Questions for School Tours

[RainbowLoom]

I wonder if anyone has any ideas for questions to ask for school tours for 11+ entry?

My mind is blank!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you!

Will it be pupil led? Ask to be matched to a child with similar interests so that you can ask relevant questions about suitable opportunities and spend time in the facilities. Dd did one the other day but both her fellow guide and the visiting child were rugby mad so she didn't get to say much!

Good idea! Right - that's a good start!

If you could change something about the school, what would it be?

Whose your most/least favourite teacher and why?

If you thought someone was beginning to be a bully, who would you speak to?

How do you pay for lunch, and is there enough time to eat? What if you have a lunchtime club?

Do your blazers have pockets which are big/secure enough to hold phone/keys/cash/bus pass? How strictly are the uniform rules applied? What is the mobile phone policy?

Do you have a locker, is it big enough, and do you actually have time to use it or do you have to lug stuff around all day? Are there cloakrooms, and have you ever had stuff go missing? Does lost property find its way back to owners, or do things vanish?

What lunchtime/after school clubs do you and your friends do?

What time can pupils arrive at school and be let in, what time must you arrive by? Is the library (or anywhere) available for pupils to do homework in, if so until when?

How much homework do you really get?

What sports have you tried? Which are in lessons (any choice?) and which in clubs?

What trips have you been on (or have coming up soon)?

How long did it take you to find your way around? Who could you ask for settling in help if you needed it?

Thanks!

How are kids in the lower sets viewed?

Are you taught with your form group for every subject or do you get split into different sets for Maths, languages etc?

The former is a sign of streaming and would be enough to put me off a school, as most of my children vary in aptitude between different subjects.

A local school streams from the beginning of Y7, and for those children who are good at some subjects and struggling in others, it doesn't work.

If you're being guided by a pupil ask them if they would want their little brother or sister to come to the school. I got some very interesting answers to that question!