Choosing the right secondary school for your child is such a crucial part of parenthood. This is where their education takes on new meanings and becomes more significant. For the next six years, they’ll learn everything that helps them move into adulthood.

Ideally, you want to pick the perfect school right away. Changing schools is normal, but it’s hard for kids. They have to adapt to new school environments, make new friends; it’s better if they stay in the same school for the whole time. 

Keeping that in mind, here are some tips from one parent to another:

Do Your Research

Look at the schools in your local area and see which ones have a good/bad reputation. This is a generalisation, but you tend to find at least one good school and one bad school within the same area.

Clearly, the location is important as you don’t want to make your child travel two hours to get to school every day! But, look at things like the average grades and general reviews from parents/students online. This helps you create a shortlist of which schools are potentially suitable, and which ones should be avoided at all costs. 

Consider the Benefits of Fixed-Gender Schools

While doing your research, you will come across some gender-based schools. It’s well worth considering if this will be beneficial for your kids. As you’ll notice on the Leicester High School website, most fixed-gender schools offer prospectuses to download. This tells you what gets taught and why this learning environment could benefit your children.

It’s worth keeping an open mind as you never want to discount a school that could offer the best education for your child. 

Talk to Other Parents

Speak to the parents of other children at your child’s primary school. Listen to what they say and get a general view of where your child’s friends might be going. While it’s not essential to move them to the same secondary school as their primary friends, it can help them settle in.

For me, this point is great if you’re torn between a couple of good schools. All the other kids might go to school A, so it makes sense to take your child there as well. Both schools are brilliant, but this one will put them with children they’ve grown up with. 

Do What’s Best for your Child, Not for You

It’s never a good idea to live through your children. Don’t put your children in schools just because you went to them and it’s a family tradition. Similarly, don’t think about what you’d like to do when you were a child – think about them. Look at your child, talk to their teachers, and discover which schools would suit them the best.

You must also do what’s best for your child when it comes to their academics and performance in school once you select one. If for any reason your child enters secondary school and begins to struggle, then you can always look into getting them the help they need to succeed.

Consider looking into and using Online Tutors as one option for ensuring your child performs well with their studies. It’s an excellent opportunity to get your child assistance with a particular subject and still keep them in the same school. There are many teachers and topics to choose from, so do your homework and talk to your child to see which expert may be the best fit and most suitable to step in.

Hopefully, these tips help you find the perfect secondary school for all of your children. That’s another thing worth pointing out; all of your kids don’t have to go to the same school. Treat each one as an individual to find the schools that suit their needs. You may even realise that your child is more suited to home-learning rather than a traditional school! If that’s the case, and you can find ways for them to learn from home, there’s no reason to not go through with it.

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