Have you ever relocated in time for secondary school?

[piggypigpigpigpigpig123]

Just that really. I don’t mean moving at the end of primary school - I mean staying for the whole of primary school and timing things for a move into year 7.
if you did this, how did your kids find the experience and did they miss old friends? how did you find the experience ?

No I didn't do this and I always think when people suggest it on threads here that surely it's better to move at the start of year 6?

• In time to apply in Oct from new address so no late-appy panic (this is key I think)
• Kids have chance to make new friends that will be going to secondary with them
• Avoids issue of transition days in summer term to a secondary they won't be going to
• Gentler pace of change rather than combining whole new area, new people to meet and the huge change that is secondary all in one week

Are you thinking of moving once year 7 has started? There is no guarantee at all of gaining a place if it's a popular school so it’s a big risk.

@clary - I am desperate to move ‘home’ ( 1 hour away) and have no idea how I can do it without disrupting education/friendship groups. I am trying to work out in my head how I can do it without too much stress to friendships lost . I wondered if we applied for secondary schools back “at home” whilst in the process of buying/selling, that way we could start year 7 right from the very beginning. I know that comes with risks if the house doesn’t go through though.

So are you thinking of applying to secondaries from where you live now? You can apply of course and will be offered if a school is undersubscribed locally; but if you are applying to a school that uses distance (most do) and is popular then you won't get a space.

What year is your child in now? I assume year 5? I would look to be moved for the start of year 6 personally. That way you secure your space in the desired school for year 7 (as long as you are close enough and meet any other criteria obvs). I really cannot see what difference it makes to move from friendship group A to friendship group B at the start of year 6 or the end of year 6. Except that moving at the start of year 6 makes for better transition to year 7, with familiar faces from year 6.

@piggypigpigpigpigpig123 depending on how crowded schools are in your chosen area, it also comes with a risk of you having no place on school allocation day because people already living in the area outrank you on distance.

Whereas you can apply for any school you like (within your year 6 LA or elsewhere) from your current address, unless you fall into a limited range of categories (services family with a confirmed quartering address on the doorstep of the new school - unlikely, at the point of an on-time CAF submission? - applying for 'score order only' grammar where your DC has been ranked well within PAN, or applying for an undersubscribed school are some examples), you can't be totally sure of a place at a school miles away. However, as soon as you provide the new LA with acceptable proof pf your new address, your DC will move up the waiting list of any school where this affects ranking, as soon as lists are re-ranked (but in some places, this can be quite late on in the cycle).

If you only name schools in your intended area on your CAF, and none of the 'sure to get in' conditions apply at any of them, the offer you will get on national offer day is a place at the nearest school to your current address that is still undersubscribed. This may be a school which is both undesirable to you and miles away. To try to prevent this, if there is any chance that your move might not go ahead, name the 'new area' schools at the top of your CAF, but reserve at least one lower slot for a current area local school that your DC would as like as not be offered, and that you ate happy with.

Not secondary but we moved over 80 miles for sixth form. Bit of a rollercoaster as it was during the pandemic - she sat her entrance exam during a lockdown. Prices were skyrocketing and houses were going under offer quickly. I sold my house and when my purchase fell through still completed as I didn’t want to lose my buyers. Everything went in to storage and we went in to a succession of Airbnbs. Again lousy timing as it was summer so £££. My DD attended her prom while living out of one suitcase. Anyhoo another house fell through so we were driving up the A3 constantly it felt to look at anything that seemed vaguely suitable as school start was getting closer. We did compromise but I do love our eventual house, but it was a very expensive move! It was private school though so the distance thing didn’t really matter in terms of being offered a place.
She did have a huge wobble first few weeks - not that she was so attached to her old friends (she actually burned her bridges there). She didn’t particularly like her new school, didn’t really make many friends but did respect her teachers. She now says that I forced her to move - it’s true I wanted to and when she had told me she wanted to go to an all girls sixth form and there wasn’t any where we lived I rather ran with the idea. But I think what’s happened since has mellowed this idea - I mean how many of us keep old school friends?
While my kids went to an all through school there was a change of population in Y7 - new kids joined a few left. It was also time of changes to friendship groups - not all survived the start of adolescence when kids get more defined in their personalities and interests. My DD’s best friend became interested (obsessed) with make up and boys and music and their friendship didn’t survive that divergence. So I think there’s often a natural change in friendship groups in Y7 anyway.
Of course it helps enormously if the kids are on board with the change and very hard of not, though kids are also good at rewriting history!
Examine why YOU want to move. I think if you do between primary and secondary is a better time than most others.

We moved a year ago (oldest kids started new school in Year 3 and Year 5). We actually had to commute from old house to new school for the first 6 weeks last year which was a nightmare - our house took 6 months to complete due to drama down the chain! Now they’re in Year 4 and 6. We did this because there was no way we would get into the secondary without applying (just done that now) from within the catchment.

They have made friends (though there were ups and downs) - which should not be underestimated. Hoping when they start secondary they’ll recognise lots of faces. It’s been tough but really happy to be in our new area.

