How to Check Out a School

Most of this article has been reprinted from The Good Schools Guide, therefore is aimed at parents who are looking at British schools in the UK. Most of it is good advice for a visit to any school anywhere, but to that we have added a few extra recommendations for parents visiting international schools...particularly if we don't cover schools in that country yet, and you need to decode the scant or obtuse information provided by the school.

Is the school accredited or inspected by an independent arms length agency, NOT just a membership organisation (ECIS is a good example; a terrific organisation, but their accreditation arm is CIS, and membership in ECIS is not all there is to it) or an organisation that oversees examinations (Cambridge). For more information about this, and why it matters, read our section on Accreditations and Inspections (sounds terrible, we know, but it's pretty painless and not terribly long ). Those agencies are the only way you can find out whether the fiscal governance is sound (great school, but not if you pitch up one morning to find the gates chained shut).

What are the actual exam results - real numbers, so you can compare them for yourself to other schools, not just the school's own glowing adjectives about their marvelous scores? To figure out how to interpret the results and figure out the curriculum (especially if this isn't a school system you're used to, and are making a transition from say, British to American), go to the GSGI section on School Systems, Curricula and Exams.

Where do students go from this school? Are they accepted at, and make fairly seamless transitions into, good local secondary schools, good UK or US boarding schools, top tier UK or US universities and colleges? What course of study do they go into (Underwater Basket Weaving or Bio-Physics?) By the way, we aren't second-guessing what you should be looking for here.....you might be looking for a very rigorous school for the intense student, or a warm and encouraging nest for your late-bloomer; either way, you can tell something about the aspirations of the students and the ability of the school to handle different levels of student by these end results.

Once you have some of the hard facts in hand (and the best schools will often have the above information readily available on their websites), now you're ready to look beyond those at the feel and style of the school....which is the best way for you and your child to determine whether it's the right one for you (that's a plural "you"...if your child isn't on board with your choice, life at your new posting will NOT be delightful). And if we don't cover that school (which we assume we don't, since we would have already gathered all that information for you and you wouldn't have read this far), do feel free to send us notes and comments on what you find (Contact Us), and recommendations that we cover that school (or give it a wide berth) when we locate an editor in that country.

Now for the original Good Schools Guide article:

Finding the ideal school for your child

Every single reference book on schools indulges in advice on this. Lists of questions tend to make headteachers bristle but going in as a parent can be daunting.

The following is a list of guidelines we drew up as we went around. Obviously not all are applicable to every school: ask even half these questions and you will probably never be invited back again but it does no harm to take them along for prompting.

Action

Send for the prospectus, a copy of the school magazine, a list of governors, and ask for the last three years’ exam results (for senior schools) and leavers’ destinations (for all schools), the latest Ofsted or equivalent inspection report (and the school’s reply to it), and any other bumf – and read it. Do not forget to check out the obvious: registration dates, subjects offered, school hours, exeats etc. Look at the website.

NB Ofsted reports, good as they are, are written in obscure language by educationalists, can be hard to penetrate and may entirely fail to see the school from a parental point of view. ISC reports can be too cosy by half, although we have seen some excellent ones recently.

Make an appointment to see the head and tour round the school (being shown round by pupils is best). You may find you are fobbed off with an open day or registrars, and, for big schools with large numbers of applicants, this is an understandable way to start. It is, however, time-consuming for you: remember you have to meet the head – no amount of wonderful buildings make up for a rotten one. Make a note of how the receptionist or secretary who answers your telephone call or greets you on arrival seems to you – they often absorb the underlying character of the school and play it back amplified.

What to wear? Project the right image – not too smart (particularly if you are looking for a cut-price offer), but not dowdy either. No school wants to feel it is attracting dull people and, if you have something to offer, however humble, say so.

On the day of your visit, get to the school early in order to sniff around. Approach children/staff and ask them anything (‘where is the main school noticeboard?’). It’s amazing how telling their replies can be.

