What do you look for in a school?

Milky_Mocha

I've been doing a lot of primary/prep school hunting lately. I have applied to state schools for DD but am only interested in the first choice school and her chances of getting accepted are slim.

I've visited about 4 state schools and 8 private schools and find the whole school system very interesting.

The attributes I look for, in order of priority are as follows. The school we choose must ultimately have all of these qualities though I don't take ofsted reports too seriously when they are rating a private school, unless the report states that the provision is inadequate.

1. School atmosphere - family feel, and one that my child is likely to be happy in. Also the inspection report must not state that provision is inadequate, eg rating 4 with ofsted.
2. Maximum 30 min journey. If the one that's 25 min away is marginally better than the one 5 mins away I'd still go for the further one.
2. High success rate in pupils gaining admission to grammar school. This tends to be the private schools, based on my limited survey!
3. Behaviour of the pupils - in one particular school I found behaviour to be outstanding with pupils saying hello with a smile to me as I passed by them in the corridor. Even little ones were holding doors open for me and some of them looked no older than 7. This happened to be a Catholic private school.
4. Play grounds, pref open fields with play structures, preferably a swimming pool.
5. Fees - if it is a fee paying school then max I'd pay per term is £2,500. It must have all the attributes in my list though and I've found that higher fees do not constitute a better school! In fact the school I ultimately found to tick all my boxes (except for uniform!) was also the cheapest fee-paying school on my list. I was quite shocked.
6. A large range of extra-curricular activities to include as a basic: swimming, tennis or badminton, piano, violin, speech and drama, net- or basket-ball, football, singing or choir. Additional ones would be a bonus: fencing, gardening, knitting/sewing/crochet, public speaking, dance/ ballet.
7. A nice uniform!

When a colleage of mine heard of my school hunt he said, "Just go to the nearest school. What's the fuss?" That got me thinking, would most parents think I'm mad for ruling out so many schools due to my criteria, or is my colleague in the minority? Does anyone else on here have a similar 'list'?

Edit: I left one out - hot meals! I find it hard to think DD would be out all day possibly till 5 on some days with no hot meal in that time. Only two of the private schools I looked at could provide this, whereas all the state schools except for one did have provision for hot meals.

Oldernotwiser

Milky_Mocha wrote: »

I've been doing a lot of primary/prep school hunting lately. I have applied to state schools for DD but am only interested in the first choice school and her chances of getting accepted are slim.

I've visited about 4 state schools and 8 private schools and find the whole school system very interesting.

The attributes I look for, in order of priority are as follows. The school we choose must ultimately have all of these qualities though I don't take ofsted reports too seriously when they are rating a private school, unless the report states that the provision is inadequate.

1. School atmosphere - family feel, and one that my child is likely to be happy in. Also the inspection report must not state that provision is inadequate, eg rating 4 with ofsted.
2. Maximum 30 min journey. If the one that's 25 min away is marginally better than the one 5 mins away I'd still go for the further one.
2. High success rate in pupils gaining admission to grammar school. This tends to be the private schools, based on my limited survey!
3. Behaviour of the pupils - in one particular school I found behaviour to be outstanding with pupils saying hello with a smile to me as I passed by them in the corridor. Even little ones were holding doors open for me and some of them looked no older than 7. This happened to be a Catholic private school.
4. Play grounds, pref open fields with play structures, preferably a swimming pool.
5. Fees - if it is a fee paying school then max I'd pay per term is £2,500. It must have all the attributes in my list though and I've found that higher fees do not constitute a better school! In fact the school I ultimately found to tick all my boxes (except for uniform!) was also the cheapest fee-paying school on my list. I was quite shocked.
6. A large range of extra-curricular activities to include as a basic: swimming, tennis or badminton, piano, violin, speech and drama, net- or basket-ball, football, singing or choir. Additional ones would be a bonus: fencing, gardening, knitting/sewing/crochet, public speaking, dance/ ballet.
7. A nice uniform!

When a colleage of mine heard of my school hunt he said, "Just go to the nearest school. What's the fuss?" That got me thinking, would most parents think I'm mad for ruling out so many schools due to my criteria, or is my colleague in the minority? Does anyone else on here have a similar 'list'?

I would agree with most of your list but, unfortunately, you're likely to have to go to the independent sector for much of it.

I would also look for high academic standards even where there are no grammar schools and would hope to find a school that offered at least one modern foreign language.

