Thank you for the advice everybody.
We did have him weigh the pros and cons and although he felt horrible about missing his 5th gr. recess, he decided to try out the 7th gr. class. So far he really likes it but we will have to see in a couple of weeks. We can always adjust.
He does still have plenty of extra curricular sports as an outlet for his athletic side (Travel soccer, basketball, skiing, travel baseball etc.) though recess is important to him.
It is very unfortunate that he was forced to make this kind of decision as indigo pointed out.
