At the beginning of this month, a new chapter began in the Unique Young Mum household - Spud started his journey into Secondary School, something I'm not too sure either of us was ready for, but a few weeks in and things seem to be going good, fingers crossed it last. I'm sure I'm not the only parent out there who worried about their decision, choosing the right secondary school is important, the secondary school we choose for our children is going to be the school who helps them the most with their important GCSE exams, the school is going to be a place where new friendships begin and when the bigger part of the world starts becoming a reality.

My mini once stood small - this was him a few years ago, and now he's nearly as tall as his mum!
Choice wise, I'm fortunate enough to live in a large town with no end of secondary schools, actually, there's a secondary school right over the road from us, literally no further than a three minute walk down the road, however it wasn't a school that once crossed my mind, it is an academy school and receives no end of bad press, and so I had a task on my hand, considering at the time of applying for Spud's secondary school place I didn't drive, I'd never so much as started a car - turned the key in the ignition or anything, and to get him to a better school further afield, this involved a hefty and timely cost on public transport or taxis, or I had the task of learning to drive.