School question- advice from mums that have picked schools and are living the school run life…

I would always go for village school in this case - unless you have worries that it’s not good etc. Another thing to bear in mind is if you go to the local school then your neighbours’ children will go there, and I think it’s nice when all the local little ones go to school with their friends.

@Elizabeth They’re all village schools, and I do have concerns that the one in my local village isn’t necessarily the best fit for him though- hence asking about the alternatives. I agree that it would be nice to have local friendships, but the school in my village takes children from lots of other villages too (their intake is >90 children a year) So I won’t be choosing based on that alone.

I drive 10-15 minutes to take my boy to school, I don’t see it as an inconvenience really! We chose the further away one though as it’s close to our family who don’t drive so in any kind of emergency etc, they can walk up to collect him if needed x

@Jessica Thank you. We don’t have any family nearby, so not something we’d need to consider, but great to hear you don’t find the drive too inconvenient! Both of the schools that are a drive away are in the opposite direction to where we both work, which is annoying, but again it’s something we would make work if we felt the school was right for him!

I think the further away schools would always be my option in this case. My closest/catchment school just doesnt feel right to me. I much prefer the school a little further out. If the school is right, and child is happy there i dont think the drive will be an inconvenience, it will be worth it for happier parents/children.

@Emma I may well be pleasantly surprised when we get to see them, but so far from what I do know, I’m in exactly the same position. His happiness is absolutely paramount, we would just have to make it work!

I picked a 10-15 min drive based on the fact the school was rated outstanding, was multi cultural, had good extra curriculum activities, had an excellent pass rate for 11+, a lovely school uniform and also taught languages from yr1. The extra journey was a no brainer if she would get an amazing education. Bearing in mind I have 2 schools 2 mins walk from home.

@Caroline Thank you for sharing- I totally agree with you. I don’t know why I’m second guessing it, I suppose it will just add some more stress to our daily lives but his happiness and education is the absolute priority so we will just have to do whatever it takes!

I picked a school which is about 18 minutes away in a completely different town, just because the schools were not great around me, it really depends on preference I have schools walking distance but aren’t as good - overall I’m happy to do the drive as it means she’s in a really good school

I had this exact dilemma this year. We applied and got accepted into the school that was a 10 minute drive away but I had a gut feeling that it was the wrong choice. We changed the choice to the village school that is a 3 minute walk and she's been going for 2 weeks. Best decision, the walk to and from school is lovely, she holds my hand and happily chats about her day. I drove past the school we had intended to send her to and it is carnage outside with cars in the morning, so stressful. Things I hadn't originally thought about are: she is now in a class with 15 children that all live in our village. If we ever have car problems it won't affect the school run. If she's sick etc I can be there much quicker. Less fuel costs and I added up the 10 minute drive, parking and walk to get her twice a day - you'll be spending an incredibly long time in the car doing the school run for the duration of primary school! Pick the local village school, unless there is something wrong with it your child will thrive!

@Ruby Everything you’ve said about picking a local school is why we’re feeling so conflicted. Good to hear the other side of this, and I totally agree with everything you’ve said. Thank you!