What to look out for

Atmosphere and attitudes

What are the pupils like? Do you want your child to be like that?
Bearing of pupils – politeness, neatness. Bearing of staff, ditto. Do they look clean, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (or whatever you like)?
Attitude of pupils to staff and vice versa. Does the head know who they all are (not often practicable in big or house-based schools)? Do pupils flatten themselves against the wall as the head passes? Do they flatten him/her against the wall as they pass? (If so, do they stop and say sorry?)
Watch the interaction of staff and pupils: it should be easy and unforced, but respectful.
Is self-confidence universal or confined to just some kids (and if so, which ones?) Is the atmosphere happy? Fraught? Coerced or co-opted?
Do you fall over pupils smoking in corners? How many are slumped in front of the television (key question when visiting around 1.30pm especially)?
What does the school smell like? What is the state of the paintwork – a glance at the ceiling will usually tell (not that it matters per se).

Classes and teaching

Grab an exercise book or three in passing and look at the standard of work and the standard of marking – this can tell you an enormous amount. Check the size of teaching groups – it’s amazing how often numbers do not tally with the official version.
What is the average age of the staff? All old can mean not enough dynamic new ideas or energy; all young can mean too inexperienced and also, possibly, too transitory.
Ask if you can pop in to a class or have a good long look through the peep holes and see what is really happening. Are the children dozing? Is the teacher dozing? Is there rapport between the teacher and the taught?
What’s on the walls? Look for evidence of creativity and the celebration of pupils’ achievements.
Look at noticeboards for signs of plenty going on, and names you know (for grilling later).
Where is the head’s study: in the thick of things, indicating a finger on the pulse, or still in an ivory tower? (For some heads unbreakable precedent governs where they reign from.)

Resources

Observe the state of the library: rows of dusty tomes look impressive but bright, new and dog-eared is healthier. Where is the library – is it in a useful position, do the troops use it? What is the annual book budget?
What are the computer facilities like? Are there enough for all the kids all the time? According to the school? According to the kids?
How common are laptops? Laptops are a pain in the fundament to most schools, parents and even pupils who have to worry about losing them and – if their parents are buying them rather than the school supplying them – have to worry about whether their model is sufficiently cool.
Are keyboarding/typing skills universal (a great plus for later life)? Is good use made of the internet, and is internet access fast? Do all teachers use computers/interactive white boards in class as an integral part of lessons, or just some of them? Is the school proud of its imaginative use of computers?

Finally, do you like the look of the parents and would you be happy for your children to mix with theirs?

