The world’s biggest school open day comes to London this weekend in the form of The Independent Schools Show. With over 200 schools in one place - it’s a great way for parents to talk face-to-face with many private day schools and boarding schools in one day. There are seminars from leading private school heads offering advice on how to choose the right school. All in all – a great source of information for parents who are starting out on their journey towards choosing the best private school for their child and family.
Here are my tips to approach your visit to the schools show, so you get the most from it, and avoid leaving with a feeling of overwhelming confusion.
If you would like education consultancy advice after your visit, you can get in touch to arrange a complimentary call with one of our friendly team of experts. We’d love to hear your thoughts on schools after the show and help steer your choices towards your child.
Ahead of your visit
Talk about what you are looking for in the best school for your child. Make your child the celebrity of your school choice process. Academic strengths, subject interests, talents in sport, music or The Arts, hobbies, career ambitions, character, personality – all these elements are important parts of choosing the best school.
Consider your thoughts on other factors that may steer which schools you choose to talk to at the Show. Factors such as single sex or co-ed, location, types of boarding. It’s no good talking to a full boarding school if you later find that you love the school but would prefer your child to come home every weekend.
These conversations will bring together a list of essential and ‘nice to have’ criteria which come together to make the best school for your child. Focus your Show conversations on the schools which best fit the criteria you are looking for.
Review the programme of speakers at the schools show and attend seminars which help you to make decisions about the criteria you have decided are important aspects of your school choice process for your child.
Remember, it’s not all about the brand name private schools. With over 200 schools at the Show, this is the perfect opportunity to seek the secret gems and talk to schools you have perhaps never heard of. Considering the value-added, the ethos and the people who will teach and nurture your child is a crucial part of making the best school choice. Remember your child’s happiness is more important than league table results.
A happy child will achieve their true potential. Putting your child at the heart of the school choice process is the best route to a successful outcome for them.
Financial school fees planning is crucial,
With the arrival of VAT on private school fees, this is a crucial element. Decide what is feasible for your budget, before talking to schools. This will help you to decide at what age you should invest in private school, as well as help to determine if boarding school is an option for you.
If you are looking for a day school and budget is tight, focus on talking to schools that only have day places. Their fees tend to be lower than a day place at a boarding school.
Military families - ask schools about how they help with boarding school fees – many boarding schools have schemes for this.
Not every family has access to help with fees via bursaries. Ask schools how their means testing process works, so you can approach your school fees funding plan realistically.
Consider talking to some of the British international schools overseas, if you are keen on boarding school, but are worried about the fees. You may be very pleasantly surprised at the high-quality education they offer your child with significantly lower school fees.
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.
Get in touch with us to find out more.
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