10 Reasons why you should visit a school Open Day (and what to do)

Visiting a school open day can feel a little bit like visiting the launch of a new shop or restaurant. Sure, you probably won’t get the free glass of bubbly, handful of vouchers and tons of free food but you get the impression that daily life is probably a little different than this. If you feel that way too, then you are probably close to the mark when it comes to school open days. We really try our best to make everyone look good. Everyone and everything. Come the Monday after, you’ll find that it’s back to business as usual but is this a reason not to visit a school open day? We believe it isn’t and we have come up with 10 reasons why you should make the effort anyway.

Although there isn’t any order of importance to these reasons, we do believe that reasons one to three feature at the top of our list for a good reason. If there was an order of importance, then these would be the most important, at least as far as we’re concerned. After reason number three, it’s really anyone’s guess. Some ideas might seem somewhat far-fetched or even controversial and some might seem like complete no-brainers (like ‘bring your child’, which for sheer no-brainer quality, we did not want to list as a top-three idea). Where we can, we’ve also linked some serious sources like the BBC and Country Life. We have focused primarily on what to do but some of the links in this blog post also suggest what to ask, which might be handy.

ONE – MEET THE TEACHERS!

Okay, this might sound like a no-brainer too but when we say, ‘Meet the teachers’, we mean to say ‘Meet the teachers!‘ Ask those questions (check out some top questions here) but instead of just paying attention to the answers, try to get to know the teachers as human beings. Remember, these are the people that are going to teach your child, support your child, guide your child and be there for your child. Or they may be the people that will fail at all four… Sometimes it can be interesting not to listen to the content of the answer but the way in which it is formulated. Sometimes it can be interesting to see how a teacher engages with you and with your child(ren). In that context, it’s also good to remember this is not the Spanish Inquisition. You can ask difficult questions (more on that further down) but it’s probably best to leave your polygraph machine and 1000 Watt torch at home.

TWO – SEE THE HEAD (AND LISTEN)!

The Head is a little bit like the custodian of the school and its values. They are responsible for school policies, recruitment of teachers, the quality of teaching and learning and so on. With all matters relating to the daily running of the school, the good and the bad, the buck stops with the Head. You may not have a lot of time available to go all Inspector Columbo on the head but you’ll find they usually do some sort of talk or presentation. It is well worth visiting that speech though if you think that’s a sales pitch, well then you’re probably right too. Still, there’s often room for questions and sales pitch or not, it’s still good to hear about the values and the mission of the school.

THREE – GET THE TRUTH (AKA SPEAK TO THE PUPILS)!

Most of the time a tour of the school is carried out by pupils, ranging from Year 7 to Sixth Form. It depends on what you’re looking at. Most of the time, these pupils are hand-picked by the organising committee. Most of time the time, the pupils doing these tours are also giving you a sales pitch – sometimes without their even realising it. If you want to get the lay of the land, however, these pupils are your best bet. Even though they’re hand-picked and keen to share with you a portrait of a lovely school, most children find it incredibly difficult not to speak the truth. If you’re going to have your son or daughter prepare any questions, then these are the best people to ask. They go to the school, they have their favourites, they have their not-so-favourites. In short, they’ll either back up, moderate or downright negate whatever the Head told you ten minutes ago.

FOUR – BRING YOUR SON OR DAUGHTER!

The no-brainer, yes, but there’s more to reason number four. The ‘needless to say’ bit is that unless your child is too young to understand any of this, there is no argument for him/her to stay at home. Even when you’re checking out a Pre- or Prep-School, during an open day there are plenty of activities on display and they’ll get plenty of play time so that you can talk to staff. Another really good reason to bring your child is that he or she will be a really good barometer as to what you should think of the school. Check how they respond to staff and how they engage. If yours is a sulky teenager, then see how they interact with the (sulky) teenagers doing the tour. Of course you can ask your child what they think of the school. This is often a cursory question on the way back home and often answered with a monosyllabic answer. You might get more of an idea of what they really think by observing them. Well, you might be lucky enough.

FIVE – CHECK OUT THE SCHOOL AND ITS FACILITIES!

