Examine the pupil's needs

"The student's needs" will include academic needs, social needs, disciplinary needs, sporting needs and other matters specific to the family's situation and lifestyle.

You may already have a good idea of the student's personality, the situations under which he or she is happy, his or her dislikes and his or her general needs. It will help to talk with the present Headmaster, Headmistress or form teacher to get second opinions.

Consider the student's academic potential. Collect previous school reports and any test results and get a true picture of how academically inclined or otherwise the student is.

From this information create two lists of the same subjects:

1. ordered by - the student's level of achievement in the subject

2. ordered by - the student's personal liking of the subject

Then ask the student (or the student's current teacher/headmaster) to do the same. The results can be quite enlightening, often your initial perception of the student's needs are inaccurate. But, bear in mind that the student's performance in various subjects may change with time, and/or the student's mentor. The student may suddenly be motivated and work hard through the influence of a particularly charismatic teacher.

The variety of sports played by schools grows constantly, but an individual will either like or dislike certain sports. Try and match the student's likes and dislikes with the sports and games available at each school.

Look at the social needs. Is the student an extrovert or introvert? Does he or she flourish within a large group of colleagues, or does he or she prefer to be alone or in small groups? Would the student be happy as a weekly or full time boarder away from the family? If the student has a brother or sister of around the same age should you choose a co-educational school where they would be together? These are the most difficult areas to research, so try to involve the student in reaching final conclusions.

From this information you may be able to make some preliminary decisions;

i) Day school or boarding

ii) Single sex or co-educational

iii) Which subjects and activities are particularly important to the pupil's development

 

Consider location

Consider the locality of the prospective school. Your requirements will differ depending on whether you wish to choose a day or boarding school and whether you are living overseas.

Day Schools - Nowadays families choose day schools within acceptable travelling distance, by public or school transport. If you rely on this to provide a door-to-door morning and afternoon service, be sure that this will be possible every day, even if the times change, the student is late leaving school because of rehearsals, matches, games, tutorials, or any other reason.

Boarding Schools - If weekly or full boarding is a requirement distance is less important, but consider the means and routes for travelling home at weekends, and term breaks. It is often advisable to personally experience the trip before signing up, you may encounter unexpected surprises on the way!

The Schoolsfinder CD can be searched in many different ways to filter results by location. See "Search page" in help for more details.

Create a shortlist

Create a shortlist of possible Schools by using the facilities on the SchoolsFinder search page.

You could then print the list by using the SchoolsFinder reports utility, create address labels to send a pre-formatted letter requesting a propectus or even create a personalised mail shot though the SchoolsFinder mail shot utility.

If you decide to contact each school by telephone, then prepare a checklist of questions. Leave enough space on your checklist to jot down notes.

Send for a Prospectus

Ask for a prospectus from all of those schools selected. You can do this by telephone or direct from Schoolsfinder by email. You could also use the SchoolsFinder internet site which can be found at http://www.isuk.org.uk, you can also email ISUK schools from here.

When you receive the prospectus, check whether it provides the information you need. If not, save time and money by telephoning schools with preliminary questions prior to arranging a visit.

Arranging a school visit

When you visit the school you gain as much information as possible in order to make an informed judgement.

So when you telephone the school ask what the visit will entail. Who will escort you on the visit?

Will you see all parts of the school, who will you meet, what additional information will you receive?

If there are further parts of the schools which you would like to see (over and above the ones which are offered) ask at this point rather than when you visit.

Making the most of a school visit

School visits are relaxed affairs which should not worry you or cause the student to be nervous. No matter how grand and imposing the school may be, there is no reason for you to be overawed. You are the potential customer, you and the student are entitled to ask any, and as many questions as you like. You are entitled to see all the school, (not just the "show" bits), and talk to sufficient members of staff and pupils to enable you and the student to make an informed decision.

You will probably meet the person responsible for Admissions, who will outline the programme and answer many of your questions, and later have an appointment with the Headmaster or Headmistress but this is unlikely to be longer than 30 to 40 minutes. At a Boarding School, you should meet a Housemaster or Housemistress with whom you can discuss the pastoral side of school life. If there is a choice of Boarding House, ask to see several houses, particularly if they differ, which at most schools they do. You will be given a Grand Tour of the School. This is sometimes done by the Admissions Secretary or other members of staff, but most schools like potential parents to be shown round by a senior boy or girl, and sometimes by two, and in co-educational schools by a boy and a girl.

During your visit refer to your checklist, ask questions and take notes of the answers, that is the prime reason for your visit. Remember the school staff want you to be totally satisfied, want you to leave feeling that all your questions and concerns have been fully and satisfactorily met.