant hanging out with friends was a nightmare, couldn’t get back from revision sessions, couldn’t ever be part of a school production. My bus journey was also 1h20 including all stops.

they moved 10 mins to my school, just before my GCSEs. I was very grateful.