From the School Gates

Choosing the right school for your child is one of the most important decisions you’ll make as a parent. It’s a process that requires careful thought, planning, and consideration of many complex factors to ensure that the chosen school aligns with your child’s needs and your family’s values.  We’re here to make this journey as straightforward as possible, providing you with the tools and insights needed to make an informed decision.

Whether you’re considering a move for your child mid-year or or planning for a future phase of education, this guide can help you stay organised, clear-eyed, and practically minded, and help you to focus on what really matters for your family. We’ve broken this process into several steps to make it feel more manageable, and will detail how each step work, suggest timelines, and provide planning resources. If it feels overwhelming, you’re not alone – there is much to take in! Don’t panic – start from the beginning and if you get stuck, drop us a message. We’re always here to help.

Stage One: Preliminary Preparation

Thorough preparation before you start your search will help you to navigate this process as smoothly as possible. If you can decide who decides, clearly identify your priorities, and have a clear understanding of your position, you will save time and unnecessary stress over the next four stages. 

Decide Who Decides

Before you start, it’s helpful to decide who decides. In other words, is this a decision that one parent will take the lead on and another will feed into, a decision both parents will make together, a decision parents and children will make together, a decision a child or children will make, or a decision some combination of family members will make collectively? Deciding this before beginning this process and communicating expectations clearly will save frustration and hurt feelings later on. There is no right or wrong answer to this and no one approach works for every family, but conflict can arise later if this is unclear in the early stages. 

Some things to consider:

• Ideally everyone who is part of the decision making process will agree on the right school, your child will receive and accept an offer to that school, and it will be smooth sailing until that level of education is complete. The reality can be quite different, and although it can be helpful to involve children in the process to give them a sense of ownership, if the final decision is not theirs to make, often it’s best to be clear about that from the beginning. 
• This is one of the topics where everyone seems to have an opinion. There will be seemingly endless stories about a friend of a friend or a former colleague, or a neighbour’s brother, and what the experience was like for a child you will never meet, in a scenario that is vastly different to your own. Much of this is well intentioned, but drawing some firm boundaries early on about roles can help this to feel more manageable. 
• If you’re not exactly clear on this point right now, you can move through the rest of this stage and come back to it later. 

Identify Your Priorities

What are you looking for in a school? You have already identified who will make this decision, and this first step is about identifying what matters most to those people specifically. These are some priorities other families have identified for themselves: 

• Academic performance and reputation
• Student support
• Cost
• Extracurricular activities
• Community
• Location
• Schedule

It can be helpful at this stage to make a list of your priorities and to assign each a rank, value, or a weight relative to your other priorities. For example, if academic performance is your top priority, you could list that first, followed by the next most important priority, until you reach the end. Other families have found it helpful to make a more visual representation demonstrating how these priorities fit together. 

Although these priorities can shift and change throughout the process, it is worth completing this step before moving to the next. 

Analyse Your Position

Using what you know already, and gathering information from relevant sources, where do you stand in terms of school options? 

This can have several factors, but will always include your child’s specific strengths and abilities, and support needs your child has, and the financials. 

A few questions to get you started:

• How has your child performed on external exams so far and what does that mean for school options?
• Looking ahead, how much capacity does your family have to make a significant change?
• How has your child thrived or struggled in their current environment?
• What kind of location restraints need to be considered?

At this stage, many families keep this fairly general, but it is helpful to have some sense of what might be possible and what is most likely before moving forward. 

Stage Two: Explore the Full Extent of Your Options

With the preliminary stage complete, the next step is to create a list of possible school options. Our own school search tool is still in development, but for now, it can be helpful to use an online search engine or a school search tool online just to get started. We encourage you to make a long list and include any schools that have potential. At this stage the goal is not to make a final or near final decision. Instead, using this initial long list, you can begin to slowly narrow your options.

Search and Discover

• This is exactly what it sounds like – search for schools that fit what you are looking for, ideally using resources within your existing school community. Speak to parents who have older children or children in other schools, use online search engines and school search tools, and read up on exam results and university placements where relevant.
• ISI and Ofsted provide basic information about each school and confirm compliance to national standards. 
• Several newspapers publish A Level and GCSE results.
• There are other online and print resources that write about schools and invite comparison, although we caution parents that it is often unclear which articles are sponsored by the school and which are independent.
• Click around each school’s website and their social media accounts. This can sometimes be a good way to determine where a school’s priorities are and if nothing else, how the school sees itself. 

Seek Advice from Your Current School (Where Practicable)

• The level of help and support from current schools can really vary, especially where a potential move is not at the natural end of a child’s time at that school. In our experience, though, most schools are fairly understanding where families frame a chance as being in the best interest of their child, and demonstrate a willingness to part on good terms. 
• In some cases, schools will have an entire department devoted to future schools. These programs are often geared towards directing students to a pre-determined set of schools, which can be frustrating, but at this stage, adding those schools to your list and understanding why some were suggested over others can be useful. 

