Choosing a secondary school: what to look at on an open evening
Published 14 September 2026
Choosing a secondary school: what to look at on an open evening
Published 14 September 2026
The short version
- Open evenings are a show. That is fine — go anyway, and go with questions.
- Take your child. Their reaction is worth more than the tour.
- The deadline is the end of October, so September is when to visit.
Why September
Because the secondary deadline is the end of October, and open evenings cluster in the three or four weeks before it.
If you wait until you feel ready, you will have missed them. Check the dates on the school websites this week — many are on a single evening with no second chance.
Open evenings are marketing, and that is not a criticism
Every school puts on its best face. The corridors are tidy, the displays are new, and the pupils showing you round are the ones who volunteer for things.
You are not going to see the school as it is on a wet Tuesday in February. Go knowing that, and you can still learn a lot.
What you are really there for is three things: how the place feels, what the head says, and how your child reacts.
Take your child, and watch them
This matters more than most of the tour.
Your child will pick up things you do not. Whether the older pupils seem happy. Whether they could picture themselves there. Whether the science labs were exciting or terrifying.
They will not be able to explain it well. Ask afterwards, in the car, and take the shrugging seriously. "It was alright" said cheerfully and "it was alright" said flatly are two different answers.
⚠️ Do not let them choose on where their friends are going. Say it kindly and say it once — friendship groups scatter across the first term of Year 7 anyway. But do not dismiss the feeling either; it is real to them and it is worth acknowledging.
Questions worth asking
Skip the ones the prospectus answers. These are the ones that get you something:
- "How do you settle Year 7s in?" Every school says transition matters. The good answer is specific — named staff, smaller groups, a longer induction.
- "What happens when a child is struggling in a subject?" Listen for a system, not goodwill.
- "How do you handle friendship problems and bullying?" Every school has a policy. Ask what actually happens in the first week after a report.
- "What do you do for children who are already ahead?" And for children who find it hard. Both answers tell you about the middle too.
- "How do you tell parents when something is wrong?" A school that contacts you early is worth a great deal.
- "What are you working on improving?" 🔒 The most useful question there is. A head who names something real is being honest with you. A head who says nothing is either complacent or managing you.
What to look at while nobody is talking to you
- The pupils showing you round. Do they seem to like it? Do they know the staff's names?
- The corridors between talks. Calm, chaotic, silent? None of those is automatically bad, but the feel of a place in transit tells you a lot.
- The displays. Recent work, or last year's? Every subject, or just the photogenic ones?
- The toilets. Genuinely. Whether they are clean, open and usable is a real indicator of how the school is run, and it is one children care about far more than adults realise.
What about the Ofsted report?
Read it, but read it properly, and know that it looks different from the ones you may remember.
Since November 2025 Ofsted has published report cards rather than a single word. Schools are graded on a five-point scale across several areas — urgent improvement, needs attention, expected standard, strong standard, and exceptional — with a short written explanation for each.
There is also an inclusion grade, covering how well the school supports disadvantaged children, children with SEND, and children known to social care. If that matters to your family, read that section first.
📌 A report is a snapshot, and it may be old. A school judged two years ago may have a different head now. Use it as one input, not a verdict.
What not to weigh too heavily
League table position. It largely reflects who the school admits. A school with excellent results and a selective intake has not necessarily taught anyone very well.
The building. New buildings are nice. They are not teaching.
One anecdote. Every school of a thousand children has stories. So does the one you would have chosen instead.
Distance, until you have checked it properly. A journey that looks fine on a map can be an hour each way on two buses. Do it once, at the actual time, before you list it.
Then what
Put your choices in order of what you actually want, use every preference you are given, and get the form in before the end of October.
Our post from last week covers how the application itself works, and why listing a school lower down does not hurt your chances there.
Where this comes from
- Ofsted confirms changes to education inspection and unveils new-look report cards, Ofsted, 9 September 2025 — the report cards, the five grades and the inclusion area.
- School admissions: how to apply, gov.uk — the deadline.
⚠️ The questions and the things to look at are our own suggestions, not government advice.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.