Choosing a school is harder than I thought.

[MrHanky]

Well I have just started to think about which school my lad will go to next year and I have to say that im finding it hard to decide which one for him to go to. Now I am probably just being picky here but his catchment area school is in the middle of town and doesnt have any playing fields. The school is average / ok but the lack of grass really bugs me as I have such good memory's of dinner times playing football etc. Plus when it comes to doing sport, they end up walking to a high school up the road so that they can use their facilities.

 

The next closest is only about 1/2 mile further away but in a different direction. Has big fields etc and really does look nice. Only thing is that its not in the best area, i.e. the some of the local parents are drugged up idiots ( i know this as I played basketball there for years and regularly had mobs of thugs after me for no reason). Now half of me says that its ok as its good to have a mix of different kids etc, and seeing as I came from a less privileged background (not well off but have / had great parents) I really don't like having pre-conceived opinions of people. But the other half of me wants him to have the best and that would be a school in a different village which has an excellent reputation.

 

If he went this school I have no doubt that he would be better educated, but at the same time he would have no local friends and might not be as well rounded an individual.

 

This parenting lark is turning out to be trickier than I first thought,

especially when your a worrying mid age fool like myself

 

Anybody else had / having similar experience(s)

 

Mark

[Mrs H]

It is difficult, we were really worried that our son wouldn't get into the primary school we wanted him in because it's a church school and were not regular church goers, even though we are in the catchment. We wanted him to go there becuase it has really good reports and is high up in the school tables for the area.

 

You'll find reports for the schools on line I'd check these and consider this when making your decision. I know what you mean though, I don't like snobbery and not all kids from less privileged back grounds end up bad or drug addicts but environment can have a massive effect on young people and you want the best for your kids.

 

Good luck with your decision, I am dreading having to choose a secondary school for our son, but we've got 7 years to think about it!

 

Vicki x

[MrHanky]

It is difficult, we were really worried that our son wouldn't get into the primary school we wanted him in because it's a church school and were not regular church goers, even though we are in the catchment. We wanted him to go there becuase it has really good reports and is high up in the school tables for the area.

 

You'll find reports for the schools on line I'd check these and consider this when making your decision. I know what you mean though, I don't like snobbery and not all kids from less privileged back grounds end up bad or drug addicts but environment can have a massive effect on young people and you want the best for your kids.

 

Good luck with your decision, I am dreading having to choose a secondary school for our son, but we've got 7 years to think about it!

 

Vicki x

Thanks Vicki

 

I have been looking at some of these as well as OFSTED reports but have had various people tell me to take too much notice of the OFSTED reports. Tables suggest that the one I would like him to go to is best out of the bunch, but as mentioned it is well out of our catchment area and it would be a bit harsh for him when it came to making friends as they would all live it a completely different area.

 

Had a quick look at the 2nd best option earlier when I went to get a form and it did look like a nice place.

[mr lover]

I know the problems, we ended up buying a house in the right area to get the kids into the best school

[MrHanky]

I know the problems, we ended up buying a house in the right area to get the kids into the best school

 

LOL, thats my next plan

Thinking about moving in the next few years and if we do then it might be near to the school I would prefer Tom to go to.

[Havard]

LOL, thats my next plan

Thinking about moving in the next few years and if we do then it might be near to the school I would prefer Tom to go to.

 

As my missus said Mark! Children seem to massively affected by their surroundings. You are unusual if you aren't a "product" of your environment.

 

I wanted Ellis to be with quality people with good manners and in a school where the teachers get time to teach rather than spend all their time controlling unruley little bastards!! He's a bright lad and i would hate to see that diluted by being surrounded by no hopers!!

 

Good luck mate!

 

H.

[TonyP]

I'm going through exactly the same thing at the moment. I completely agree with H. I'd rather my daughter went to a school with "good" kids than a school with better facilities but full of scum.

 

We've been to look round two this week. One was in a bad area and was the pits! Tonight we looked round the local Grammar school very nice but not sure whether to put her in for the entrance exam.

 

It is really hard to know what's best. Especially when it's going to affect the rest of their lives.

[Matt Harwood]

This is exactly what we are doing now for our daughter. She is going to sit the Kent test (11 plus) because she is more than capable of passing, but she doesn't want to go to the grammer school (we only have one in this area). Being the evil parents we are, we are taking her to look at all the schools, so she can make up her own mind.

 

My son is already at secondary school which was billed as the worst school in the area because it's in the middle of an awful estate. The parents at our primary school wouldn't even go to look around it, they just believed all the tripe everyone went on about. Surprising how my son keeps seeing faces from primary school turning up there after transferring from their "better" secondary schools!

 

My advise would be-look at ALL the schools you are eligible to attend. NEVER take someone else's word for it-judge for yourself. A school that suits someone else's child may not suit yours. Let yourself be guided by your child's feeling for a school-after all it's them that have to attend it-not you. Don't let you child be put off a school he likes because none of the other kids he knows from school will go there-how often do we retain those friendships throughout secondary school? Lastly, be VERY wary of moving house to get into a school. Most "catchment" areas now don't exist in the first instance. Schools have a criteria list to follow and just because you live opposite the school gate will NOT guarantee your child a place. Someone that lives 5 miles away could get preference over your child if that school is their closest school.

[Babe]

Mark, you didn't say if it was primary or secondary school you're looking for.

It's true that a bright child will do well in whatever school they're put in, but I know I don't want my Sprog subjected to the constant distractions of unruly children in her classroom thus preventing her from learning.

I put Sprog down for the grammar school in Hitchin for which we were well within catchment area, but the LEA changed the placement system there for new children without siblings or special needs, the result being a 'lottery' so that all children in Hitchin had an equal chance of attending regardless of where they lived (great for those not living in the expensive area, but what a bummer for those who paid over the top to live in that area believing it guaranteed a place at the school).

Sprog didn't get a place and was offered a place at the only other school in Hitchin which is huge and I found quite unfriendly. Didn't fancy her chances there because (believe it or not) she's a quiet little thing, plus I didn't want her teased because of her accent which I thought quite likely given the behaviour of children in the corridors.

I've sent her to a little village middle school that only has 180 children and where there is no bullying at all. She will be there 2 years and get the chance to make new friends before going on to High School. Trouble is, even though it's a link school to the High School, attending the middle school doesn't get her a place if we don't live in the area (which we don't), so we've got to move again in February to make sure we're in the area when we apply for places next September.

This isn't too much of an ordeal for use as we're renting, but it shows how different LEAs have different criteria... Hertfordshire don't care where you live, Bedfordshire do!

Go visit both schools, see if you can go during the school day when there are children in school rather than an after-hours visit as these are totally misleading. Pay more attention to the OFSTED than to the exam results... I would rather the standard of teaching was excellent/very good and exam results average than excellent exam results with poor/average teaching, but Sprog is 'the average child' and needs teaching get her through exams rather than relying on her own intelligence.

[MrHanky]

Thanks Matt and Babe. He will be starting Primary school. I am going to see if I can have a look round the three which I would most like him to go to. 2 of them are close (one catchemnt) and the other is out the way.

 

Thanks again

 

Mark