Would you move for a better school?

hippychick1

I'm currently debating the same thing. My son just started year 5, and the village infant and junior schools are brilliant but the secondary just awful. I need to decide in the next year, so I can have moved in time to apply. Just not sure what to do at all. I have discussed this with my son and he knows his friends are all going to different schools, he doesn't seemed to fazed by moving.

It's so difficult to know what to do

Janepig

I think it depends really. DD/DS will go to the same comp as all their friends from primary school, with very few exceptions. Most of the other primaries in town have their year 6 children split between 3 different comps and those children seem to cope. The primary that DD/DS could have gone to as it is closest is a Church in Wales school that's plum between two comps and the third choice alot of them go to is the catholic comp.

I went to a different comp to all my friends from primary (although it was in the same town) and in hindsight I probably wouldn't do it again. It was my choice, not so much my parents, but I think I'd have been better off going with my friends, it was very difficult to break into the cliques that had already been formed. However, if within catchment there are some very small schools then there may be some children who are the only ones going to that school, or maybe only one or two, so there are other children in the same boat.

Jx

balletshoes

oligeo wrote: »

My kids are currently at a good primary school, we live in a nice area and have lots of friends nearby, however secondary school is fast approaching.

Would you move so your kids could get into a secondary with good results but they'd know nobody, or stay where you are so they'd go to a secondary where the majority of their school mates would be going but it currently has poor results.

The secondary that currently has poor results has had a head change and there have been changes made, but the fruition of this probably won't be seen in the exam results for quite some time.

My kids are far from stupid, so I'd like to think that even at a 'bad' school they would be getting good results, but I can't help feeling I owe it to them to get them into a better school, where they could potentially get even better results.

Sorry for my confused ramblings but its a pretty big thing thats on my mind right now, so anybody thats been through similar things and has any words of advice, it would be much appreciated, many thanks.

you might be surprised how quickly things can turn around with the right management in place.
My daughter has just started at secondary school. It was by far the worst performing school in our area (in fact one of the worst in the whole LEA) 5 years ago. It has changed to an academy since then, brand new head and leadership team, and over a quarter of the teaching staff are different too compared to the old secondary school.

This year, this school was oversubscribed for the first time in decades, and by over a third of its intake. The exam results are improving year on year, and I think this is making the big difference to parents when they are making their preferences for secondary school.

Do you think if you stay where you are, and consider another secondary school outside your local one, your children would struggle to get a place? Its not always cut and dried, ie there were 3 local secondary schools I put down on my preferences, the school DD is at is not her catchment school.

My DD is an only child, so it was an important factor to her (and me) that she had friends around her when she moved up to secondary school. However, if she'd had to, for a better education, gone to another school, I was preparing her for that.

balletshoes

hippychick1 wrote: »

I'm currently debating the same thing. My son just started year 5, and the village infant and junior schools are brilliant but the secondary just awful. I need to decide in the next year, so I can have moved in time to apply. Just not sure what to do at all.
I have discussed this with my son and he knows his friends are all going to different schools, he doesn't seemed to fazed by moving.

It's so difficult to know what to do

I think that makes it easier to make the decision, its certainly the case in our area, kids go off to different secondary schools from our primary school.

themull1

I would never move because of a school.

pollypenny

Definitely! Did so and wish we'd done it earlier!

I taught down the road, busting a gut, while my two had little homework, books not marked etc.

We moved to a nearby town, house price almost doubled, but it was worth it.

BTW; I joined their school a year later. Not a problem as many teachers had their kids there - sign of a good school?

Dunroamin

Education should come first; children will make new friends.

In fact, I would go further and say that I think it far healthier for children to meet as wide a range of people as possible rather than staying in the same small circle throughout their school days. The world is a big place.

newgirly

Most secondarys are a lot larger than primary schools, the chances are that your child would not end up in the same classes as friends from their old school, my twins started last year and nearly all the kids in their forms knew no-one else in the classes. They are all in the same situation so all make new friends.

We did move house to get in a good school and have not regretted it.

jfdi

We did - but did it when my son was 3 - coz the primaries were no good either!

Where we now live there's about £50k extra on house prices coz of the schools (was a lot less 20 odd years back!)

oligeo

Thanks for all your replies. The majority think move, which is what my hubbies all for, however he grew up with moving every three years throughout his childhood, and has no childhood friends. I however didn't move and am still in touch with childhood friends.

I guess we need to go and see the schools and get a decision made sooner rather than later, as if we do decide to move it could take a while to find a house and sell ours.

Thanks for all your input.