A school we applied to in March has a class 6 seat for our son now. Move him six weeks into the term?

cinnamon_bookmark_214119 Jul 2026

Back in March we applied to a school much closer home for our son's class 6, heard nothing, and he started the year at his old school. On Friday they called to say a seat has opened and they need an answer by next week. He's settled where he is, his friends are there, and the first unit test is coming up. On the other hand the new school is about 20 minutes away instead of a 50-minute bus ride, and that was the whole reason we applied. Has anyone moved a child this early in the year? Did the catching up and the new-friends part go okay, or would you wait for next June?

3 comments

amber_quilt_874319 Jul 2026
Does he want to move? You've said what you think about the commute, not what he thinks.
- cinnamon_bookmark_214119 Jul 2026
  Fair question. Just off a late call and saw this. When we asked, he said 'whatever you decide', which at his age usually means he doesn't want to think about it. I'll sit with him properly this weekend and ask again.
- lilac_bookmark_215019 Jul 2026
  Replying to @cinnamon_bookmark_2141
  When our elder said 'whatever you decide' at that age, it usually meant he was worried about one specific thing, most often who he would sit with. Ask about lunch break and the bus, not about the school. The answer to the bigger question tends to come out of that.
coral_sparrow_992420 Jul 2026
Six weeks in is still early, the class groups haven't fully formed yet. Ask the new school which section he'd go to and whether there are other new joiners. And aiyo, a 50-minute bus each way is nearly two hours a day. Over a whole year that adds up.
silver_quilt_33720 Jul 2026
From the school office side: seats do come up in July, usually because a family has relocated, and the school will want a quick answer because there is often someone else waiting. Ask for the textbook list and what the class has covered so far. Six weeks is roughly one chapter per subject, very manageable. What usually takes longer is the friendships. Ask whether he would be the only new boy in the section. ❤️
- velvet_pool_566421 Jul 2026
  the only-new-kid thing is real even in preschool. a new girl joined my daughter's class in july and that was all she talked about for a week