How an open day can teach you all you need to know
Karen Cordon has been headmistress of St Margaret’s Prep School, near Calne, for 10 years. Here, she gives us the benefi t of her experience and tells you how to make school open days really work for you and your child.
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t is the beginning of the new academic year and many schools are now holding open days to give you an opportunity to visit their school, meet the staff (and sometimes the pupils) and get a feel for if the school is right for your child. So, as a parent how do you
determine what is really right for your child? What do they need to thrive? This is one of the hardest decisions you may have to make. Karen Cordon, headmistress of St Margaret’s Prep School, near Calne,
for more than 10 years, has the following tips. 1 What is your child like? Be honest...
If your child is very young this can be hard to judge. However, by the time they are approaching full-time education we all have a pretty good idea of what makes our individual children tick: what approach to discipline works best for them; are they particularly bright academically; are they artistic; are they socially confident; do they appear more relaxed in smaller or bigger environments; how independent are they? How would the school help them build and develop into confident, well-rounded and successful members of society?
2 Do your pre-visit research
There are a number of independent advisory bodies such as IAPS and the ISC who will provide advice on schools in your area. Visit school websites, request prospectuses and soon you will start to form opinions about what the schools have to offer. Are you comfortable with their values and beliefs? What is the feel of the school that you begin to develop from their literature? Is that right for your child? Now is the time to seek opinions, from friends, nursery groups, hobby
groups, dinner parties, and to gather views about the prospective school. First-hand comments from people you know and trust are the most valuable, but consider them in the context of their experience: what is right (or wrong) for their child might not be true for yours.
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All schools try to put their best foot forward on open days. They want you to see their school at its best – in terms of pupils, staff and facilities. Make
Who shows you round the school – and how do they do it?
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sure you have some key questions that you want answered and direct a number of your questions to the current pupils; in many cases they will be showing you around. Children can rarely be bought and they will quickly give you their true opinions, their likes and dislikes and the reasons why they enjoy their time at school. Try to get a feel for the place, and ask yourself what is your gut-feeling?
4 What happens after your visit?
How is your visit followed up? Did they really want to get to know you and your child? Have you been offered the opportunity to come back and talk to the head and have another look around, maybe with other members of your family? If not, don’t be afraid to ask.
5 How do you really feel?
Often we have made up our minds at the first point of contact with a school and we spend the rest of the time trying to find information to back up these feelings. Use this reflection time to assess your list of pros and cons; try to get some hard facts on paper, and then come back to your gut-feeling. In such personal matters concerning your child or children, your heart is rarely wrong. Choosing the right school for your child is one of the hardest decisions
you will have to make. My philosophy is to develop independent learners with a wide range of interests. However, the children’s happiness is of paramount importance. This will ensure that they are in the optimum position to facilitate their learning. If you keep this foremost in your thoughts, I am certain you will find the school you are looking for.
• Karen Cordon is headmistress of St Margaret’s Preparatory School, Calne, a co-ed day school for children from three to 11.
• If you would like to visit St Margaret’s – the school is holding an open morning at 9.30am on Thursday, October 11 – please contact the school to register. To find out more, visit the website at
www.stmargaretsprep.org.uk or telephone 01249 857379.
Above: St Margaret’s Preparatory School in Calne is a happy place where children can have fun learning
WILTSHIRE LIFE Schools Supplement October 2012
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