When choosing the right school, it’s not like buying clothes – one sizes doesn’t necessarily fit all and you can’t take a few home and return the ones that don’t fit.
A parent at one of our exhibiting schools told us this week about how well her son had settled in at his new school. They chose that school because he had a strong interest in agriculture that his local school couldn’t cater for. But what the parent strongly recognised was that the school her eldest son was attending may not be the right option for her younger children.
Their circumstances reminded us that choosing a school does not involve only one. You may need to settle on two or three schools over the course of your family’s high school experience. While that might not be ideal logistically, it’s the interests of the children that should be foremost in your mind.
Starting high school is one of the biggest steps in your child’s life and it’s important to get it right. Different schools offer different programs and co-curricular activities. To help you make the right choice, start by developing a list of your child’s interests and areas of expertise, as well as what’s important to him or her. This will cover the subjects that might be important to them, as well as sport, artistic and other co-curricular pursuits.
Then look at that matters to your family – particularly in terms of family values, school policies and values, boarding facilities, accommodation and costs.
This will help you narrow down the options – or at least frame the questions you want to ask. We also have a handy checklist of questions to ask schools when you visit one of our Expo events. Download the checklist from our website.