What to look out for at secondary open days?

[Oceangreyscale]

I'm going to see a bunch of schools.

What should I look out for and

What questions should I ask staff or students?

Of course they will tell us all the good stuff but is there anything that will give some extra insight?

Wrap around care isn't necessary, but you can ask if they can access the school building before the start of the day and if the library is open after school. At my DC's school they can access the school from half an hour before the official start. The canteen is open to buy breakfast, library is open and they can go to their form rooms. This is really handy as she can get a quieter bus, arrive early and have a bit of time to relax before things start. Another local school there's no access before official start time and they have to line up outside in their forms, get a briefing and then be allowed in. We were less keen on that as it means either timing the journey just right, or potentially standing outside in whatever weather waiting for school to open.

Having the library open after school means kids can study there if they want and again mine uses it to avoid the after school bus rush and get a quieter bus later on.

Thanks, I would not have thought of that.