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Secondary education

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Original poster

When did you view potential schools?

26 replies

Thing3 · 21/04/2012 10:08

We have two outstanding rated schools that DD1 would definately be able to get into for September 2013. I have to apply for places this September but am not sure when to visit the schools.

Did you go and visit your schools in the Summer term of year 5 or the autumn term of year 6?

I have looked on both websites and can't see anything about open days.

TIA

OP posts:
pinkhebe · 21/04/2012 10:10

The schools had open days in the autumn term here.

EdithWeston · 21/04/2012 10:14

I visited in year 5.

That gave time for another look around if we wanted it (sometimes handy to go once without and once with DC) and meant if something came up and we missed one, there were plenty more chances. But Autumn year 6 would be fine too - it rather depends on how many you want to see (ie how much of a choice you thinkyou might have), how many dates/times they offer in the "viewing season" and whether those times are likely clash with anything else you/DC have going on.

motherinferior · 21/04/2012 10:15

I went in the autumn term of Y5. That's when the open days are - so either you go in Y5 and get a first look/shortlist or you do it all in one go in Y6.

motherinferior · 21/04/2012 10:16

If you've left it this late you might as well just wait till next term, I reckon. Some schools may be happy with you coming to take a look independently, but they'll be pretty busy and you won't get any of the stuff they do for open days.

Original poster
Thing3 · 21/04/2012 10:24

Here you have to apply by 15th October so if I go in September it doesn't feel very long to make my mind up.

DD1 is sure that she wants to go to school A because most of her friends will be going there and as she has moved primary school twice due to house moves I thought it was only fair. Now however I am having doubts! We moved again last week and even though we are still within walking distance of school A we are much closer to school B. Also I keep hearing stories of bullying at school A but haven't heard any from school B.

Plus even though both schools are outstanding the ofsted report for school B reads better than the one for school A.

I am getting very confused and DD1 is very behind in English, Maths and Science so the choice of school feels even more important.

Thanks I think I will phone the schools next week to ask.

OP posts:
EdithWeston · 21/04/2012 10:28

Just to be clear - I went in autumn year 5. That was the "viewing season" (IYSWIM!). If I'd left it until year 6, I'd have worried in case anything came up and I missed one/some completely.

Toughasoldboots · 21/04/2012 10:30

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

cece · 21/04/2012 10:53

I would recommend viewing all potential schools and narrowing down you rchoices in Year 5. The viewing season is indeed in the Autumn Term - but it can be quite hectic as they are all within just 2 or 3 weeks.

You then can focus on the 3 or 4 you are seriously considering in Year 6 tours.

Honestly it is exhausting and time consuming, as they have open eveings and then also daytime tours too.

motherinferior · 21/04/2012 10:54

You have to apply by mid-October here. But lots of people do just do it in a six week blast. It's also worth looking on your local council website to see the distance from your house to the relevant schools, and/or the distance from which those schools have taken pupils. So you'll have an idea if your application is in any case realistic.

BeattieBow · 21/04/2012 11:00

autumn term of y6 - that's when all the parents did it at my dd's school. The deadline was mid-October iirc, and the schools set up open days for the Sept. The children went too and the school (current primary) was very involved too.

I was fine doing it in y6 actually - you get a feel for a school pretty quickly, your dd1 will have a view, and you'll also get the gossip from other parents and the teachers at your current school. I knew which one was right for dd1 after visiting it, even though I was new to the area (she starts in Sept so I hope we did make the right choice!).

BeingFluffy · 21/04/2012 11:06

I would definitely visit as early as possible. I found there was quite a lot of information about admissions given out in the Head's talk and it was good to know that more than a year in advance. However my DD2's school is now trying to restrict visits to year 6 only by making people register and get tickets in advance - it is a popular and oversubscribed comp. At DD1's school which is a superselective there were clearly people at her Sixth Form open evening who were potential year 7 parents - it was unbelievable and quite annoying as it was a particularly hot day, people were standing for the Head's talk and you couldn't even move in the corridoors.

