What are the quetions to ask before I choose DD1's secondary school

[onthewarpath]

DD1 is in year 5 I know that soon I will need to have a clear idea of what high school I want her to go to. What are the questions I should ask to HS head teacher to help me make up my mind?

I need questions you have asked yourself or wish you had asked in hindsight.

Would be very grateful for any advice you can give me as I have no idea where to start.

I wasn't v. good at this myself, I tended to ask friends with older dcs what they thought of various schools. My son's in yr 6 so I guess I'll be to blame if it all goes pear-shaped.

You need to sort out what you really care about art?, sport?, music?, academic stuff?, pastoral care? and ask accordingly.

The friend I visited one school with asked (amongst other things): How were disciplinary infractions dealt with and how often did they arise?
What system did they use for teaching maths?
How many GCSEs did pupils take?
Were they allowed more than one humanities option?
How many languages/choice of languages?
Leavers' destinations - how many went on to university, which universities and which subjects?

Other people suggest making a little book where you jot down impressions in a kind of bar-chart, including the crucial answer to "how did my dc feel about this school?"

Good luck.

You need to find out if they cater for the interests of your child ie DS is interested in science, we asked if there were science clubs etc

Thank you very much for all the tips.

I will have to ask another question, what are "humanities options"? are they less accademic subjects or...

What my friend was asking about, I think, was whether a child could study History AND Geography. Some schools only allow one because of time-tabling.
She was really full on - I didn't understand half of what she was asking! Esp. the stuff about maths.

christywhisty's post was good - if your dc has a particular interest eg. music, dance, drama, sport you should ask about opportunites there esp. about learning an instrument and how the instruments are allotted.

One thing I asked about was whether the kids studied single sciences ("triple science") or combined science. It's a thing these days that many schools no longer study the three sciences as a full GCSE but combine a couple as one GCSE option. But obviously I don't know if it's an option for you.

You know, if you're in a position to actually choose between a couple of good schools, you are v. lucky. I was fairly lackadaisical in approach because I knew ds was effectively just off to the local comp. - illusory "choice".

Gosh I will have to seriously work hard, I'm Swiss and have got no idea what things like "single science" or "triple science" are and even less what "lackadaisical" means. I am getting more and more worried that I will get it wrong.

You won't.
I posted those questions as examples, to choose from. My friend is wonderful, and organised, but, sometimes, just a wee bit over the top.
Usually the primary school Head will give a talk about secondary school options and suggest things to look out for and ask. Also, from now on in other parents will start chatting about the options too.
I really hope someone else adds to this thread, just as a reality check.
"lackadaisical" can be translated as a bit sloppy. That's not the exact meaning but it'll do in this context. (me=pedant)

I have certainly made a note of this new word and shall reuse soon.
I bet the DCs will love me when I say to them "oh dear child , you must be a bit tired of this homework, your handwriting is becoming lackadaisical" DD1's teacher is giving the children a fun pencil everytime they come up with a word she does not know ... I have got good hopes with this one.

you have been great, thanks

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A lot of state secondaries have a "specialism" these days which is worth bearing in mind when deciding what will suit your cuild. My dyslexic DS1 spent some time at a good school, but because it was a languages specialist he HAD to take a second modern foreign language as well as French. Total waste of time for a kid who can't spell in English and could just about cope with French with a half French father who could help.

Do they "force you" I mean do they strongly advise you to do one speciaslity or have you got freedom of choice. Is ther a way to have things "taylored" if your child very bright od rather struggling?

DS is a science/ technology status and have good connections in industry which is why we chose it, but they don't force any of it on the pupils who are not interested.

Sunnydelight, we have the same problem with dyslexic DS, although they are science status they insist on 2 languages from year 7 for which DS has no aptitude for, he would be much better off with just one language.
Even at our local language specialist they only have to do 2 languages in Year 7 if they have applied under the apptitude for languages

In the school I'm talking about yes, they did force the issue Gorionine. DS1 had to attend Spanish classes, even though his care group teacher and the head of year agreed with me that it was a total waste of time!

We're now in Australia where he has finally been able to drop languages and is doing really well in subjects like graphics and PDM (Photography and Digital Media) which he actually has an aptitude for.

'Humanities' = Geography & History!

Def find out whether local schools offer triple science at GCSE - ie separate Physics, Chemistry & Biology. Most state schools don't.
Also what are options re: Further Maths at A level.

Where I live I sent my two to the state school offering triple science, but if they want to take Further Maths they would have to travel to a different school - it's a 'consortium arrangement' to offer the broadest possible choice of subjects at A level.

Also: re: 'specialisms'. A school will receive £60k extra pa for its specialism, but bizarrely does not have to spend the money on that area of the curriculum.

We would definetly try to find out how many children the school allows to take gcses there is a huge difference locally.One school allows children with level 5 in their sats to do gce science but most of the other schools it seems no one less than a level 7 or maybe 6 5 The problem is once they have their btech or similar the school benefits because the goverment allows the school to claim the b tech or similar is the eqivalent of 3 or so gcses but pupils are shocked to discover they cant now do any a levels in science something the schools often dont mention when they start their gcses .They need the oportunity to do gcse science !!