Study in the UK – Tips for School Open Days
3rd March 2020
Every year, many secondary schools in the UK arrange an open day that allows prospective applicants to visit the school. So how should parents make full use of the open day event? What factors should be taken into account when visiting a school to determine whether it is suitable for your child? In fact, visiting the School Open Day is also a science, let us share six tips with you about getting the most of the Open Day experience.
1. Full Preparation
First, you can check the relevant information online in advance to ensure that this school is your target institution. Certainly, you can also contact the KnewSTEP Education Consultant team for more information about the school, including application requirements, tuition fees, students’ average grades, accommodations, and courses that most students are interested in, for example.
2. Ask students questions
During the school tour, the school usually has arranged a student to lead the way and guide parents to see different facilities. Unsurprisingly, you may find them being the best representative of the school’s educational philosophy. Parents can ask the students questions about the courses they are taking and the extracurricular activities they are participating in. For school experience and atmosphere, you may ask them what they like about the school, or how the cafeteria food is? The students are the spokesmen of the school, their views of the school may be even truer and more insightful than those of seniors and teachers. Parents should take the opportunity to get to know more about the school’ learning and residential conditions!
3. Choose a good headteacher
The soul of a school is the leader, and the headteacher’s philosophy determines the way how the school is run. Did the principal give a specific answer to your question? Do you agree with the headteacher’s vision for the school? Would you agree that the headteacher’s vision for the school can be reflected from the students’ performance and learning attitude? The principal’s mission will lead the school in the corresponding direction, and therefore concentrating on the headteacher’ speech during the open day visit may not be a bad idea for us to learn more about the headteacher of the school!
4. Studying the details
Parents should be aware of the subject that their children want to study before visiting the school. Some schools pursue comprehensive development, while others shine in a particular area. For instance, if your child loves Art / Music, make time to get to know about the development and facilities of the Art / Music department in the school, and pay some attention on students’ completed work when you walk by, for example, their artwork, science experiment projects, music books and all the displays that are placed in the classroom.
5. Ask questions to school seniors and teachers
School choice is crucial for a child’s education, and school officials understand that parents will choose the best school for their children. Therefore, don’t be afraid of asking bold questions, for example, What are the qualifications and experience of school teachers? How are the exam results and ranking of the school? Does the school organise any career planning and guidance for students? How are the school graduates’ paths like? What extracurricular activities does the school provide? What is special about this school? You can even ask your child how is the admission rate of the year entry? During the application process of applying to secondary schools in the UK, it is important to be clear about the school requirements, and what characteristics the schools are looking into when they are selecting candidates. In doing so, the applicants will have a higher chance of securing a successful offer.
6. Observe the environment
Every school tends to make their very best efforts to present their school in a perfect way on an open day event. Therefore, parents may not see the full picture of the school if they overlook some details. For example, if parents want to send their children to a boarding school, you may well propose to visit the student accommodation including bedroom and common rooms. In this way you will then learn more about the details and living conditions of the students. It is also recommended to check the kitchen facilities and the students’ toilet, this may well reflect the usual conditions and cleanliness of the student accommodation.
Extra Tip: Plan a visit again on a normal day
If you want to see the school on a normal, the best is to arrange a visit or a school tour on an occasion other than the open day event, this will give you a better idea on how the school normally runs. On that day, the school headteacher or teachers usually take you to visit the classroom. From this experience, you can observe the general performance and enthusiasm of the students in the lesson, whether the classroom is well-equipped and safe, teachers’ teaching methods and attitudes, as well as the learning materials and lesson arrangement. If you wait long enough until the lunchtime, you can also observe the students’ usual meals in the dining hall. Typically, the food for the guests on a school open day varies a lot from the students’ daily menu in the school. In addition, you may also pay attention to the students’ disciplinary behaviour. For example, are students being polite in a queue? Are there frequent quarrels or cutting in? After all, parents should carefully consider whether they would like to place their child(ren) in the school they visit, whether they would prefer their child(ren) to study in that school, mingle with the groups of students and become part of the school community.
KnewSTEP Education hopes the above tips can help you better prepare your child(ren)’s school application! And there is always one thing parents should note: School rankings do not reflect how well the school matches the personality of the child(ren). Children who are able to learn in a suitable and happy environment tend to do better in school and have better mental health.
Photo Credit: https://www.ipswich.school
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