Toughasoldboots · 21/04/2012 11:09

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Groovee · 21/04/2012 11:14

We visited in September 2011 for our dd starting August 2012

startail · 21/04/2012 11:25

Oct Y5 and Oct Y6, believe it or not our local secondaries are perfectly capable and indeed willing to have them on the same fucking dayAngry

Utterly crazy, there must be 6-8 easy Thursdays in the Autumn term before the forms go in, never mind other days of the week.

Original poster
Thing3 · 21/04/2012 11:39

I know the area we live in very well as it is where I was brought up, in fact I went to school B.

DD1 only really has the option of 2 schools as any others would take two 20+ minute bus journeys to get to.

Of the two schools school A has better results than school B, where only 46% gained 5 GCSEs grade C or above. School B does however have a higher than average number of SEN pupils where as school A has below average so that could explain it.

Looks like it will be September I have to look around then. I should have looked in September just gone but thought that was too early!

OP posts:
Kez100 · 21/04/2012 11:40

For DD1 we went in year 5 to open evening, then in year 6 too. My son wanted to go there too, and wasn't bothered about visiting so we didn't go for him at all.

jo164 · 21/04/2012 11:59

Most schools should arrange a visit anytime for you if you call them - it doesn't have to be on a specific open day. If they sound unhelpful on this, tell them you are moving from out of the area and its not possible to make the open days. You also get a much better feel for the school on a 'normal' day, its not so staged.

bruffin · 21/04/2012 13:12

We looked in the autumn term of yr6. There was an open eveing but the schools offered tours during the day as well. We didn't even know dcs school was an option until the last minute. It had been a failing school but was turned around by a new head.

LeeCoakley · 21/04/2012 13:22

Haha startail. Are you in E.Herts? I'm surprised there aren't more car accidents here by parents are racing from one school to the next to hear the HT's address.

bruffin · 21/04/2012 13:59

I am in e .herts and just been doing 6th forms and there were 2 open evenings on the same night which were Ds,s main choices.

BeingFluffy · 21/04/2012 15:03

I think even viewing the school on a working day doesn't necessarily give an accurate view. I have seen a thread on here about DD1's school saying how quiet and serious they all were so the school must force them to work really hard all the time - actually DD remarked they were all self conscious about being gawped at and the school is not normally quiet at all. I know at DD2s comp parents get led around in groups by a member of the SLT and just go round the classrooms with the top sets! DD2 and other well spoken and polite kids were picked out to stand around the school, to open the doors and shepherd them in the right direction. They also have an open evening which is very effectively stage managed. Teachers wear flowers in their button holes and there are displays or enactments in every classroom - a French Cafe for example! Fair enough but not a particularly accurate picture of the school.

I wouldn't recommend just going by what you see on the day. Talk to current parents - they often have the most to say - good and bad!

BackforGood · 23/04/2012 21:58

Here, all the secondaries put on open evenings and also times in the day when people can look round over a 2 week period in September. Applications have to be in at the beginning of October. The schools put a lot of effort into these open evenings and have staff and pupils available to talk to and set up lots of things for them to have a go at/on. It's all co-ordinated so local schools have different evenings.
If you have a choice between 2 then it's fine. If, like us, your realistic choice could be 5 or 6, then most parents tend to go to the open evenings when their dc are in Yr5(in the September) and try to narrow it down.
Use it as only one pointer though - some schools are better than others at 'selling themselves", and, IME, it's the oversubscribed schools round here that don't go to anywhere near so much effort, as they know they don't have to, so just dig a bit deeper than the display they put on.

LesAnimaux · 23/04/2012 22:04

Ditto what BackforGood said.

We started looking at the end of Y4 (without DS) just to rule certain schools out.

SandStorm · 23/04/2012 22:08

We went in year 5 because there was such a short time period between open days and having to get your forms in on time. We then went again in year 6 to see what, if anything, had changed over the year.

mummytime · 24/04/2012 07:32

I viewed my first school in the summer of year 4! Then viewed more in the autumn of year 5. We went to at least one private school open day as a family in year 5 sometime. I and my DH had pretty much made up my mind, but then took DS in the Autumn of year 6 and listened to his opinions before applying.
I did less viewing with DD, but did view with her in year 6, and again listened to her views.

Personally I think just looking in year 6 Autumn means you can only look once, and doesn't give you a chance to explore if you hate whats on offer. I couldn't do it.