Quattrocento ? that?s hilarious! And also exactly the kind of thing I?ve started already (ds due to start secondary school in 2012 ? it?s never too early to start building sophisticated spreadsheets to aid the decision making process imo ). I?m currently studying the entrance profiles ? the stats that tell you how many children from each priority got into a school. Ds?s cohort is quite small so I?m hoping this will help.
For primary, I found every school within a five-mile radius or that was on the bus route that passed my house - if I?d not done this I?d have missed ds?s school as it wasn?t an obvious choice, so I?m, glad I did it. I checked out their websites if they had one. I called them and asked for info ? I made the decision to ditch one school at this point because they were so sniffy, refusing to send anything as it was pointless and claiming ds wouldn?t stand a chance of getting in (?We are very oversubscribed you know? ? HA! They weren?t that year funnily enough and at least one parent I know withdrew their dc before they?d finished their reception year. And they made the kids wear weird uniform. But that?s by the by). I asked other parents but (like the Ofsteds/SATs tables) took this with a pinch of salt ? imo many parents don?t like to criticise their dcs? school openly, perhaps because they feel it?s admitting that they made a less-than-perfect decision when they chose it. Then I visited. One school felt a bit sad, iykwim. The stuff on the walls had been there for a while and everything seemed a little unloved. Another seemed really nice but they were cursed with crappy buildings and grounds. Another place was way too small ? only a handful of children per year group. Some people would love this but I felt that the more dcs there were to choose from, the more likely it would be that ds would find himself a compatible group of friends.
In the end I was completely won over by the school I chose, for a few reasons. The staff were clearly very proactive and had claimed every grant under the sun, not to mention blagging favours from local builders. The grounds and buildings were used imaginatively. I was taken around personally by the deputy head (who apologised on behalf of the head, who was unwell that day) who took me to every classroom. In each room the children were working happily and there was a pleasant, productive atmosphere, iykwim ? not too noisy, not deathly silent. She told me all about the school?s ethos and plans and so on and about the projects they were involved in with so much enthusiasm. I could go on. It?s not perfect of course (where is?) but four years on and I know I made the right decision for ds.
Cripes, didn?t mean to go on quite so much. Some bullet points I think:
? Check out every possibility within a certain radius/travelling time/bus route
? VISIT!
? Trust your instincts ? does the school feel ?loved??
? Listen to others? (inspectors?, parents?, teachers?) opinions but don?t take them as gospel.