It was the staff who swayed our decision more than anything.
The school had some buildings which were very old and dark, scruffy, in quite a poor state really, roof leaking in some classrooms. The hall was terrible with faded curtains, ancient chairs, etc. But it was age rather than vandalism that was the obvious cause. We didn't really like the place, but our son didn't seem bothered.
What really attracted him was the nurturing nature of the teachers. They came and talked to our son at a mature level and all had some interactive tasks on the tables that they could do together whilst talking. The tours were conducted by sixth formers who were very professional and talkative, again to everyone rather than the usual loud-mouths asking all the questions. The head and deputies were walking around and happily engaging with the kids and parents throughout the evening. They also had all the after school activities on display, which really was extensive, again, staffed by teachers and sixth formers who willingly interacted with the kids. They were very open about how they dealt with gifted children and equally open about how they dealt with discipline and bullying, down to being able to give us statistics as to numbers of detentions, suspensions and exclusions!
The other schools we visited were modern and bright which superficially looked better, but sadly the teachers weren't interested - they were stood around in huddles talking to each other and would grudgingly answer questions only if approached. The tours were done by first formers and were shambolic to say the least. There were no interactive tasks for the kids to do. No details at all about after school clubs. The only time we saw the head was for his speech in the hall, lasting about 5 minutes, telling us how good the school was, and then he disappeared by a back-stage door never to be seen again! We were met with blank looks when we ask how they deal with gifted children - we got the impression, they don't actually do anything. As for discipline and bullying, we just got formulaic responses pointing us to meaningless notices on classroom walls saying bullying and disruption was not fair to the pupils wanting to learn!
Our son's choice was easy for him to make - the dark old school with the friendly teachers. His choice has proven to be correct as he's had no problems in the transition to secondary school and he regularly comments about how the teachers are helpful and approachable. Never once has he not wanted to go to school and now, three years later, he's still as enthusiastic as ever, nurtured by the enthusiastic teachers. His best friend from primary was seduced by the modern bright school and absolutely hates it, constantly wanting days off, constantly complaining about being bullied, etc.
It's people that matter, not places!