What to look for in a secondary school

[JustMarriedBecca]

We're in an area with no grammar schools. Our local private schools are not particularly academic.

We are looking at state schools. People say we are lucky to be in an area with "good schools" (whatever that means).

What are the things we should be considering in relation to secondary?

I think setting is important, although there seems to be a trend in maths for mixed ability classes (there's no way DD is going to settle for being a teachers aid for another 5 years+). I can see this would benefit average to slightly better than average kids.

A wider range of extra curricular including more academic pursuits so chess, coding, reading groups etc.

What other questions should we be asking?

I would ask about staff turnover: absolutely key.

Results - if they get a good % of 9s at gcse then chances are your kids will be with other bright kids

I would definitely check their Progress8 scores for "high prior attainers". A consistently negative progress 8 score suggests they aren't doing much for the brighter kids in their cohort (though overall scores may still be good).

Personally I'm not worried about mixed ability groups for a bright child as long as the teaching in school and the leadership/progress oversight is strong. I've seen a range of approaches to this and the most depressing school I visited was one where the brightest kids are sequestered away - none of the children are achieving their potential, whereas at our other local school which has switched to mixed ability (apart from maths), they are.

Ask how they extend the faster learners. Maths olympiad that sort of thing.

(As a warning since this is G&T... my DD is in top set for Maths and Science. Shes on track for a 7 at GCSE... even the top set could be a bit frustrating for a genuinely talented mathematican.)

I would look for schools in the wider area that have aptitude tests. If your DC is gifted they might well score highly on a “language aptitude test” or even a musical one. Many high achieving schools admit 10% of their kids this way.

At my dc's school they are running further maths as a one year gcse in y10. They don't set until y10 which has been frustrating but he has still been challenged.

At my last school we taught mixed ability did loads for g&t, lots of additional enrichment days, staff training on extending questioning and challenge activities etc. As others have said, check out performance stats for higher achievers. Mixed doesn't always mean bad.

Do they offer 3 separate sciences at GCSE?
Is there a choice of modern foreign languages at GCSE / A level
Do they offer further maths A level? Can this / other subjects be taken as a 4th A level
Can the top set(s) in GCSE maths finish the GCSE curriculum a year early and take further maths in some form (eg.FSMQ or level 2 certificate) in year 11?
Can kids who are keen access challenges like bebras and ukmt challenges?

In terms of curriculum, if you can access triple science and 1 or more MFL's at GCSE, followed by 3 or 4 A levels including sciences, MFL and also further maths at GCSE/A level then that's essentially the curriculum offered by most grammar schools. Extracurricular/extension is harder to quantify.

Not so much for G&T - maybe more neurodiversity - but general things which caught us out/id ask if I had the chance:

• size of school? The larger the school the bigger and busier the corridors and buildings. Lots of noise, pushing and shoving. Some sensitive kids struggle.
• modern schools are often designed around an atrium with staircases and glass balustrades that can be vertigo inducing! Again not all kids can handle this
• school architects play with the layout to maximise space efficiency so the canteen can be located in a central circulation area - some kids can’t handle the smells and noise
• How many learning support staff are there and do they have a base kids can go to if needed?
• what do they offer in the GCSE Options booklet. Try to find the actual form that the kids fill in. Often school websites list out a load of subjects but when you get into the details, the subjects aren’t actually available! For example in all but one school near us, DT GCSE is unavailable and instead some art or computer design option inserted in its place - but as we toured their wood/metal workshops this was not mentioned!?
• Languages - offering can be limited. German seems to be difficult to find.
• setting by ability - which subjects and when?
• is there a lunch club or quiet room where kids can go to escape the chaos of the playground?
• what clubs run at lunchtimes and after school - don’t rely on a list and ask for the current timetable
• if they offer Duke of Edinburgh how is it organised and how many participants?
• how many kids do triple science and how are they selected? Is this all within timetable or do they have to use “twilight” timetable where kids stay late.
• do they take the kids out on trips? Many local schools near us don’t. I believe it is because of poor behaviour but they probably won’t say that. Again ask for specific details of what trips happened last term? And for which kids?
• Any residential trips?
• what is the male/female split in the intake? Our area has 2 girls schools which means the co-ed schools aren’t maybe as co-ed as you’d think!
• Do they organise any drama productions? How often? Do boys and girls equally participate? (Our local secondary had a boy play the girl lead because none of the girls were brave enough - that was a red flag for me that noone was making sure that the girls weren’t being sidelined in a male dominated group)
• For kids identified as anxious do they offer groups/support sessions?
• do they have a Speech & Language Therapist who visits and works directly with pupils - you may not ever need this but it’s a rare thing and indicates their commitment/passion for supporting pupils so am interesting indicator.
• Do they have a space where they can do a whole school assembly? Or do they use tech? What sort of assemblies do they run? And when/how often?

Try to speak to as many pupils at open events to get their view - and remember that those evenings only have the well adjusted pupils helping. The ones who are having a hard time or who hate the place will only be visible on daytime tours! And if you go on a daytime tour check that the whole school population is on site that day - our local school runs tours when half of the pupils are offered a late start!!! So we weren’t seeing a real school day at all… good luck