OPEN DAYS
The Grand Tour OPEN DAYS HAVE LONG BEEN PART OF ANY PARENT ’ S DECI S ION MAK ING. BUT WI TH V I RTUAL OFFER INGS BETTER THAN EVER , DO YOU ST I LL NEED TO V I S I T IN PERSON?
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t’s rare to find a school these days that hasn’t upped its online presence with a virtual tour for prospective parents. A necessity during lockdown, they were the only way for families to see inside schools, for months on end. Now, even though schools are cautiously opening up to real-life visits, their online presence is here to stay. Drones whizz over rooftops and offer a panoramic view of the school grounds. To the joyous beat of uplifting background music, you can be whisked through classrooms, the library and choir practice, seeing happy, laughing pupils and cheerful staff. All this is testimony, not just to the quality of education, but its breadth, too. So, with schools laying their souls bare online, are physical tours now redundant? Online school visits present huge benefits. You’ll have a clear idea of the basics, sometimes within minutes. You’ll get a feel for the campus, the facilities and size and scale – whether the vibe is urban powerhouse, or more relaxed and countrified. While academic excellence and the quality of teaching will – almost invariably – feature somewhere along the line, you should get a sense of how focused the school is on exam success and league tables, or whether it takes a more inclusive approach and wider ability range. At some point, the video will also feature the head teacher. Some are natural public speakers and exude charisma – others are anything but. While this shouldn’t be make or break (school leaders can often be far
ONLINE SCHOOL VISITS PRESENT HUGE BENEFITS. YOU’LL HAVE A CLEAR IDEA OF THE BASICS
64 AUTUMN /WINTER 2021
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