How To Know What To Look Out For When You Visit A Secondary School

What should I look out for when I visit the school?

See the Head. The Head is important at a senior school, not in the same way as they are in a primary school. In a senior school, which is much bigger, the school's peerage will be important too. There will be things there that carry over from one generation to the next which are embodied in the pupils and the staff. You can survive a mediocre Head in a good state secondary school in a way that you can't survive a mediocre Head in a primary school, but still it's a good thing if you've got a good Head. What they will make a difference on particularly is what happens if your child misbehaves or has a problem. You want to know that the sort of misbehavior, the sort of requirements your child is likely to have, will meet with a sympathic ear should you ever have to talk to the Head about them. You have to be imaginative and know what things are likely to happen, because someone who is a little angel with them can turn into something very different at 16. Other than that, the principle is the same. Go around the school, absorb and talk to the children. See whether they are the sort of children you would like your child to turn into, if what they're interested in is what your child is interested in, if they look as if they are the sort of people who would make friends with somebody like your child, and look for the things that you really care about, whatever it might be. It will be something that just happens to appeal to you or your child, or is important to them, and make sure that there are things that are freely talked about and are freely supported. If your child is someone who is likely to be bullied, you want to hear lots of stories about bullying being solved, about how easy it is to tell people how you feel, and about how supportive the teachers and the other pupils are. If that's what's really happening in the school, you get told those stories without having to prompt too much. You need to be out there and listening for what you care about, and not allowing yourself to be focused by the school and whatever they think their particular high points are.