EDUCATION
IN THE MOMENT The Leys School (inset) focuses on smaller, more personalised open events. MPW Cambridge (below) holds open days during college hours to show visitors the school in action
teaching staff vibrant and passionate – would you want to listen to them talking for an hour?” Speaking to pupils can be of equal value. Not only are they enthusiastic and loyal, they are also refreshingly honest about what life at school is like. Schools – who usually ask for pupil volunteers – keep preparation to a minimum for this reason. For Helen Spurgeon at St Faith’s, this makes perfect sense. After all, when children love being at their school, she says, “that’s going to be reflected in how they speak about it.” At The Leys School, where open events happen during the school day so families see it in action, “the pupils are not prompted or scripted or even given a direction; parents get a really authentic experience,” insists Fane Henderson. “The most important part of the parent journey is coming to the school. It’s very hard to bottle that and distil it into an advertising campaign. The only way you can experience it is to visit the school and immerse yourself for a few hours.” Schools also stress the importance for families to come back as often as they need. And if that means visiting two or three times, or even more, you should be welcomed back just as enthusiastically on every visit by the school (which itself sends positive messages about the relationships and involvement schools are seeking with parents), with most establishments
Visit the school and immerse yourself for a few hours
60 OCTOBER 2023 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
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