Nigel Richardson, Headmaster of the Perse School, Cambridge, and Editor of Conference & Common Room (the in-house magazine of the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference) offers some ideas on how parents can start the important process of choosing the right school for their child

Mid-September. Summer holiday over, the children back at school and the leaves showing a hint of autumn gold. Newspapers full of school open day announcements  during the coming weeks – and of entrance procedures to come later on in the year. You sit at home, surrounded by a selection of prospectuses or, increasingly, at a screen with a baffling selection of websites. Where to start?

Independent schools include a huge variety of schools, ages and distinctive features. Some of what follows will need adapting to your particular context, but some features recur whatever the situation.

First, the process itself. Read carefully all this literature which schools write about themselves. Independent schools are also businesses as well as education-providers. They operate in an increasingly competitive market-place, and no wise independent school head is complacent about the competition which an increasingly-funded state sector would (or will) provide. We know that we have to provide the very best, if discerning parents are to go on paying our fees and we also know we that have to sell ourselves effectively.

Next, take advantage of those open days. A school can demonstrate many of its activities and achievements at one time – and you can chat informally but searchingly to staff and children. If your child is beyond at least the pre-prep stage take him or her with you; children’s impressions can be important, even if parents make the final decisions.

Many schools also offer individual tour visits to parents, often combined with a meeting with the Head or a senior member of staff. The more opportunity you have to talk with pupils, the better; I often tell parents and pupils as they start such a tour that this is the visitors’ opportunity to check out with a pupil what the school is really like, rather than what I think it is like, or what I would like it to be. Look carefully at notice-boards, posters, books in libraries, the appearance of the fabric. Observe any interaction – or lack of it –  between staff and pupils as they move between lessons; is the school really as “friendly and caring” as it claims to be?

Received wisdom is that a meeting with the Head is crucial, because he or she sets the tone. There is much truth in this; on the other hand, good schools have strength in depth. So, if the Head is not available, you may well find that you can have a highly productive conversation with a deputy, housemaster or head of section for whom this is a comparatively unusual part of his work, compared the Head who will possibly have answered most of your questions many times before. His or her apparent inaccessibility may also be a product of the popularity of the school. Heads of such schools just can’t meet everyone – or at least not more thab once. In the case of a boarding school, insist on meeting the member of staff who would have House or other front-line pastoral care for your child. Sometimes a quiet unannounced visit in addition – to watch a match at a weekend – can tell you a great deal.

Check out other sources of information. For day schools, track local newspaper coverage steadily (but not obsessively) through a period of months. Where the national press is concerned, if you seem to remember having read adverse publicity about a school, treat it carefully, and don’t jump to hasty conclusions. Talk to other parents – but try not to confine yourself to those whom you already know well; like attracts like, and perspectives drawn from a different parental network can be useful.

By now you have probably narrowed your choice down to one or two schools. If a return visit seems essential, ask for it; the choice is one of the most important that you will ever make, and you will be paying out a large sum in fees over the years ahead – but also be sensitive to the fact that all popular schools wrestle with the problem of getting the right balance between catering for prospective pupils and spending time and effort on those already there. Each hour spent on the former takes people away from the latter.

The process is not the only important thing. The questions you ask others – and yourself – along the way, and the answers you get, will dictate your decisions. Get them well sorted out in your mind.

• Academic: Does this school bring the best out of every child? Does it set high expectations without making them oppressive? Is it demanding enough for my child without being too demanding? (Am I being realistic?) Newspaper league tables will give you some idea as to whether a school stretches its most academic pupils, but they need to be treated with great care. Some schools admit a much wider academic range of pupils than others, and the results of less academic pupils tend to distort the figures.
• Curriculum: Does this school offer a rounded education? Can the school explain its specialisation rationale? Remember that at Year 9 (13+) in particular, the curriculum can become hopelessly over-crowded unless some options choices are made. What provision is made for the so-called “hidden curriculum” – personal, social and health education, higher education and careers’ advice, work experience, study skills and citizenship?
• Extracurricular: Are there good opportunities beyond the classroom – sporting, cultural and in terms of leadership and organisational experience? Are they as impressive as they claim to be?  Do the clubs and societies actually meet every week, and is the percentage opportunity of being in a school team (not necessarily the top one) really high? Large schools need more teams ...
• Rules and Sanctions: Do the school’s rules seem reasonable? Are they based on the principles of trust and common sense? Do its sanctions seem appropriate and consistent?
• Intuitive: Does the school’s appearance (and the appearance of those who work in it – both pupils and staff) suggest that they enjoy their work – and that they take a pride in it? Is the rate of staff turnover reassuring (5-10% per year is probably ideal). Does the school strike the right balance between instilling confidence and not creating over-confidence or arrogance?

Finally, there is the most important set of questions of all:

• Would my child thrive here? Thriving children are generally successful ones
• Would it provide a set of experiences in keeping with the personality and sorts of career path which he or she might wish to pursue (as far as I can tell at the moment)?
• Would my child leave this school markedly developed by it for the better?

Above all, will my child be happy here? No school – and no parent – can guarantee this, but if – between them – they can provide an atmosphere in which purposeful happiness is created, they will have given any child the best possible start in life.

Click here to search for independent schools.
Click here to promote your school or company.
Click here to purchase the guide.