St Trinian's or St Paul's? Thoughts for parents

Choosing between schools...

What is your child really like? This is your starting point for finding a school to suit him/her rather than you.

 

Having decided what your child is really like, ask yourself:
 

What do you want for your child?

It helps to have a game plan, even if you change it at a later date. State school or fee-paying? Day or boarding school? Single sex or co-ed?

What do you want from the school?

Undoubtedly you want to find a great school, one that's ideal for your child. Make an honest list for yourself of everything that occurs to you, however ambitious, frivolous or peripheral it may seem. You must both do this.

Your list may include, for example:

• happiness
• safety
• beauty of architecture
• a stepping stone to university
• social status
• very local, very convenient
• exeats that fit in with your career
• offers Japanese
• doesn’t cost too much (if anything).

Are you looking for a traditional approach or something totally different? What do you really feel and think about co-education?

Finally

Look at the end product

Beware the danger of judging a school exclusively by the bottom end because your child is young.

Consider:

• How and where do you want your child to end up?
• Is there a member of staff at the school who is on the same wavelength as you? There must be someone you can turn to (particularly true of boarding).
• See several schools – it’s a process of elimination and comparisons are vital to make.
• Go by your gut reaction.
• Were you impressed with the head? You don’t have to like him/her but it helps. Did he/she appear in control of the situation? The head really does make or break a school.

Importantly:

Did you walk into the school and feel at home; did you come out from a school visit feeling good?
 

See also

Sussing out a school and horses for courses

Questions to ask when visiting a school

Choosing a school: first steps for SEN

Choosing a school for a talented child

Mix and match state and private education

School open evenings

State school admissions

School admissions policies