Choose a school around your child
Build a consistent shortlist, bring a practical checklist to school visits and confirm the pathway your child would follow.
By Private School · Published · Updated
Start with your family's non-negotiables
Write down the needs you cannot compromise on: a suitable year or grade and pathway, a workable daily journey, and an affordable full bill. Add your child's interests and support needs. An attractive programme is useful only if your child can access it.
- Record your child's current year, curriculum, intended arrival date and the next likely transition.
- Choose destinations and actual campus locations that could work for daily life.
- Use directory filters to find possible matches, then check the profile sources and any unverified fields.
- Request the same year-group, programme and whole-cost information from each admissions team.
- Visit a manageable shortlist and record confirmed answers, open questions and the source or contact for each answer.
Check the pathway for this year and the next
A broad curriculum label does not establish the route in every phase. Cambridge says its pathway stages can be offered separately; the IB authorises schools for its named programmes. Ask which exact programme applies to the offered year and what happens at the next phase change.
Request the subject choices, entry conditions, assessments and final qualification your child could take. If moving during a course, ask which prior work can transfer and what gaps need attention. Confirm the actual timetable rather than assuming every published subject can be combined.
Bring the same school-visit checklist
Use a visit to understand an ordinary day for your child's offered year. A building tour is one part of the evidence. Ask for a current timetable and representative work where appropriate, and note what still needs written confirmation.
- Placement: which year or grade would be offered, and how is that decision made?
- Daily life: which campus, start and finish times, transport and after-school arrangements apply?
- Settling in: how are new pupils welcomed, and who handles parent questions or concerns?
- Arts and science: how much teaching time, practical work, beginner access and progression is available in this year?
- Languages and sports: which activities are timetabled, selective, optional or charged separately?
- Support: who assesses language or learning needs, how is provision agreed, and are there additional costs?
- Admissions and cost: is there a confirmed place or waiting list, and what is the written full bill?
Take the important answers away in writing
Collect the offered year and pathway, current fee schedule, application steps, required document list, and admissions' availability or waiting-list confirmation. Record the responsible contact for unresolved programme or support questions. Share sensitive child information only with the school's designated team through a secure channel.
Make the final comparison
Compare each school against the same family needs and the child's actual year. Separate a confirmed answer from an impression or an unanswered question. Return to admissions for gaps before committing: a directory cannot confirm a place, accept an application or establish individual suitability.