How do you choose the right school for your daughter?

The autumn is a special time of year as we are able to welcome in visitors through the gates on Westwood Hill and let our pupils showcase their school. For families, we know only too well that the autumn term can be an anxious time, as parents and children embark on days of tours, prospectus reading, online research and endless conversations with friends, colleagues, neighbours about finding the ‘best’ school. In London we are blessed with a plethora of options for girls and boys, but that often makes it even harder as parents trawl through adverts, articles and websites of schools all promising to offer the best education. Here a few top tips for a less stressful experience:

1) Organise your time

Make a note of all the open events you want to attend, then register. Visit school websites and social media channels before you visit, and then compare your experience. Talk to parents who have children in the school you are interested in, and liaise with your child’s current school to get advice and guidance too.

2) Check the entrance procedures for each school

Is there an entrance exam? How does the interview system work? How do you apply, and by when?

3) Speak to current pupils

Open events are designed to highlight the best parts of each school, so remember to look beyond the window dressing, facilities and smart marketing materials and speak to the pupils. Are they speaking freely and authentically? Observe their interactions with each other and with staff. Are they happy and fulfilled and are they proud of their school?

4) Look beyond league tables

Highly selective schools inevitably have students who produce top results. These schools are more difficult to get into and parents often resort to tutoring. Try not to get drawn into this culture which can be detrimental to a child’s wellbeing, and foster a reliance on tutoring long term in order to cope with the academic expectations. It may enable your child to gain a place but can often mean seven years of pressure to maintain those standards to keep up with peers. League tables do not tell the whole story so try and look beyond the statistics. All schools will strive for academic excellence for every pupil, but the starting points and the educational journeys will vary enormously depending on the school you choose.

5) Stay positive

The competitive nature of school places can sometimes strain relationships – between friends who are parents but also between parents and children. It is important not to let your anxiety filter through to your child, but to let them know that whatever happens you are proud of them and they have a positive future ahead of them. There will be the right school out there for your child and wherever your child goes in Year 7, they should feel secure and positive, rather than feeling it is a second or even third choice place. Starting a secondary school is both daunting and exciting but it is paramount that your child wants to be there and begins the secondary journey confident and secure about where they are.

6) Not all schools suit all children

Keep perspective and remember that all schools are different, despite their promotional material promising a similar sounding curricular and co-curricular experience. Every school will have its ethos and aims which underpin it so it is important to have a sense of a school’s values as well as its unique selling point. There will be plenty of views and opinions about every school, but the key is remembering that you will know your child best and therefore you will recognise which school is the right fit. Education is a journey and you will need to establish which school is going to offer the ‘best’ long term experience.

Buying into the DNA of a school, seeing that the physical environment is engaging and aspirational, that the pupils are able to be themselves and are fulfilled, and that all the staff you meet are committed to bringing out the best in every child, are all secondary to your instinct about whether your child will be happy there: will they thrive, grow and leave feeling happy and confident about their future?