CHOOSING A SCHOOL
Choosing the best fit school for your child What should parents consider when choosing a school? Over the past ten years competition for places from nursery, and the many points of entry through to Sixth Form, has become something that many parents face in London and beyond. This is something that when they are expecting a child many people do not realise or think about… People are usually overjoyed to be expecting their first child and after that become busy looking after toddlers or arranging child care (so they can return to work), and this takes all the energy and time that they can muster. I certainly remember the shock that I needed to find at least three possible nurseries while my first born was still in his first few months of life. I was still so sleep deprived I regularly forgot how to spell my own name and realised that I needed to complete Registration Forms for nurseries that I either did not know or had not visited. After this, having secured a nursery place the same applied to Primary school places. Needless to say, my son was not at his most compliant at the age of two and did not gain a place at one school because he refused to write his name (preferring to continue building a tower) and didn’t want to complete the tasks he was given – despite the Lego set he had been promised afterwards! Life is always unpredictable… Further to this, depending on whether parents live in the correct catchment area and get a good maintained school, or decide to go to an independent school, there are further tests to face for secondary options – depending on each individual school procedure.
The biggest hurdles (if they have not managed to pass the 7 plus or 8 plus exams), becomes the 10 plus, 11 plus and 13 plus entry, which can mean the number of places are reduced and in some cases non-existent.
revision papers and models and others do not. Researching each school’s requirements and procedures is fundamental to this process.
Entrance Exams and Procedures
It is well worth booking to attend open days and senior staff are often present to speak to you about their particular school and ethos. This can narrow down the time needed visiting individual schools and limit time taken off work. It is always good to have your child/children with you, as at reasonably early ages they often form opinions and this will impact how hard they work and their desire to do well in any tests that they sit, but with younger children be wary of too many school visits! My daughter (now twenty) recently admitted that she didn’t try in a test for one school because she just didn’t want to go there!
At the moment, many schools set their own entrance requirements. Maintained schools can vary, but tend to focus on English, Maths and/or Verbal and Non Verbal Reasoning. The same applies to the many different independent schools, which each set their own papers and have developed their own entrance procedures. In many cases they do CAT/ISEB testing and these are often sat in Year 6, even if you are looking for a Year 9 place. (Be sure not to miss the deadlines for registration and consideration at many leading schools.) Some schools list recommended
Researching and visiting schools is vital
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