Shopping around to find the right school

You know what your children will enjoy the most and benefit from. If they're happy other things will follow
Angela Dudley-Warde, director of development, Kingswood School, Bath

Education offers myriad choices for parents and pupils now. Gone are the days when your children would go to the school that you attended, or the schools that fell into your catchment area. Greater choice brings with it a sense of involvement, but it can also be bewildering. Ultimately, how do you make the right choice and what research should you do to find the right school?

“Parents need to look at their individual child and find a school that is the best fit for them,” says Angela Dudley-Warde, director of development at Kingswood School, in Bath. Established by John Wesley in 1748, it is an independent, co-educational school and welcomes both day pupils and boarders.

“Most private schools are going to offer a good all-round educational package, albeit there might be a particularly strong focus on the academic side or more specialist areas, such as sport or music,” says Angela. “However, you know your own children and what they’ll enjoy the most and benefit from. The most important thing is getting the right mix and balance. If they’re happy, other things will follow.”

Drawing up a shortlist

So, the research begins at home with your family needs and those of your child. If you’ve decided on an area, and a day or boarding school, you can start to make a shortlist of potential schools.

“Parents do a lot of comparisons now,” says Angela. “They don’t just fix on one or two schools. Most of them begin their research on the internet and request prospectuses from the schools they like the look of.”

The prospectus (some are available on dvd) will provide detail about the curriculum, academic achievement, activities and the school ethos. It may be wise to ask to see a newsletter or a school magazine as well. As Angela says, “The prospectus is an advertisement for the school. Newsletters and magazines tell you what actually happens there. We publish a magazine twice a year for parents and it has lots of information about what the children have been doing, for instance going on skiing trips, doing charity work and taking part in sport.”

In autumn, parents start visiting schools and attending open days so that they can draw up a shortlist. “Narrow it down to two and then take the children to both,” says Angela. “If you take them to too many it becomes confusing, also potentially disappointing for the child. They might focus on something that they really like about a school – a swimming pool or a theatre – and could feel disappointed if they don’t get in.”

Visiting the school

Angela thinks that you should get a positive feeling about the school from the moment you arrive. “You shouldn’t have any hassle or stress before you walk through the door. Can you park easily? Do the grounds look tidy? Does the school look smart? Is it easy to find your way around?” 

The atmosphere is also very important. Does the school feel like a calm, ordered and friendly environment for your child to develop and study in? A tour of the school should help you gauge this. “At Kingswood, parents have a welcome tour of the school led by either a member of the admissions team or a sixth former,” says Angela. “We use these pupils because we like our visitors to see what the ‘end product’ is like! They’re good ambassadors and can speak confidently about their own time in the school.”

General conversation can reveal so much and this is the perfect opportunity to ask questions. At what age did they join the school? Why did they choose this school in particular (children now have a lot more influence in the decision) and what do they like/dislike about it? What friendships have they made? What do they think of the teachers and do they feel listened to? It’s also a good idea to ask about prefect roles and other positions of responsibilities.

Inside the classroom

A look around a classroom is an essential part of the visit and is usually done adhoc. “Prospective pupils should feel that they could walk into any classroom and be welcomed,” says Angela. “You’ll soon be able to tell if the children are enjoying their lesson and engaging with the teacher.”

Clearly you want to see excellent facilities and a well-maintained environment on your tour, but it’s equally important to be able to look beyond these. “A school visit is more to do with people than the buildings,” says Angela. “It is important that the facilities are good, but it shouldn’t be a case of, ‘Oh, what a fantastic chemistry lab’. It’s the quality of the teaching and learning that’s really important.”

Is there a sense of community?

While you are walking around the school buildings look at how the children are behaving and interacting. Are they having friendly banter and is there good rapport between them? This is something that you can pick up on quickly and it gives insight into the atmosphere of the school.

Most private schools have a strong sense of community and positive interaction between pupils of different age groups can be a sign of that.“How do older pupils respond to younger ones and what involvement do they have with them? Some schools, such as Kingswood, and Badminton School in Bristol organise buddy systems for overseas pupils and older pupils act as mentors to younger children. This kind of initiative can give you an idea of how the whole community fits together,” says Angela.

Your children should be made to feel welcome on the visit, and admissions staff normally like to have a chat with them. “One of the most important things is to have an informal conversation with the children around the table,” says Angela. “You want to get an idea of what they’re interested in about school life.”

Meeting the headteacher is so important on your visit. This is the ideal time to ask questions about how the school is performing, class sizes, staff turnover, discipline, the school ethos and any major projects in the pipeline. “The head can often give good insight into league tables and their relevance,” says Angela.

The main thing is that you and your family enjoy the visit and feel like returning. “As parents, you should be treated as individuals who are about to invest in your son or daughter’s future in all sorts of ways. You should be made to feel special and valued as a customer,” says Angela.

The next step

Schools may have different entry procedures, so check this on your visit. In general, once you’ve chosen a school, you will be sent a registration form to complete and your child may be invited to spend a taster day at the school. Reports and references will then be requested from your child’s school. Senior school children normally sit entrance exams in January, junior school children may be assessed at taster days.

The school then decides whether or not to offer a place and parents formally accept or decline. You should receive joining instructions and information on uniform at the start of the summer term.

Kingswood School is a Tom-Brown.com featured school

"We relocated from Washington to Wimbledon and had to search for a school"

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