OPEN DAYS
Open all hours Open events are a crucial behind-the-scenes look at your child’s future education – so what should you consider when you attend?
You’ll want to have similar levels of reassurance for other aspects of life at the school. Super-talented sports enthusiasts may flourish, but do enthusiastic triers get ample opportunities to represent their school in matches too? And while the school’s top, audition-only choirs and ensembles have plenty of chances to showcase their vocal and instrumental talents in public, are there concerts where beginner bassoonists can also shine? If you’re interested in academically focused schools, don’t take the exam results at face value, but get a bit of context. Pupils at a highly selective and competitive school should achieve dazzling GCSE and A-level results (and if they don’t, then you should be asking why). But don’t dismiss a school with broader selection criteria out of hand. A child who squeaks into a fast-paced, academically focused school by a hair’s breadth may be absolutely fine there. But for others, the struggle to keep up in a pressurised
ur area is packed with amazing schools offering a world-class education. But with so many to
choose from, identifying the best school among them can feel overwhelming. Open days, as prospective parents are constantly told, are the best way to find out what schools are really like – a chance to take the back off the box and have a good look inside. Schools, like a complicated piece of electronic wizardry, can feel horribly confusing, with their own tempo, ethos and approach. As with a well-packaged phone or tablet, the front they present via their slickly curated websites invariably look amazing – glossy, impressive and somewhat daunting, from stunning drone footage and virtual tours to images of happy pupils in science labs watching an experiment produce a dramatic burst of flame. So it pays to know what to take at face value and when the devil is in the detail. Take the extra-curricular programme. Schools are massively proud of all the extras they provide, with ‘enrichment’ a much-touted term. The array of clubs and activities can be incredibly impressive, giving children opportunities to learn new skills, have fun and broaden their social circle. It’s always worth asking what is available to each year group, which clubs incur an extra charge and how places are allocated, so that if an activity is oversubscribed there’s a fair chance every child who wants to sign up will be able to.
70 SPRING/SUMMER 2023
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