My Brother and SIL did this, but it was very stressful. They applied for places in all of the schools in the new area (they had 3 in primary including one in year 6). Then SiL moved up into a rented flat with the youngest 2 and they started their new primary. They eldest got a year 7 place in the least desirable school in the area, which was a long way from their house. She eventually got a place in their second choice school after 2 terms. It was very disruptive and their eldest still wants to go back to her old friends.

Its fraught with issues.
We relocated at the start of year 5( moved during the long school holiday). It gave dd 2 years to develop friendships and get into the secondary ( 56 out of 64 kids from her primary year went) .
That was hard enough!

I think it's best to move asap and then commute to your old school until the end of primary if you want them to stay.

I moved during the summer holidays after year 5 ended. He was new in year 6 but started year 7 with lots of people from primary. I think it’s easier to do it like that than do the move after year 6 finishes because transition activities are based on the school they are moving up to and they can spend the summer with their year 6 friends.

Secondary admission where we live is based on feeder primary and/or address so we had an offer from the school we wanted.

A long time ago, but my family moved for me to go to a Grammar School. We moved at the end of now year 5 so that I could get to know people before the move to secondary. That in itself wasn’t a bad idea but unfortunately that was my 4th primary school which was an issue for me. In the end I made new friends when I started secondary and didn’t really keep in touch with anyone from that last primary.

I don’t believe that there is an ideal time during primary school as long as you are there for entry exams if there are any. Children make new friends, particularly when everyone starts secondary school.

We planned to do this when dd1 was in Year 6 and hoped to do it in the summer before Year 7 (grammar school). Needless to say, things didn't quite go according to plan with the house sale and we still live there now - 7 years later 😀

My feelings at present is that we move to a location that is in between here and “home”. That way we can still keep the connections made at present , some children are also likely going to progress to the school half way between as it has a great name, we can easily commute to our current primary school , and then we are a bit closer to “home” without too much stress . It’s not my perfect scenario, as ideally I want to just go home to be local to friends and family again, but I don’t know if my heart can take the upheaval and the stress. I know there are people in the world with much more complex worries and problems , but this has been such a dilemma for me for the last 5 years. I knew as soon as we moved here it was the wrong decision but I just can’t seem to be able to untangle myself of the situation without causing stress to my child (and also myself as I empathise with them!!)
sorry for the waffle and sounding so pathetic!!!

Agree with PPs that unless the school in the new area is really undersubscribed, or there are lots of options for secondaries there and any would be ok, you are taking a big risk with your proposed timings. We moved areas specifically for the secondary, and we chose to do that during y5 to give DD time to bed in and make friends in the local area. That way we were at an address in catchment when we applied for secondary at the start of y6.
It was hard, and I wish we hadn’t felt we needed to move purely for schools but she’s now y8 and settled and the school is excellent for her. I also wish she could’ve stayed in her old primary til the end of y6 but then moving to secondary knowing absolutely no one would’ve been even more daunting, so we tried to make the best decision we could.

i would say that she still would’ve preferred not to have moved and feels that her childhood was disrupted by this, which doesn’t feel great… although now she’s older she understands our reasons a bit more.

Actually, I have remembered that wrong. It was Year 5 and summer before Year 6 started. But we weren't going to change her primary school. We were just planning on travelling the extra distance for that year.

A half way move could be the worst of all worlds not the best.
And friendships change a lot in y7 anyway.
I think bite the bullet, move properly end y5. You already having connections in new area will presumably help with settling in for you and the rest of the family.

We moved when eldest was about to start yr 5. We didn't change primary school . DCs had good school experiences at primary and secondary school. Both were shy and took time to find friends at secondary but did settle in and do well. If I had it to do again, I'd move primary so they could meet more people who were going to the secondary at a younger age. But it did work.

You would need to move before the end of October in year 6 to have a solid chance of getting into your first choice secondary

otherwise you’re relying on an undersubscribed school having places

some areas might be ok, round here you’d definitely end up in a crappy school

if you want to stay at the same primary school may mean a lot of travelling back and forth.
we moved when my eldest was in year 6.
moved before the local secondary school application date so we were in the catchment for our preferred secondary.
we spent about 9 months travelling back and forth so they could stay at their primary school. They had all their leavers activities and friends and I really didn’t want to move them.
it all depends how far/feasible the commute is.

Do you actively like the halfway house town and school option? Enough to be there for 7 years or so?

Is the secondary school you want actually over subscribed? All the schools in my area have been under subscribed the last few years so in effect you could get a place from anywhere.

@HollyIvie can I ask how long your commute was between the locations ?

It was around 40 mins on a good day. Definitely not great especially when there was traffic delays. I was really keen for her to finish primary at her old school with all her friends.
Luckily I work flexible hours so could do the school runs around work.
it was worth it in the end as we moved literally 0.5 miles away from our preferred secondary school (it was a very oversubscribed school so we had to be close to stand a chance of getting in with the admissions criteria.) my daughter can walk to school now. Also even though she went to this school with no primary friends she made lots of new ones at secondary.
it’s such a tough choice and logistics can be stressful. Wish you all the best!

Pps have already said, but you would need to move into catchment for your chosen school staff the start of Y6 not Y7. I mean, there is usually some movement in Y7 so if you move right next door or something and then join the waitlist, you might get lucky. I think your place on the waitlist is determined by where you would be on their list if you had applied with everyone else in Y6, not first come first served?