Secondary school choices - what would you do?!

[Wiggleroomm]

Secondary school choices - what would you do?!

My daughter is ten years old. She’s very sensitive, she likes to feel nurtured and supported. She is also very bright, sociable and creative. She can be shy in large groups, and she also can struggle and get overwhelmed with school work / reading. I would say she is not ‘academic’ but she does well enough, she could do a lot better if she pushed herself and realized how capable she is.

We have choice of following secondarys:

Choice 1: very small state school (700 in total), most of her friends are going, very heart Centred however known to be underfunded, under resourced, disorganized and never pick up phone. Ofsted rating good and they do well enough in league tables. NO 6th form. They do have some nice club, it appears very friendly, although a little rough round the edges. Has a charming feel to it, and feels like a school!

Choice 2: very large state school, rated one of the top 5 schools in county alongside 4 grammar schools. 2300 kids. Exceptional teaching, facilities and buildings. (Only built a few years ago so very modern, spacious and swish) academic so push children but also lots of clubs and societies. Ofsted rating outstanding. Downsides are that there doesn’t seem to be much in places in terms of smaller communities and nurture. No quiet room they can go to when things get too much etc… unless you’re in a ‘club’ that is. Has a very cold and clinical feel about it! More like giant offices than a school!

I’ve looked round both, my daughter changes her mind constantly and doesn’t have a preference. She changed every day and feels it’s too hard a choice. She likes the idea of a fresh start and exciting new school but worried about size and missing her friends. The small school is also very tired looking, shabby etc.

Ultimately I want her to do well academically but most importantly want her to be happy.

I’ve asked other parents who all have mixed experiences with both, but the bigger school
Is the most recommended.

I feel like perhaps she’d be more suited to smaller school but at same time I don’t want to hold her back when the big school could be a chance for her to grow and shine .✨

Any advice / experiences / opinions most welcome!! Thanks

Choice 1 sounds ideal if your DD is sensitive. She may not need to lean on the structure of the school as much as she might need to lean on being nurtured.

From my experience, when they start senior school, they rarely stay with their old group of friends. They’re likely to be split up across different forms, so at most , there may only be one other school friend per class.

I’d go larger school- more opportunities, clubs, better results etc.

Does the big school have ways of dealing with the size? So designated areas for year 7, staggered breaks, house assemblies, year group activities, vertical tutor groups? Ask them.

I taught at a mega school ( in the top 10 by size) and found that students did meet their ‘tribe’ within the school and that, with a larger school, there were a lot more tribes so everyone found someone.

Also, what seemed overwhelming in Year 7, didn’t by year 9. I’d go bigger school just for the wider range of GCSE options.

Choice one.

if she isn’t supported emotionally in school then it will be a lot harder for her to achieve her potential.

shiny and new isn’t always better.

From the way you've described them it sounds as though you are leaning towards no 1.
I am also assuming you will get into which ever one you put first.
If it was round here 2 would be very difficult to get into. I would be tempted to go for school 2, see how she gets on & then move her if it doesn't work. (We have huge amounts of movement)
Clubs can be done out of school & will build her network up. Stay in touch with primary friends.
You don't mention journey - I would factor that in.
#2 for me.

@BackToRealitySigh Thats interesting g. I felt op was more enamoured by option 2!

Charming and heart -centred every time.

I agree - what is the journey time? If both within (say) a 15-min walk then you can discount that.

What about GCSE options? 700 pupils is very small, 120 per year, so I wonder if that would limit things like: CS, triple science, drama, DT, MFL? Would that be a concern do you think?

I wouldn't personally choose a school based on friendships but maybe that's based on the experience of my DC - for all of them, friendships changes a lot in year 7 and 8.

And agree it's worth probing further the offer of the very big school in relation to supporting new starters, activities for each year, staggered lunch times etc. Also what is offer if no quiet room? Is there a library? That was a haven for a lot of students in the school I worked in.

The first choice for sure.

If her friends are going there, that would be the main reason I'd put it up there. My DD just started secondary school and her friends going to the same place really helped with the transition. It was smooth, she said "it's just like primary but with different buildings".

I also worried about underfunding and bad comms (which were terrible/none existent until after she started) but when she started comms were excellent. The form tutor emailed me on day 2 to say hello, there was a parents meeting on week 2 as an introduction. Re funding, the PTA are trying to plug that gap by asking for donations and having lots of fund raisers.

In short, the parents and carers are investigating in the school which makes for a happy atmosphere.

But like I say, biggest plus for the small school is your daughter's friends going there.

Totally agree with this!

Choice 2.
A larger school, more efficient, better structure. They'll know how to deal with all sorts of students. She'll make friends and find her tribe. She can be anonymous in the corridors if she needs to be.
In my experience? Avoid a disorganised school with poor communication.

it might not be disorganised, it just appears so from the outside.

My DD's school appeared disorganised from the outside but when she started there, it became apparent that it wasn't at all!

Something is wrong if it appears disorganised and they don't answer the phone.

Do you meet the admission criteria for both? Thats the first thing to consider.

Its true that children very often form new friendships in secondary school, even if they don’t know people at first.

Economies of scale mean that larger schools can offer more options, both academically and in terms of extra curricular choices. Smaller schools don’t always have the range of either.

I’ve worked in a school of 600 and a school of 2000. The smaller one had a much more homely feel, but the larger one was divided into lower school, upper school and sixth form, so didn’t feel so massive.