Spendless

We are all different and what appeals to me wouldn't appeal to someone else. From your list I like several of your points, but there are no grammar schools in my area nor do any of the Primary schools have swimming pools, so that wasn't something I ever needed to take into account. Something that was important to me was that my children when older knew the local children, could go call play for them in school hols and after school in summer and walk to and from school with them. I thought they would be far more likely to have that if they went to a nearby school and for that reason I did my own 'research' standing at my front door one day and looking to see what uniform the majority of kids were in. For that reason I would always choose the school 5 mins away that was marginally worse than the one 25 mins.
Another point if there isn't much in 2 schools is that a change of headship can have a drastic effect on a school either positively or negatively, so make sure a school is ticking lots of boxes for you.

pollypenny

Possibly applies more to secondary schools, but see how many teachers have their children in that school.

Rikki

If you are looking to the private schools. Look at the fees for the GCSE years as this will give you a clearer idea of how the fees rise and if it's something you will be able to continue with.

In a private school every extra has to be paid for and is not cheap. You also have to pay for all exams GCSE, AS levels and A levels.

daska

There's one question I think of straight away with regards to private schools which is not on your list. What is the religious ethos of the school and who founded it? There are more than a few private nurseries and schools with some 'dodgy' founding principles. What would you say to a school where most if not all the teachers study Anthroposophy and your kid will be taught that they have an angel sitting on one shoulder and the devil sitting on the other? Or a school where most teachers belong to an allegedly separate organisation which actively promotes "The Laws of Manu" as the only true and just laws? Or perhaps the SUBUD is more your style?

And, from personal experience, a half hour drive means your child's friends could be an hour's drive away... there are distinct advantages to a more local school (or consider moving!) both for you and your child.

Milky_Mocha

Interesting and enlightening replies, thank you.

The religious ethos one is interesting. One of the schools I came across when researching online does seem to have bad press with regard to the beliefs of the founders (with mention of abuse) and the more I read about them the dodgier they seemed - also religion related. I won't name the school but it is in an affluent area which has several other very good schools anyway and I remember being disappointed as its other attributes (on paper as I didn't visit) seemed appealing. I ruled it out of course. However I came across that info by accident so I should dig deeper into the history of the school I finally decided to go with.

The point about additional expense with private schools is also a valid one. That's the reason for setting the £2500 ceiling because I worked out that additional costs could be in the region of at least £200 per month per child if one includes meals, some after school care, trips, year-on-year increases, etc. I am looking at primary/prep though not secondary and am hoping to get her into grammar for secondary and avoid paying secondary fees as those are much higher.

It is true that most of my attributes are to be found in the private sector but I also found that 5 out of the 7 private schools I looked at had limited grounds with the playing area being rather small, comparatively. Their building tended to be converted from a private residence with narrow corridors and tight landings. Only three of the 12 schools I looked at had swimming pools and one of these was a state school.

In one particular private school two of the teachers I was introduced to had children there and I know they got discounts as a result.

Great point about change of headship. Its amazing how much difference a head can make to a school. The state school I'm hoping for had a new head a couple of years ago but in their latest ofsted report which was this year they were again rated outstanding so hopefully that means he is doing something right. They also tick all of my other boxes although the rate of grammar school entry, though higher than most state schools, ie the highest of the state schools I researched, is nowhere near as high as the private schools I looked at.

Gingham_Ribbon

I looked for behaviour, atmosphere, involvement of parents, expectations, results and how happy the children and parents looked.

I chose the school where the children were holding doors open for us, where there was a busy, calm atmosphere in class, where there was a parent helping out in the library and one doing some other work with the children, the staff were friendly and welcoming and there was a strong ethos of respect and kindness for others. I also looked for one where children who speak English as a second language and children with special needs were well supported and not left to flounder in classes where everyone becomes frustrated.

They have some work to do to in some areas, but overall I am very pleased with my decision.

Where all that exists, learning and a love of learning comes much more easily.

Milky_Mocha

I edited my post to include hot meals but hubby also likes a school where pupils stand up to greet when a visitor or headteacher walk into the classroom. This is another feature that the private school we like has, but the state school doesn't. it doesn't bother me much if a school doesn't have this feature but it is refreshing when it happens!

Oldernotwiser

Rikki wrote: »

If you are looking to the private schools. Look at the fees for the GCSE years as this will give you a clearer idea of how the fees rise and if it's something you will be able to continue with.

In a private school every extra has to be paid for and is not cheap. You also have to pay for all exams GCSE, AS levels and A levels.

We were discussing primary/prep schools,not secondary.

nickyhutch

A child needs a meal at lunchtime - it doesn't make any difference, nutritionally, whether it's hot or cold.

Important for me, when choosing for my son (although there wasn't really a choice - the school two minutes walk away in our village was great), was the fact that all the children he'd grown up alongside at baby club, toddler group, playgroup and nursery would also be attending.