This came from the BBC and is pretty high on the ‘no brainer’ list. The Beeb tells you to go to the loo for instance. Not because you have to but because you want to check if it’s clean. Don’t they know that we’re on to their scheming ways by now? All joking aside, you’re there to check out their facilities but plan ahead. What are you looking for? We’d all love to see state-of-the-art facilities, a sports hall with a climbing wall that reaches into the stratosphere and a forest school area that includes deer and badgers. But what if it lacks character? Don’t forget your child(ren) will spend many years here. The school will become a huge part of their life and their memories. Our view is also that the facilities should back up the school’s vision and the school’s ethos. If they say their Arts department is amazing, then where is all the artwork? If they say their co-curriculars are incredibly important, then where are they supposed to take place?

SIX – EAT THE FOOD (AND DRINK THE COFFEE)!

Here’s a bit of school-related maths for you: Bad coffee = bad school. If there’s one thing we have learnt, it is that good teachers will follow the best coffee. If good teachers equals good school and good coffee equals good teachers, then good coffee equals good school. In all seriousness, do taste the food or at least try and see a menu (you can see ours on the Website). The kids have to eat here every school day.

SEVEN – PLAN AHEAD!

If you’d like to get away from the sales spiels and, ‘Hey we’re amazing – seriously!’, then try and find the Registrar to talk about taster days. A taster day is what it says on the tin. Boarding schools will also do taster stays, where the actual day is extended to two or three days. The registrar or person in charge of admissions will know much more about this and they are excellent opportunities to find out what the school is really about.

EIGHT – ASK DIFFICULT QUESTIONS!

Let’s be honest, choosing a school isn’t the same as choosing what to eat on a Friday night. This is a serious decision and like it or not, it is a life-changing decision, if only for one person. Looking after hundreds of young children and teenagers is also a very difficult and complex task, so you want to know how a school plans on doing this. Bullying is a good example here. We hope that there are no more school staff anywhere who say that bullying is not a problem at their school. They’d be lying. You don’t have to ask this question. You can go straight for the next level. What is your policy on bullying? What systems are in place to detect bullying? How do you deal with it in your classroom? Please do not shy away from difficult questions, for a good school will seek to answer your questions as opposed to wishing you hadn’t visited their open day.

NINE – TAKE THE SCHOOL OFF YOUR LIST!

That’s right. An open day is also an excellent opportunity to eliminate schools from your wanted list. Not only is this a difficult decision based on facts (see above), it is also a question of gut feel. If you walk through the door and think, ‘No,’ very often you’re probably best to sample the food, drink the coffee and strike through the name of that school. Honestly, we do not mind! Choosing a school is also an emotional decision. It’s got to feel right. Equally so, you may feel that a certain school is just not right for you without visiting it, based on hearsay or another preconceived idea. Why not visit the open day, spend thirty minutes to see if you’re convictions were right or that there is this whole other side that you hadn’t seen before. It is does turn out to be the former, then you can cross that school off the list for good. Well, either that or until the next open day…

TEN – COME FOR THE OPEN DAY (AND STAY FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT)!

There’s something oddly (and perhaps sadistically) rewarding about watching teachers who have to be on their best behaviour. Joking aside, open days can be very nice events to get to know the people inside the school better. They are also ideal to start those relations when you do have a longer-term plan in the back of your mind. Plenty of people visit a number of open days at the same school just to see the school over a period of time. If there isn’t a great staff turnaround, then they get to know the staff a bit better each time. Say there is a great deal of new faces, then what does that mean?

If you would like to find out more about our Open Day, coming up soon (well there’s a surprise-and-a-half), please visit our Open Days page on this Site.

You Teach What?!

Introducing Mrs Helen Lay, teacher of Ethics, Philosophy and Religious Education

Not all teachers are the same. But guess what? Not all subjects are the same either. In this blog, we want to highlight some of the lesser-known or lesser-understood subjects on our curriculum. Starting this series, Helen Lay is teacher of ethics, philosophy, religious education and Theory of Knowledge. Known to staff and students as ToK, theory of knowledge is one of the core requirements of the IB Diploma.

Although Mrs Lay came from a long generation of teachers in her family, it was never her intention to become a teacher herself. Far from it, she remembers her religious education lessons are incredibly dull and uninspiring and Mrs Lay was determined not to be the third generation of teachers.

Back at secondary school, a cover teacher changed Mrs Lay’s attitude towards religious education. All of a sudden, she recalls, the lessons sprung to life when pupils were asked to explore their beliefs. When the cover teacher started inspiring pupils to discuss topics that ranged from totem poles to reincarnation, Mrs Lay remembers thinking, ‘Does she realise which lesson she’s meant to be teaching?’

