Secondary school open days are an essential part of preparing for the Year 7 transition, helping you decide which secondary school is best suited to your child. If you’re attending secondary school open days in 2021, things may be a little different to how you would expect. This only adds to some of the emotions and concerns you may be experiencing. This page has everything parents need to know to get prepared successfully.

Secondary school open days are insightful

The process of finding a new school for your child will be similar to when you searched for your child’s primary school. You will undoubtedly refer to Ofsted reports, exam results, performance data, catchment map information, independent reviews, and much more to help you come to a final decision.

Attending open day events are vital for getting a true sense of what the school is like, how the staff behave, and whether your child is a good fit.

Please bear in mind that Covid restrictions may be in place, and so some schools may be having virtual open days. We’ll cover this below.

What happens at a secondary school open day?

During your visit to a school, you can expect to meet pupils, speak to the headteacher and have a tour of the school grounds.

The school tour is usually led by a student and is an excellent opportunity to get their impression of the school and analyse their demeanour. Sometimes this can be more insightful than any of the information staff will provide.

Questions to ask during the open day event:

• Bullying- The school will talk about how they tolerate this behaviour; however, asking a pupil firsthand can give you more of an idea of whether or not bullying is a problem at the school and how it deals with it.
• Identity expression- Are students free to express themselves? Try to gauge attitudes towards religion and LGBTQ+ tolerance.
• Discipline- You can ask what happens when they get into trouble or consequences for not completing an assignment. For example, does the school issue detention?

You must bring your child along with you as it can also give them an idea of what sort of environment they can expect.

Why do I need to attend Open Days?

Open days are an excellent opportunity to see what schools in your local area offer, providing more information than is available on their website.

However, please note that this is also an opportunity to show off their ‘best side’, so you may need to take things in with a pinch of salt and look out for anything that might be slightly out of the ordinary. Use the list below to help you:

Always ask to go to the toilet

This isn’t as strange as it sounds, and here’s why. The school will always be keen for you to look at their new facilities and classrooms. However, you may underestimate the look of the toilet, and it can tell you a lot about the cleanliness of the school.

The general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders  Geoff Barton told the BBC that looking at the school’s toilets is often a sign of the school’s level of hygiene.

The headteacher’s speech

You will need to listen to this as what they have to say reflects their leader’s vision. How they present themselves says a lot about the ethos and culture of the school.

It would also be a really good opportunity to speak to the head on a one-to-one and see how they are welcoming and how they approach academia. This is important as it will align with what you as a parent look for in a secondary school.

Look into the teachers

This is the person your child will be with daily; they’ll take your role during the day hence it is essential to look into them. Are they professional? How are they acting? Ask the necessary questions to explore what your child’s teacher will be like with them? Are they interested in academia? Are they nurturing?

Explore and ask the necessary questions whilst on an open day; it can help answer and narrow down your choices. This your opportunity to ask about specifics such as the educational record, sport and other extracurricular programs

The important dates to know for the admission process for children starting secondary schools.

When going through the application process, it can be unclear to keep up with all the dates. Feel free to screenshot this or save this for your records.

Open days are part of the wider admissions procedure

Application Dates

• Schools are usually open for open events from Spring to Autumn (please check on school websites for up to date open day/evening information and any covid related
• They’re usually ahead of applications for entry. The open date varies by school, but the majority of deadlines are October 31^st.

Offer Dates:

• Results for online applications: 1st of March (you will get an email in the evening telling you where your child has been offered a place)
• If you applied by post, you will receive the results by first class post on 1 March 2022 (first class post does not guarantee next-day delivery)
• Deadline for accepting your offer: 15th of March 2022. If you have applied online, you must accept the offer online.

Please note: You must keep a record of your login details

Appeal Dates 

The closing date for appeals for most schools is the 30th of March (admissions authorities of other schools may set the same or a later deadline).

Appeal hearings: June to July  (if you submit an appeal after 30 March, it may not be heard until the start of the academic year in September).

Read more: 

Year 6 Transition to Secondary School and the Assessment Schools won’t tell you About