hi - i am in a dilemma in relation to which school to put down as first choice on the caf form. My daughter would have to travel an hour each way if she were to attend newstead woods and half that amount if traveling to townley grammar. Any feedback from parents that have experience of either would be very helpful and appreciated for us to decide which might be better! We liked both schools just as much as the other!

I'm not from your area, but if you/she liked both, choose the one that is easier to get to.

Hello, you may find this thread on the same subject of help viewtopic.php?f=51&t=52370

DD is in Y8 at NW so feel free to ask any specific questions. Journey time is a big factor, I think if I was in a situation where I liked both equally then the closer one would win over. I know you say ‘we’ liked both schools equally but was there one your DD preferred?

Rightly there is another thread on this subject, and in my experience there is always a preferred one. But sometimes the emotional side should be compared with a practical choice. Personally distance/duration of journey is quite important. I looked at the following to make my mind up.

Travel Time
distance to School
transportation mode (bus, train)
direct travel or will they have to change buses or trains
travelling during the dark months
time arriving home and impact on homework duration
and few others

not saying you should but I graded them and came with a practical choice

I can't give feedback on schools (I'm sure both are great) but I would also consider the journey time. If you really like both schools equally, I'd go for the one closer to home.

avtardohil, remember that as she progresses through the school your DD may attend extra-curricular activities out of hours. At NW a lot of the sport teams train before and after school and some of the "Twilight" language courses are also after school, depending on which one she picks.

When I couldn't decide between two primaries for ds, a work colleague told me I should pick the closest. She was right - we moved in June to a car ride away from it and I miss the 7 minute walk everyday

I think distance is a massive issue and shouldn't be overlooked - in terms of practicality and also just awful groups of children can be together on public transport. Not all, of course, but it's certainly something I've thought about.