School Dilemma

Yesterday, we took Frankie to visit two schools in the area: Deerham School, and Ewenrigg Infant School. The children here will be on Easter break for the next few weeks, so Frankie will be starting at one of the schools on April 12.

We’re not sure yet which of the schools to choose. Matt likes the Deerham school, and I’m leaning towards Ewenrigg. The decision would be so much easier if one of the schools was noticably better than the other. Really, they're just different, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.

This is Ewenrigg:

Ewenrigg is the closest school, but only by a small margin. It’s right off the main road into the town center of Maryport, and is located in a residential area. The building isn’t terribly impressive from the outside, but on the inside everything looked clean, bright, and well-organized. When we visited, though, most of the children had already left for the day, so I’m sure things are a bit more chaotic when the kids are there.

The Ewenrigg school reminds me of a pretty standard US pre-school, which is probably why I like it. The principal there isn’t necessarily gushy-mushy friendly, but I actually liked her very straightforward approach. (I thought it was very easy to talk to her and ask her questions.)

One of the main distinguishing features of the Ewenrigg school is its size. The Ewenrigg school is small. There would only be ten other kids in Frankie’s class, and there are only 60 kids in the school as a whole. (Is this a good thing or a bad thing? It’s really hard to say.) Ewenrigg emphasizes parent participation, and has loads of after-school actities: movie night, a gardening club, and so forth. We didn’t get a chance to meet Frankie’s potential teacher, though, because she was already gone for the day. She and the principal (or “Mistress,” as they say here) are actually going to stop by the house on Wednesday to visit with Frankie. This home visit is something the school does for all new children, in the hopes that it will establish a link between home and school for the kids.

Deerham was an interesting place, too. They were very friendly and welcoming here, and Matt and I both absolutely loved the pre-school teacher. When we walked in the door, the Mistress (who was very warm and kind) immediately took Frankie’s hand and walked her back to the classroom so she could play with the other kids and meet the teacher. Frankie seemed to feel right at home at this school, and had a great time visiting with all of the kids. (The other kids swarmed around Frankie. Americans, I think, are a bit of a rarity around here.)

Deerham is in an old stone building at the end of a long, twisty, and terrifyingly narrow country lane. To me, Deerham seemed friendlier, but a less orderly and modern than Ewenrigg. The inside was a little less bright and open than Ewenrigg, due to the fact that the building itself is very old. It was built in 1874, the same year that our Maryport house was built. From the outside, actually, Deerham looks really similar to our house.

Here's Deerham:

At the Deerham school, there would be thrity kids in Frankie's class. There is one head teacher and one (or two, depending on the day) teaching assistants. The school itself has right around 200 students enrolled throughout all of the different grades.

One of the things that’s complicating the decision is the fact that Frankie seemed to be so much better behaved at the Deerham school. We visited Ewenrigg second, and she was totally bored and squirmy the whole time. At Deerham, she seemed more engaged. Maybe that was because Deerham was the first scool we saw, and because she actually got to be around the kids at Deerham?

Honestly, I think either would be fine. It’s just hard to make a decision. I think I’ll be able to choose once I meet with the teacher from the Ewenrigg school on Wednesday.

Interesting note: Both schools require uniforms for the kids. That will definitely take some getting used to!