Fast forward twenty years and Helen Lay made a career change into education, so that she could be more creative and start making a difference to young people’s lives. Remembering the inspiration of her religious education lessons, it was clear that she wanted to teach philosophy and religion. ‘It was clear,’ Mrs Lay added. ‘That I wanted to share my love for these subjects and challenge students to think about life in a meaningful way.’ Ever since this career change, she has been committed to creating and developing lessons that make learning relevant and enjoyable. So much so that Mrs Lay will challenge anyone calling her lessons boring!

Mixing up religion, business studies and art

It is easy and tempting to separate curriculum subjects by the different teachers, classrooms and textbooks; a school bell does the trick. Students pack of their bags and their Chromebooks, clear their minds of whatever that has been done in this period and either look forward to – or dread – the next one. Where Helen Lay is concerned, crossing over subjects is really where the fun starts.

Mrs Lay’s philosophy is as straightforward as it is convincing: If you want to help students succeed, you have to provide a variety of different lesson styles. She talks about a lesson she taught recently in a Year 8 classroom. Students were challenged to promote a piece of religious art to prospective buyers. The buyers had a generous amount of fake money and could take part in either a silent auction or an actual roleplay auction. ‘Of course it was fun,’ Lay admits. ‘But it gave the students an opportunity to show their skills in delivering a powerful sales pitch.’ The following lesson saw the students writing a letter to the church. ‘This is where they had to explain why they had bought this particular piece of religious art, identify truth and interpretation.’

Mindfulness and Yorkshire Grit

In many ways, the Yorkshire Grit programme has transformed co-curricular life at Scarborough College. Nationally recognised for its innovative character, Yorkshire Grit does what it says on the tin. Children are taken out of their comfort zones and introduced to new challenges, new obstacles and new triumphs; providing Yorkshire Grit. However, it is important to point out that Yorkshire Grit is more than surfing in the freezing North Sea or learning bushcraft skills that would make Bear Grylls’s mouth water. Again, Mrs Lay’s ideas come from outside the box.

To Helen Lay, Yorkshire Grit provided an opportunity to confront students with a challenge of a different kind. This was mindfulness. Mrs Lay dedicated the past few years developing a mindfulness programme that could fit inside the Yorkshire Grit programme, aimed at students in Years 7 to 9. ‘Mindfulness is looking after the mind and the body,’ Lay explains. ‘Tailored to these age groups, mindfulness is there to provide students with the tools to manage their own mental health.’

Sessions typically include relaxation techniques and positive thinking activities that encourage student reflection and self esteem. Mrs Lay is convinced that in today’s extremely busy world – including that of secondary school students – it is absolutely crucial to teach the value of non-religious meditation. Taught in small groups, students have an opportunity to explore different approaches to possible issues such as sleeping problems, stress of worries. The aim is that these sessions develop resilience, confidence and – it goes without saying – Yorkshire Grit. The programme has been so successful that it is not uncommon for enthusiastic parents to ask Mrs Lay if they, too, can sign up.

Theory of Knowledge

The ToK is unique to the International Baccaulareate. Full name Theory of Knowledge, this subject teaches students essential  critical thinking skills that are so important in higher education. ToK is a core requirement of the IB Diploma but it also provides an opportunity for students to develop an open-minded approach to life. And if that’s not enough, it may provide an addition three core points.

‘I remember being 18 and being convinced I knew everything,’ Lay says. ‘It’s only later that you realise how much you didn’t know.’ to counter that conviction, ToK is a fantastic way to broaden students’ knowledge and understanding of the world. ‘We explore questions about science, religion, the arts, history and indigenous knowledge.’ In some sense, one could argue that ToK challenges the very nature of fake news. It allows students to question the reliability of what they know, to encourage to question what they know and to check the knowledge that they gain and have gained. ‘Students are challenged to question their own trust in their sense perception and intuition, and to consider the value of different perspectives,’ Mrs Lay continues. ‘I enjoy making these lessons enjoyable while at the same time helping students to start seeing the world as it is, as opposed to how they may see it right now.’

If you would like to know more about the IB Diploma Programme, click here to explore the IB Diploma Programme description or here to discover the Scarborough College Sixth Form. For more information about Mindfulness, please check the Websites below. To find out more about the Yorkshire Grit programme, visit the dedicated Yorkshire Grit page.

Guided confidence meditation for kids (and adults)

Young Minds

Compass Buzz

World Sleep Day – Importance of sleep