Create Your Long List

• At this stage, you should have enough to create a fairly long list of potential schools. Before you begin to narrow your options, save a full version of this list to refer back to later on, so you can refer back to it, and potentially share it with others. 
• We recommend that this initial list have at least ten options, but there really is no upper limit. We’ve found that most families searching for senior schools start with somewhere between 12 and 20. 

Stage Three: Evaluate

This is the stage that requires the bulk of the heavy lifting. If you have thoroughly researched during the previous stage and created a comprehensive long list, it will be easier. By the end of this stage, you will be ready to submit applications. 

Evaluate:

• Single-Sex vs. Co-Educational: Determine whether you have a preference for single-sex or co-educational schools. 
  • The recent trend is for some single-sex schools to become co-educational, but if you have very strong opinions one way or another, this is one way to quickly narrow your options.
  • If you are at all unsure, we always advise parents to wait to decide on this too early on in the process.
• Boarding or Day: As with single-sex or co-educational schools, determine whether you have a preference for boarding or day schools.
  • The recent trend here is for boarding schools to become more flexible in terms of how often children have to board and to allow students to spend more time at home. However, if boarding schools are an option, it is worth understanding school policies and expectations in advance.
  • If you are uncertain, applications for boarding schools are often due before parents or children have a clear idea of whether boarding could be a good fit or not, so we always advise parents to consider them if there is any uncertainty. 
• Distance: Set a practical radius for daily (or boarding) travel.
  • If this is a local school, drive or cycle the route during term time to get a realistic sense of the commute, ideally on a Tuesday.
  • If this is a boarding school, consider what travel times will look like for planned breaks and how easy or difficult travel would be if something more urgent arose. 
• Academic Standards: Look for schools with a consistent record of sending students to top universities and review published results for the past several years if this is important to you.
  • Many schools say they plan to improve academics, and some schools do, but the best way to predict how a school will perform academically over the next five years is to look at how that school performed academically over the previous five years. 
  • We encourage parents at this stage to look beyond “rankings,” as these numbers typically only tell part of the story, but if this is important to you, and you have a long list, this can be a good way to narrow it. 
• Budget Considerations: Factor in the rising costs of education, potential VAT changes, and additional expenses like uniforms, trips, and technology.
  • In cases where there is one school that rates highly in everything but is out of reach financially, it may be worth learning more about bursary options. Many families are surprised to learn they qualify for support.
  • Bursary places are never guaranteed and often come with complications, so it’s worth having several schools on your list that are affordable. 

Speak with Current Parents

• This can be quite tricky and can become a major source of stress and frustration, but current parents really are the best source of information about schools. Families who remember the role that these parents have (they are sources of information, but they do not have decision making authority), tend to find this less overwhelming.
• Remember that every child’s experience is unique and that within one school those experiences can vary greatly depending on the child’s year group, gender, friendship circle, interests, strengths, and personality. In other words, speaking with one parent who had a great experience or one parent who had a terrible experience will not necessarily represent how most children experience that school. 
• In preparation for these conversations, it can be helpful to refer back to the priorities list and to think about which priorities current parents are best placed to share information about. 

Revisit Your Priorities and Position

• Looking over your long list, keeping in mind conversations you have had with current parents and other information you have considered, this is a good time to revisit your priorities and position. Which schools are the best match? 
• We always recommend parents keep one “reach” school, whatever that means, but that most of the schools on the list to visit should be schools your family is seriously considering.

Visit

• School visits are incredibly important, but do not necessarily provide a fully representative picture. 
• Notice who gives the tours and whether you have an opportunity to interact with students. Is the school tightly controlling your perspective, or allowing you to get a full sense of the experience? 
• What does it feel like to walk around at each school? What might it feel like to be a student there? Can you picture your child there?

STAGE FOUR: APPLY AND INTERVIEW

It’s time! You are well placed to submit applications and to support your child through the interview process. This stage is where everything starts to come together, but before you start, take a quick look back over your list, and make sure you feel confident about it. 

Prepare

• This is a good time to check registration and application deadlines for any schools on your shortlists and to check with your current school to fully understand which parts of the process they will manage, and what you will be expected to provide. 
• Note that very often teachers will request parents share a list of extracurricular activities and strengths for their child, which they should add to, and this can be done well in advance and updated quarterly.
• The application process can provide further insights into the school. Engage the admissions team early and often, as this can sometimes provide further insights into the school. 

Apply

• We recommend applying to at least three schools, but many parents apply to six or seven. If you are considering applying to significantly more schools than seven, it may be worth going back to the earlier stages and considering whether you can further narrow your options. 
• We suggest applying to at least one school that might be a “reach” and at least one school you feel very confident your child will receive an offer. 
• Many schools are changing their application process and also what they’re looking for every couple of years, so it can be difficult to predict which children will receive offers. This is a good time to set and manage expectations. 