Questions to have up your sleeve

What are the results like? This is one for the head. Watch the whites of their eyes as they give you the answer – and see ‘What the league tables don’t tell you’.
What are the ‘value-added’ scores like? Most schools now use one system or another for monitoring value added – the improvement in pupils’ performance over the years. What’s the overall value added compared with the national average? Is this consistent over all subjects or is the good news all in one or two areas?
How does the school monitor progress (pupils and, indeed, staff)? The best will use regular tests integrated with the value-added system, which allows the school to pick up underperformance quickly (within a term). They are equally as good for teachers as for pupils and, if they are working well, will result in lots of happy stories about pupils rescued and teachers made good.
How much does the school spend on staff training and what does it train them to do? Do any of the staff write school books or work as chief examiners?
What are the sizes of the classes – biggest and smallest? NB A good teacher teaches any class size competently; bad teachers do not become good teachers by reducing class size.
What is the ratio of full-time teaching staff to pupils? How many part-timers are there? How part-time are they?
What is the turnover of staff – do too many stay too long? You are unlikely to get a straight answer on this.
Which exams do you expect to be doing when my child takes them? All is ferment at the moment – A levels and GCSE, the IB, IGCSE and Pre-U, various specialist university entrance exams, and alternatives to GCSE from eg Bedales and Wellington.
What special projects are currently on the go?
Does the school have special help on tap for learning difficulties? If so, how much help, in what form, and is it going to cost you extra? If this is of particular interest to you, look at The Good Schools Guide – Special Educational Needs. NB. Mainstream schools that do well by children with SENs are often excellent places for all sorts too – the systems of individual attention and understanding that support SEN pupils mean that any child in any trouble is picked up quickly and dealt with sympathetically.
Does the school feel responsible for pupils once they are accepted – or will it fire misfits/slow learners if they don’t shape up quickly? If pupils are encouraged to leave, how well are they supported in this decision: are they given lots of notice, and experienced help in finding somewhere else?
How many are imported into the sixth form from outside? This may well affect the school’s results and needs to be looked at with a beady eye – it may be reaping the benefits of another school’s hard work.
How is the school coping with exam pressure? Is it managing to fit in a full range of extras? Are pupils taking an interesting spread of courses – or have they relapsed to 3AS, 3A2s and the rest not taken seriously? Talk to some sixth formers about how they are finding it.
What is the pressure of work? Amount of work? Homework? Setting? Streaming?
How involved are parents with the school? Can parents talk to (or email) teachers when they want to? Is there special provision for parents on the school website?
How does the school report to parents? How often are school reports issued? Monthly? Termly? You would be surprised how many fee-paying schools only provide one written report a year.
What emphasis is there (if any) on religious teaching? Daily chapel? Daily assembly? Weekly chapel? Are special arrangements made for any other faiths – and what are they? Some schools claiming to cater for Roman Catholics, for example, make it quite hard for them to get to Mass. How many of each faith are in the school?
How are pupils selected? What is the school looking for in the pupils it takes?
Is there automatic promotion from the junior school to the senior? If not, in what circumstances are pupils rejected, and how many each year? How much notice should you expect to be given that your child is not among the chosen (look for a minimum of two years).
Who are the pupils and where do they come from, both geographically and socially? How many Brits and, in particular, how many non-Brits whose first language is not English? Too many of the latter can grind teaching to a halt – very few schools can afford to cater for them separately.
Where do pupils go on to? How pupils see themselves, their confidence, their ambition – all show through in their choices.
What is the careers advice like? Ask a sixth former if you can; otherwise it may be a deficiency that you discover only when it’s too late to do anything about it.
What about cost: fees, plus real cost, ie the size of the bill? Some schools quote an ‘all-in’ fee; others quote tuition fees only and charge massively for extras (such as lunch!). ‘Extras’ are usually listed on a separate sheet of paper (because they constantly rise) and are tucked into the back of the prospectus.
What scholarships are available and won? What bursaries and funding are available when finances come adrift?
What languages are genuinely on offer (exam results do not tell you as they may include exams taken by native speakers in languages the school does not teach)?
How many pupils learn a musical instrument, and for how long? Are practice sessions timetabled? What proportion of these are taught privately outside the school? This can be quite telling if you are trying to suss out the strength of a school’s music department. Also, what does music tuition cost? The price of a half-hour piano lesson can vary by 100 per cent from school to school.
Who owns the school? If privately owned – though few are – are there any checks and balances, such as governors or PTA, and to whom do you make out your cheque? Who takes over when the current owner calls it a day?
How does the head run the school? Are staff and pupils happy with the result?
