What would you do?

[deletedit]

We actually had this, I used to live in a small town notorious for being low socioeconomic and rough and you'd hear stories that would make your hair curl about the kids.

Turns out she did really well at the 'bad' school - the kids may have come from odd backgrounds where dad would spend money on drugs instead of food for the kids, but the teachers knew what they were up against and they were incredible. They had teenagers who could barely read there and they put mammoth effort into these kids, really turned some of their lives around. My offspring reacted to being in an enviroment where all the kids swore like troopers by choosing to be the Swear Police and would come home each day with a tally of how many times each kid said the F word, S word etc, which I suppose is better than learning to swear herself Because the school was pegged as seriously disadvantaged, the school got money thrown at it for excursions, special visitors, extra help etc etc so it seemed that every other week they were travelling for some interesting event, often at no cost or very low cost. The enrolment eventually dropped too low and this school is now closed.

So you never know, at least in the early grades you might be just fine. But in a few years, probably not so much. Save your pennies to move at least by mid primary school.

[Artechim]

Thanks for the replies.
Moving to the other town isn't really an option, it is a ski resort town and the house prices are about double what they are here.
I take DS to play at the daycare that backs onto the school and have seen first hand the school-yard violence and several of the mothers group ladies have changed their kids away from the school and are much happier. One of the mums was relief teaching there but gave it up because the teachers have no control or authority over the kids.
These are the only two schools in the area, the next closest are an hour away.

At this stage we are leaning towards selling up and shifting from the area.

[AnyDream]

Arte, speak to the school you want to go to about what happens if you apply early, and what criteria will be used for selecting out of zone children (there should be some sort of tier of priorities). Alternatively if they have a kindergarten/preschool attached, find out what happens to kids who have been to that kindy.

I guess the other way to think about it is whether DH can preserve his job here but live elsewhere. I know that sounds naive cos I know how much empty space there is between places in NZ but are there any other living arrangements you could make where DH commutes somehow (trying to think outside the box here). I most definitely would *not* settle on sending my child to the school with issues.

Yeah but definitely speak to the headmaster at the better school first rather than speculating about what your chances are of getting DS in there.

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

If it were my son going to the local "sink school" then I'd be homeschooling, if I couldn't get him into somewhere better. I know it would mean I couldn't work, but this is my child's future we're talking about: in a bad school, learning bad habits... hard to break later.

[Isadora]

Hi Arte, this is such a dilemma. School is so important, especially for a bright little thing like W. We have a similar problem, in that the suburb we are in has a poorly rated public school. However the next suburb over, which is a higher socio economic area, has a top rated great little public school, yet they also have a catchment policy, which of course we are not in grrrrrr!!! So I know how you feel. Do you have a private school in your area or is it just these two and thats it? We are swaying towards a private school at the moment for this very reason. Otherwise Arte, I would definately consider moving if you can find a way to do it? All the best