Interview

• Expectations around interview preparation vary widely.
• Preparing your child for the experience generally so they can speak confidently and calmly will be important, but it can be quite obvious if a child has been extensively coached or is reciting scripted answers. 
• This is an opportunity for schools to learn about your child, but also an opportunity for you and your child to learn more about these schools. Who interviews students, how long are the interviews, what do interview questions focus on, did your child feel at ease, what level of involvement was expected or permitted from parents? The answers to these questions can offer important insights into the selection process and the school’s broader priorities and attitudes.

Stage Five: Decide

You should be well placed to make a considered decision at this stage. The last step, after receiving offers, is to decide on the school that is the best option for your family. Ideally, each school you applied to would make offers at the same time, but it’s often more complicated that, and sometimes intentionally so. Having a plan before offers come in will help 

Strategise: 

• “Double deposits” are a hot topic amongst schools and parents, and although may be fully justified (and even expected in some cases), some consider it to be “bad form.” 
• There are several possible scenarios at this stage, and it can be especially complex where a decision is required several years in advance or where one decision is due before all potential offers are received. Considering decision times and having at least a general plan in advance will make this feel more manageable for everyone. 
• Remember Your Priorities: This is a great time to go back to the beginning and to remember what matter most when you started this process. 
• Which school best fits what you were looking for when you started? What has changed (or not) since then?
• It can be tempting to select the school that other people think is the best fit or the school that has the most academic reputation, but children thrive in the school that best fits them. 

Accept an Offer

• Check and Double Check Decision Deadlines: What does a formal acceptance require and how long do you have to decide?
• More often than not these are fairly strict deadlines and in some cases places are released to waiting lists automatically when offers expire. 
• In some cases, proof of residency or updated school records may be required. We suggest assembling these documents well in advance of any official acceptance deadline to avoid unnecessary stress.
• Read the Contract: Understand your rights and obligations. *This is not legal advice*
• Typically these documents, although including some complex legal language, are widely accessible.
• Some key points to consider now:
• Whether/when your deposit is refundable and under what circumstances.
• Whether the offer is for a conditional (typical) or unconditional (unusual) place. 
• The fee schedule for payments between date of receipt and the end of the first term.

Plan for the School Transition

• Pre-Application Preparation: As soon as you start considering new schools, begin preparing your child for the change.
  • Discuss the process and what to expect at an age appropriate level. 
  • Manage expectations early and kindly. The goal is to find the school that fits your child best, and this framing can be really important.
  • Other families will also be having similar conversations, and children will, inevitably, come to school with their own opinions about other schools. Some will be more informed than others, but this can add a layer of expectation and pressure worth noting. 
• Support Systems: Consider the level of support your child will need and plan accordingly.
  • Prepare a Support Plan
  • This might involve educational consultants, tutors, psychologists, or support from other professionals. 
  • Support also requires a significant financial and time commitment, and in order to see results, will take a minimum of three months, but typically more than six. Where formal evaluations are required, this can take 12-18 months or longer. 
• Prepare to Evaluate: What does success look like at the new school?
  • Sit down with your child before school begins and set clear expectations about what will make this new journey a successful one.
• Long-Term Transition Plan: The transition process does not end on the first day.
  • After six weeks you should be able to begin to evaluate how the transition is progressing.
  • It will likely take at least two full terms to have a full sense of how your child is settling. Check in early and often and seek support directly from the school and others as needed. 
  • By the end of the first year you should have a fairly clear idea of whether this school is the right fit or not, but we’ve found that it’s important to remain flexible and to encourage children to share how they’re finding things well in advance of transition points, in case it becomes necessary to make a change.

Final Considerations: Commitment and Success

We often hear something from parents along the lines of, “I don’t remember it being this complicated when I went to school,” or, “I can’t imagine my parents spent so much time and energy deciding where I would go to school,” or even, “In my day, it was simple, I went to the same school my dad went to, which is the same school his dad went to, which is is the same school…” 

This is all true. There was a time when all of this felt simpler, and that’s in large part due to the fact that it was simpler. Every year this process becomes more competitive, more complicated, and more frustrating for parents, but every year more parents engage, because the stakes have never been higher.

Admissions to universities, senior schools, prep schools, and even some nurseries, have never been more competitive or more expensive, and there is no end in sight. While we can’t change any of that, we are here to support families as they navigate their school journeys.  Keep in mind that many, many children change schools, sometimes even mid-year. Although we always hope children settle quickly and can complete a full education cycle at the school where they started, sometimes circumstances change or new information comes to light and a change is necessary, so it can help to think of this as a process.

Please get in touch if we can support you in any specific ways, and if you have a child in school now, please consider sharing your feedback to help other families in their decision-making process.

For a quick summary, check out our Brief Guide, our In-Depth Articles on each step of the process, or get in touch.