School--Big or small.

[chris54]

Just wondering what everyone's idea of a big or small school is?

 

How big is a big school?

How small is a small school?

 

I know what I think but what do you think?

[bikemad]

I think my sons is pretty small...it is a junior school and it has 120 odd kids in the whole school.

[Suze]

M younger 2 go to a smallish school 120 PUPILS.The eldest goes to a high school with over 2000, which I think is big.

 

..............I live in a rural area with some primary schools having only 40 pupils in.........

 

theres a very small High school with 600 pupils in as well.

 

 

.......my nieces went to a primary with over 400 kids in, and 2 classes for each year as a result , so I would say thats a big school.

[Mumble]

it has 120 odd kids in the whole school.

and how many 'normal' kids?

 

I've taught in primary schools ranging from 34 pupils to 780 pupils.

 

[cathyz]

My Youngest goes to a primary with 90 pupils so its small and its brilliant with him.

 

My next 2 go to a secondary with 500 so again small but sadly lacking in help for either of them, just last week the senco told me he thought he might put my son aged 15 on school action!!!!! I told him not to bother it was too little too late he leaves in May next year and he can't wait!!!

 

[chris54]

It is funny how perception changes over time.

 

When I was in junior school, what would now be years 3-6, there was something in the order of 300+ children there and it was considered a small to average size school for the area. Each class has 40-45+ children, 47 in my class, and of course in them day the teacher worked alone. My parent did not see anything wrong with the class sizes, when my dad was a pupil there if all the children turned up for class there was not enough chairs to go round.

 

Then when I went up to secondary school The classes were only about 30+ in size and about 400 children in all, Small even for then.

 

In them days you just went to your local school and that was it, other than if you went to a church school which we did but it was still a local school.

 

 

Our oldest 2's senior school had 300 pupils per year which I think is was too big but all the schools in the area were of the same sort of size.

 

At my sons old school there was about 120 children. Average to small for the area.

His new new primary school (We moved) has 360ish children and is described as above average in size.

 

It is broken down into a upper and lower school which operate to same degree separately with different dinner times and playgrounds.

 

In the area we use to live they are in the proses of reorganizing the schools, to save money, most primary schools will be 2 classes per year. The idea is for all primary schools have between 200 and 400 pupils.

At the same time they are changing the whole structure of the school system so I am not over concerned that we moved when we did. It would have meant my son changed school every year for 3 years.

 

I'm never sure if it is a good or bad thing but all the staff at his new school seem to know who he is and when I walk into the reception area the staff all recognise my.

Edited November 27, 2008 by chris54

[NobbyNobbs]

the three primary schools in this area are - 90, 120 and 300. i actually prefer the bigger one as i dont agree with siblings of different ages being forced into the same class because there aren't other options. we had a very birght 8 year old who would have been in the same year as her 9 year old non-academic sister. in the end their school managed to move the classes around so that they weren't in the same one this year, but would have had to be next year no matter what. equally i wouldn't want a school much bigger than 300 because then the kids get lost in the system and the staff dont know who you are (very important when you're in and out as much as we are!)

 

my secondary was 1500 which was nice, 7 classes in each year i believe. one of the other local schools had over 4000!!

[bikemad]

and how many 'normal' kids?

 

My lad n a little girl with asoergers are the only 'normal' ones.

 

[sonj186]

C goes to a school with 87 children in it, it was recomended by the EP as it was a small school and they felt that he would get a bit lost in a larger school, however this has led to the school having a much higher rate of statemented children and to be honest i dont think they have the resources that a larger school would have, its a tricky situation as i dont think C could cope with the hustle and bustle of the larger school.

 

sonj

[Tally]

I went to a middle school which was so small it mixed the school years. With my birthday in August, I was the youngest, shortest, skinniest, quietest kid in year 6, and on my first day they sat me opposite this year 7 boy, though I suspect he was older and had been held back, as he was about 6 foot tall. My experience of a small school was that my needs were not recognised or accommodated at all.

[Kathryn]

Well I was taught with 752 children in a shoebox in't middle o't' road...

 

I remember large classes too - in my last year of primary school we had about 36 pupils to one teacher, There was never a classroom assistant, even at infant level.

 

My son's school has a 6 form entry - well over 1000 pupils. His primary was large too - 3 form entry, so about 400 pupils. The children from this primary usually find the transition to secondary a little bit easier as they are used to larger buildings and more pupils.

 

K x

[pepper]

'BIG' and 'SMALL' is totally dependant on where you live............for example - inner city, at primary 500 pupils and below is small, and at senior - anything under 2,000 is small

 

From a personal point of view, when its come down to my aspie son - I've erred on smallest school I could find - which *touch wood* seems to have worked out well, aka, primary 200+ and senior 800+ (which is remarkable for where we live) but, as much as he moans that 'everyone knows his business, i think its the safest option because they at least 'know him'

Edited November 28, 2008 by pepper