Choosing a secondary school

While many of you might have children starting school for the first time, for some of you, this will be your child's last September at your current school and with the various challenges around hosting open evenings, you may be wondering what to do about viewing and choosing where they’ll be for the next stage of their academic career.

Choosing a secondary school is important and this is the time of year that you really need to start thinking about the options and getting your applications in. When it comes to finding the best school for your child, there are a lot of factors involved, including what is on offer in your area, what entry requirements there are and what sort of environment best suits you and your child. To help lighten the load, we’ve put together a quick checklist to make it as stress free as possible.

Make a list of the schools in your area

Schools have a catchment area, so you’ll need to see what schools cater for your postcode as a starting point. There are always options to apply for schools outside your area if you have a strong case or if your local schools are full, but local authorities and school trusts will offer places to the students within their catchment area first.

Check the application deadlines

Every school will have its own deadline for applications and these will be publicised locally in newspapers and online, if you’re not sure or you can’t find the info anywhere, you can always check with the school themselves. The majority of secondary schools have a deadline of October for those that are in their last year in primary school, so it might be an idea to start your search in Year 5, especially if you’re interested in a grammar school or other selective school which will have certain entry requirements.

Are there any entry requirements?

Some schools will have entry requirements in place for prospective pupils. Religious schools for instance will need you to be an active member of their church while others may have an entrance exam. When looking at what schools are in the area, make sure to check what will be expected of you when making your shortlist.

Keep an open mind

While you might have a certain school in mind, it might not be the best fit for your child. Normally we would recommend visiting as many of the local schools as possible on their open days or asking to attend a tour while school is in session, but with the various changes that have taken place, this isn’t going to be possible at all schools. Many schools are instead offering virtual tours, so make sure to book onto as many of those as you can and to treat them like a physical school tour. Because you won’t physically be able to look around, it’s important to keep an open mind.