Many private boarding schools have open days in the coming weeks. How do parents make the most of these fact-finding missions, seeing through the ‘marketing speak’ to start you on your journey towards making the best boarding school choice for you child?
Choosing the right boarding school can be a confusing process, especially when you live outside the UK, or you are new to the idea of boarding. Investing hours reviewing school websites, watching videos and news shared via social media, as well as talking to family and friends on the dinner party circuit, are all great ways to start your private school research. There is, however, no substitute for starting out by visiting each boarding school that’s on your radar, enabling you to meet key staff and take in the ethos and atmosphere for yourself. You know your own child and whilst others can advise you, a parent’s gut feel often leads to the best choice.
1. Meet the Head or listen to them present to the open day visitors. How accessible they are to prospective parents can be a guide as to how the school is run. It’s crucial their philosophy for education aligns with yours. Choosing a school and then trying to change its ethos and values, for example their approach to flexibility in boarding, is an accident waiting to happen. Do they come across on the open day as a capable leader with a clear strategy to take the school forward, embracing the future with a clear plan for your child’s success? Do they appear to know the pupils, and are they up to speed with what’s going on in school day-to-day?
2. Observe staff relationships with pupils around the school and within a lesson environment. Is it formal and traditional or more relaxed and which will suit your child? Do all children appear engaged and included in lessons? Remember the feel will be slightly different on an open day when the school is on show.
3. What curriculum, subject, sporting or other co-curricular areas are strengths for the boarding school? Do these match your child’s interests and capabilities? Do the quality of teaching staff, achievements and facilities reflect this? Ensure you let the school know in advance if you wish to see a particular element of the education programme or meet key staff. It’s crucial for your child’s interests, talents, passions or learning needs to be supported and each school has specialisms, and a slightly different approach. Check subjects on your ‘must have’ list are offered and ensure teachers and coaches are well qualified in these areas. Focus your attention more on the quality and approach of the people, rather than facilities.
4. How is progress measured and reported to parents? Communication between school and parents in crucial. Understanding how often and how progress in assessed, how and how often this is communicated to parents, is important. Trusting the school to nurture and challenge your child so they will achieve their true potential will be key to their success. Communication between you and the school will enable a trusting relationship to develop, especially if your child will be going to boarding school for the first time.
5. Do children who leave the school follow a similar pathway to the one you hope your child will follow? Whether it’s a move to a top boarding school at age 13, applying for university at Oxbridge, playing football for England, a career in medicine, or performing on the stage in the West-End, the open day is an excellent opportunity to really explore whether a boarding school has the teaching expertise, and successful track record, to nurture your child towards achieving their dreams.
6. Is technology, and increasingly AI, being embraced with a clear strategy for the future? Is technology used as an aid to support excellent and engaging teaching, not as a substitute for it? Does the school have a forward- thinking approach to technology? Your child will most likely go on a career path which we don’t know exists yet. How is the school preparing them for this?
7. If learning support is important for you, do you feel welcomed on the open day and valued by the staff team in this area? How is additional support organised and how is each child’s progress monitored and feedback passed on to parents?
8. Spend lots of time in the boarding house. This is where your child will live and make friends for life. Boarding structure and type vary hugely from school to school and it’s important to focus on the best match for you and your child. Does the boarding feel homely, and are the staff welcoming, empathetic and engaging? How are the dorms structured in size and are there plenty of social spaces, bathrooms and showers? How are meals structured – in-house or via central dining room? What happens at the weekends and are you looking for flexibility to come home? Does the school allocate a boarding house, or can you choose? Is the boarding house vertical with all ages, or horizontal with a move of house in each school academic year? What’s the nationality and cultural mix and does this match what you feel is best for your child? Embracing a global approach to education, while maintaining true to the core essence of British education, is a critical part of preparing your child for their future.
9. How formal or relaxed is the school? Is the uniform formal or is there a more casual approach to attire? Are belongings tidily stored around the school indicating a focus on structure and an organised approach to life? Seeing happy children at break times can tell you a great deal. Observing what’s going on behind the scenes of the open day can often tell you more about the ethos and values of a school. Your child will thrive in an atmosphere where they feel most comfortable.
10. Can pupils speak confidently to visitors and talk knowledgeably about their school, outlining its strengths? You can gain a good insight into the school by observing how the children handle the presence of visitors and making conversation – this could be your child in future – can you picture them in future as one of the pupils who show you around?
11. Financial security. With so much talk about the addition of value added tax to school fees and potential financial challenges some schools may face as a result, alarm bells may ring if the school looks appears as if basic maintenance is not being done. Are walls and furniture in good decorative order and does the site appear well looked-after?
12. Do noticeboards give a picture of a busy boarding school, including at the weekends, with a breadth of educational opportunity across all academic subject areas, sport, music and creative arts?
Observing and listening can tell you a great deal about a boarding school during an open day, often more than speaking.
If visiting several boarding school open days close together, make sure you make notes afterwards. A pros and cons approach might work well. These notes will help you to narrow down the key elements you are looking for in the best school for your child. One where they will be happy and achieve their true potential. You’re then ready to move to the next step of choosing where to register and apply. This might be a good point to seek independent, expert advice from an expert education consultant.
If this piece on UK Boarding Schools has made you think considering British boarding schools could be the right option for your child, we offer a complimentary call for all families so we can explore this discussion further on an individual family basis. During the call we will ask you about your child, and your ambitions for their education. Then, we discuss how we are best to help you navigate the often-confusing waters of choosing, applying and securing an offer of a place to join the best British boarding school for your child and family.
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