Choosing a future school is one of the more important and emotive decisions that you will have to make for your children. Martin Barker offers his advice.
Without wishing to state the obvious, it is a very expensive choice, probably the second most significant after buying a house in financial terms, as well as simply trying to do the best by your loved ones.
The good news is that there is a fantastic choice out there, particularly if you are willing to consider boarding to a greater or lesser degree. As perhaps they should be given the level of school fees, independent schools are fantastically well resourced, both in terms of facilities, but also in the quality of teaching staff that they are able to employ. Facilities obviously count for nothing without a dynamic teaching staff.
So, where do you start? A rapid narrowing down is possible by simply considering choices such as co-ed/single sex, boarding/day, fee levels, distance you are prepared to
travel etc.
Gathering information is obviously key, and just like any other ‘buying’ decision that you make, you will want to make sure that you have done your ‘due diligence’.
Safe to say that the vast majority of schools now have quite well developed PR and marketing departments, whose job it is to ensure that you have no other choice but to choose their school. You will come across many wonderful websites, glossy brochures and various other communications that will hope to entice you.
You will also no doubt speak to a good number of other parents who have made their choice or may have children at a school that you are considering. This is a powerful means of gathering information, but beware! Parents who have made a choice of school may have a different consideration set to you, and are not likely to speak negatively of the choice that they have made, whatever the reason. For example, some parents may have finance at the top of their decision making list, others pastoral care, some may be focused on the grades their children will achieve, or location of the school, and so on.
Parents will want to feel that they have made the right decision, and convince you that it is right!
It isn’t easy to separate the schools based only on the information that they provide, which is why we parents tend to look to other parents. However, a more fail-safe way to assess the school is the all important school tour. You MUST go on a private tour, even if you have attended an open day. This is so you can assess the human relationships in the school, which are all-important in my view. Remember, amazing facilities alone do not make for a good school. Do the children look happy and engaged? Does the staff look happy and engaged? Do bear in mind the time of term that you are visiting, but do you detect a sense of vibrancy and enthusiasm in the school? Do you see children that you would perhaps like your offspring to grow up like? What will your children be like as teenagers? – probably a great deal different to how they are at 9-10 years old!
Some schools will use children to do their tours, but please don’t judge the school only on that one child! Some schools will only use their prefects etc., others have all the children doing tours, and some will be better than others, obviously.
If you are considering visiting schools with a strong reputation locally, and with a good previous ‘feed’ from Westbourne, the chances are that the schools are going to be strong. So, I would advise that you go with your heart as far as possible – which school feels right for your child. If you aren’t getting that feel, keep looking! If you really aren’t sure, do what you need to do by means of registration forms etc., and keep your options open until the last possible moment; your child will be growing up and developing at a rapid rate, and so what looks right now may alter with time.
As Head of a school with an exceptional Year 7 and 8 offering for our pupils, I would like to highlight the benefits of keeping your child at Prep School through age 13. Children are, quite simply, able to remain children for longer in a smaller environment, without some of the influences of much older children. It can be a vulnerable time for some, and one much better spent with children and adults they have established friendships with, and in surroundings that are familiar.
Reaching the top in any school is important to children, and Year 8 in a Prep School is often one of the happiest times for children. The children experience a wide variety of activities and really cement friendships.
Drama, musical and sporting opportunities abound in the plays, choirs, orchestras and teams that the children have aspired to in their junior years. Sporting, choir and cultural tours are hugely enriching experiences. Leadership roles are plentiful and varied, with the traditional prefect and Patrol Leader roles sitting alongside peer mentoring responsibilities and initiatives such as ‘Leading by Reading’, where the older children help the younger ones with their reading.
The myriad of pre-testing makes it look as though there are many more children applying for places at the senior schools, but believe me there are not. Do not fall into the trap of squeezing a child in at 11, thinking that they won’t get in at 13. If they don’t get in at 13, it is likely that it is not the right school for them, and so a mistake at 11 years old.
A series of links are included below to help you along, but there is a great deal on the Internet to help. Do of course feel free to come and talk to me also.
http://www.hmc.org.uk/blog/why-choose-an-independent-school-part-one-choosing-the-right-school/
http://schoolsshow.co.uk/watch-2016-talks
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Attain-Guide-Choosing-Independent-School/dp/0993489508
