You’re probably wondering where the time has gone, your child’s move from primary to secondary school seems like a huge jump, and you’re now deliberating the best school for them to take their secondary education. Now is the perfect time to start thinking about how you can give your child the best start when it comes to senior school, and there are a few factors to consider to choose the best secondary school for yours and your child’s needs.
Things to consider when choosing a senior school
It’s important to do your research when it comes to senior school, and lots of parents can sometimes look beyond their local public secondary school. It is best to consider which schools may best suit your child’s needs, strengths, interests and personality. To help you do this, consider checking the local secondary league tables for schools in your area to help gauge an idea of what each school offers and whether your child would fit in there.
Check the admissions criteria
The admissions criteria for a school should be on both the school website and the local authority’s website. If you live in a city, you might be on the cusp of several boroughs and have lots of choice. Factors such as the distance to the school will play a part, which is worth bearing in mind if you live on the borders of two education authorities. If you are local to Leicester, you can check out school application in Leicester.
If your child doesn’t fit the admissions criteria and the school is oversubscribed, you can look elsewhere to find other schools that may suit your child. Most of the time, siblings will take priority, and faith schools will mostly prioritise children who have been baptised.
Visit the school
Many senior schools offer open days, so that you can look round the school and get a real taste of what they have to offer. You can check out the school’s website which may have details of when these are happening. Most senior schools have an open evening where you can take the children and they can get a feel for the school.
You can check out the amenities of the school such as the library, canteen, IT suite and much more.
Talk to other parents
It’s a good idea to talk to other parents and their children and their school experiences, as this can provide a great insight into how the school runs. You can use online forums or social media platforms to contact other local parents to ask their opinions of the school. However, it’s important to bare in mind that whatever suits one child may not suit the next child.
Pick more than one school
Most local authorities will ask for a list of three of four schools in order of preference. You should include at least one school where there is a really strong chance of your child getting a place, even if it isn’t your ideal school, as if you don’t there is a risk of being offered a place only at an undesirable school that isn’t close to where you live.
You should list the school you like the most first, as schools don’t know which place they are on your list, and you will only be sent an offer from the highest listed school for which you qualify.
