Do you know how to find the right school for your child at 11 plus?
Students standing with fellow classmates
11+ decision-time: how to make the right choice for your child
Any parent who has shepherded their child through the 11+ senior school entry process knows what a stressful time it can be: a carousel of open days, parent talks and visits to schools for 11+ exams, interviews and assessment days. But - as with everything else - this year’s 11+ has been particularly strange and difficult. Thanks to the pandemic, many families may never have set foot inside the schools on their child’s shortlist. With offers set to start landing on doormats within the next week, how do you guide your child towards the right decision for their future, with confidence that you’re making the right choice?
I asked the school experts at Talk Education to give us their golden rules for navigating the next few weeks.
Research, research, research
With a week to go, use this time to get ahead and dig into the all-important nuts and bolts of each school to work out what your child’s life there would really entail - and whether the reality will suit them. How many pupils are there? How big will the classes be, and how long are the lessons? Which sports will your child be playing? How far will they be travelling to and from school each day? How big is the school site? Which subjects are up for grabs at GCSE and A-level?
Be discerning – and dig deep into the less tangible aspects of each school too. Is there a strong sense of community? What are the other parents like – and is this a world that you’d feel comfortable in?
If you still have questions once you’ve got your offers in hand, pick up the phone to the school’s admissions team. ‘We want to make this as easy as possible for you as parents’, says one school admissions head. ‘Don’t go to Mumsnet - talk to us instead’. Remember: whatever you might think, no query is too silly or too insignificant to be asked.
2. Pick the right school for your child, not the most distinguished or best-known
We know how tough it is. Endless agonising, debate, discussion and hair-tearing and then, once you think you’ve made up your mind, a chance conversation with a friend sets you off in another direction. Don’t listen to dinner party chatter or school gate gossip: there’s a right school for every child, but it’s rarely the one with the most illustrious history or grandest building.
Listen to your child’s prep school head: they’re experts at steering parents away from reputation, focusing instead on what’s right for each individual child. Chances are, they’ll know each school you’ve applied to inside-out – and as long as you’ve followed their advice, they’ll be in full support of your applications. If you find your child stuck on the waiting list of your favourite school, don’t panic: heads are usually happy to ring up a school and argue in your child’s favour.
3. Trust your instincts: remember, you know your child best
Don’t forget to take the long view. Picture your shiny-faced child at each school on your shortlist, then fast forward a few years, when they’ve transformed into a swishy-haired sophisticate. Would they thrive in a fast-paced environment with heaps of independence at their fingertips – or would they get more benefit from a slower-paced, more nurturing setting? Tie this into academics too and think about what would bring out the best in them: a more competitive – or a more inclusive – environment?
Think about your child’s temperament. If you have a particularly creative son or daughter, would they thrive in a school renowned for its sport, and vice versa? Is the sport offering more focused on nurturing aspiring Olympians or championing enthusiastic members of the F team? Or can it do both equally well?
Our children have had a tough time over the last year – and most are longing to get back into the classroom and return to some sort of normality. Find out how each school approaches pastoral care: if things get tough, what network of support is available – and how does the school help children find the right balance between getting stuck into new activities and keeping on top of their workload?
4. Don’t take it personally if your child isn’t offered a place.
Schools are experts at pinpointing the children who will thrive with them - trust their expertise. ‘Try not to mind’, says our admissions insider. ‘There’s a right school for everyone - and your child must never, ever feel that they have disappointed you’.
And finally… How Talk Education can help
Use Talk Education’s dynamic digital schools guide to compare the information and data on your shortlisted school, and to see detailed editorial reviews, videos, images, academic results, term dates, fees and much more. Our reviews really get under the skin of each school: we have grilled parents and pupils to get the honest inside track - and we’ve put heads in the hot seat so you can get a sense of them as three-dimensional human beings, too.
If you need bespoke advice, an impartial sounding board or a shoulder to cry on, Talk Education’s advisory team is here to help. Our advisors have more than ten years’ experience researching schools – and most have been through the 11+ process themselves. Our one-hour problem-solver consultation is designed to help you untangle a knotty issue, remind yourself of the all-important questions to ask and help you decide between two favourite schools.
Talk Education is delighted to offer clients of The Parent Practice a 10 per cent discount on subscriptions to their digital schools guide. Go to www.talkeducation.com/join, enter your details and put in ParentPractice10 at checkout.