School Admissions

School asked me to sit at the parents' table on their admissions morning. What would you have wanted to ask?

juniper_puzzle_7377

Our son's school is holding an open morning in July for families applying for next year, and they've asked a few current parents to sit at a table and take questions. I said yes before I'd thought about it. He's going into grade 2, we've been there a couple of years, and I have mixed views on one or two things. I don't want to sound like the brochure. I also don't want to put someone off over things that matter only to our family. If you've done school visits recently, what did you want to ask a parent that you couldn't ask the admissions office?

3 comments

  • mango_gecko_4770

    We're two years or so away from this, and I already have my list, ha. What an ordinary school day looks like, start to finish. How long the drop-off line really is. Whether the teacher in the brochure is the one who teaches the class. Also, what you'd change. Any parent who says 'nothing' loses me straight away.

    • amber_diary_225

      The 'what would you change' question is the one I would want too. But would the school be comfortable with him answering it frankly at their own table? It may be worth asking them what they expect before the day.

    • gentle_quilt_3233

      Agree on the ordinary day. When we were looking at preschools last year, the most useful parent I met just told me what an ordinary weeknight looked like and how the school handled a sick day. Nothing dramatic. That was worth more than the whole tour.

  • moss_kettle_1251

    How do they settle children who join with no English, or with no school before? I ask that on every visit and the office always says 'very well'.

  • fern_bottle_4884

    Be careful they aren't using you for the sales pitch. If the school picked the parents, it picked happy ones, and visitors know that. Say it at the start: I'm a parent, not staff, here's what has worked for us and here's what hasn't. People trust that far more than a list of positives.

    • lagoon_moon_7881

      Good advice. I'd add one: tell them how the school deals with the grandparent who does pickup. Nobody asks, and half the time it's us at the gate 🤷

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