we chose our daughter's school for the pool and the library. what mattered was the bus stop

mint_kettle_750427 Jun 2026

she's been there since nursery, ICSE. when we picked it we toured the pool, the library, the computer lab. she has swum in that pool maybe four times. things that ended up mattering, roughly in order: - the bus stop being at our gate - the office replying to an email within a day - class teachers who stayed more than one year - two families from our building in the same school, for the days neither of us can do pickup posting because a colleague asked me this week what to look for on school visits and i couldn't remember one thing from the brochure

4 comments

mango_balcony_111027 Jun 2026
As a teacher I would add one item to your list: how the school handles a child who is struggling, not the ones who are doing well. On a visit, ask what happens when a child falls behind in class 2 or 3, and listen for whether the answer is a person or a policy. The email point is a good one. You learn a lot from how long a school takes to answer something small.
velvet_chai_518627 Jun 2026
Our son isn't even one yet, so this is very much for later 😄 But the families-in-your-building point is something I'd never have thought of. We're in Pune with no family close by, so that kind of pickup backup would matter more than any lab.
peach_compass_599027 Jun 2026
The bus stop at your gate only counts if you stay in that flat for the next nine years. We've moved twice since our son was born. I'd put teacher turnover well above the bus.
moss_bottle_623427 Jun 2026
Mine would be: what happens after 3.30. Our release nights run late and there's no second adult at home on those days, so a school with nothing after the last bell is out for us, pool or no pool. Good list though. The brochure stuff is exactly what I'd have fallen for.