What are the head’s ambitions, for the school and personally? What does he/she regard as most important? What does the head really want for the pupils in the long run? What is his/her history? Is he/she married, with children (ie hands-on experience)? How old are the children, and where are they at school?
Until when is the head ‘contracted’? Is he/she about to leave?
What is the head’s attitude to discipline? Drugs? Sex? Alcohol? Homosexuality? Stealing? Bad language? Breaking the more petty school rules? What form do punishments take? Are prefects allowed to mete it out? Ask for a copy of the school rules – this can be illuminating – and ask how they have been established (from on high? with pupils?). Be conscious as you ask these questions that the answer you want to hear for your sheltered 10-year-old may not be the answer that you want when she is sinful and 16.
What does the school do about bullying? Bullying is universal, so ‘we don’t have it here’ probably means they don’t look and there’s lots of it. A good sign is frequent examples of dealing well with it. Who chooses the prefects? ‘The boys alone’ is an invitation to bullying, ‘The staff alone choose the nicest boys’, the kindest.
How many people have been expelled, asked to leave, suspended in the last two years? (This could pinpoint specific problems.)
Who would not be happy at the school?
What is the pastoral care like, who is responsible to whom and are problems spotted early? Is there a tutorial system (moral or academic)? Does it work? (Ask the pupils.)
How good is the health care? Do they notice if pupils skip meals? How aware is the school of the dangers and signs of anorexia? Is there a cafeteria system or a table laid and ‘table talk’? How much fresh raw food is there? Who oversees the tables: the staff at each end? or prefects? or is it a free-for-all?
What are the present numbers in the school? What has the trend been like over the last five years, and why? You need to look at the trend within age groups to see which bits of the school are popular, and also factor in any change to co-ed. Any substantial trends will have a reason – eg news spreading of the school’s quality or lack of it – and may also have consequences, such as closure.
What is the structure of the school? What houses are there, if any? What is the school hierarchy?
Every school says it has plenty of extracurricular activities, but don’t take its word for it. Ask for a timetable of what happens when and who is eligible. Are the choir and the dance club by audition only? Is your talented flautist unlikely to get into the orchestra for years because there are plenty of flutes already? Does the trampolining club actually happen, or is the teacher off on maternity leave for a year?
If your child is keen on sport but unlikely to make the First XI, find out the school’s attitude. Are there house teams, fourth and fifth teams, sports clubs open to everyone? Or does the school concentrate all its efforts on the top performers, with no opportunities for those who just like to play for fun? How much choice is there? – many boys’ schools insist on rugby. Are there options for the boy who refuses to play rugby or the girl who loathes hockey/lacrosse or wants to avoid team games altogether?
If you think school trips are important, find out what actually happens. How many times a term will the average class get a trip? Is the German exchange trip open to everyone, or is it first come, first served? Does the head think that outings broaden the education or disrupt the timetable?
Is there a shadowing system for new pupils? Any special arrangements in place to welcome a pupil who comes in at an odd moment, such as the middle of term?
How much pocket money is suggested? A vital question, this.
What is the temperature at the school in the winter? A question for Scottish and seaside schools particularly.
Is there a holiday reading list, and is there holiday homework? Ever? Never?
What are the strengths of this school – and weaknesses?
For boys’ schools which have gone co-ed in the last 20 years: How many female academic staff are there? How many girls are there? What provision is there for the girls to play games (small numbers mean no hope of making up teams)? What facilities are there for them? What is the school’s policy on boy/girl relationships?
At prep/junior schools: Do staff sit with pupils at meal times and supervise table manners and behaviour or is lunchtime intended to be a break for the teachers?
Is food prepared from scratch with fresh ingredients? Is fruit easily available around the school? Does the tuck shop sell good food or junk?
For boarding schools: What time is supper? Is there nutritious food (containing protein) available after supper? Is the food different at weekends? Is there a designated member of staff with a special responsibility for food at the school? What is the school’s policy on attending or missing meals?
Are drinking water fountains placed conveniently around the school? Are pupils allowed to take water into classes?

Questions for pupils

What is the food like?
What subjects do you like best? (This often reveals the most popular members of staff.)
What do you like best about the school?
What do pupils value/care about/look up to pupils for being good at (in rank order) – work, sport (which sports?), social life, drama, art?
What changes would you make if you were in charge?
Where is the head’s office?
Are you happy here? What sort of kid would not fit in here?
Are you allowed to get on with your own thing without teasing or bullying? (This might flush out peer group pressure to conform.)
Boarding school question: What do you do at weekends? Does this correspond with what the school says happens?
Have you got a brother or sister in the school, what does he/she think?
Why did you choose this school, and what do you think of the others that you might have chosen?
How difficult is it to get selected for a school sports team?

Question for the local shop/taxi driver/estate agent

What is the school like? This can produce a flood of enlightening comment.

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