Recently, a parent asked my opinion on the choice of school for her daughter, for someone who works closely with schools, I was not sure how to answer. So I decided to look into different industries to find what schools had more outstanding ex-students in workplaces.  A daunting task I must say, especially as employers tend to look at the university certificates more.  I discovered that most people owe a lot to the secondary school they attended – positively and negatively. This underscores the importance of both primary and secondary schools. Parents, therefore, should be concerned about their choice of schools for their children.

Parents are usually at crossroads when it comes to deciding what secondary school their children should attend. With many factors lending their voice to the decision-making process, what could be the buy-in deciders for choosing a school?

1. Who is my child? A sound understanding of who the child is is very vital. What are their strengths, weaknesses, needs, interests, and personality? What are their leanings? It is important to ensure a child grows and develops within the environment that supports their natural flairs- particularly the ones they are looking to making a living from. Isn’t it too early? NO! The earlier you and the child can come to terms with their preferred possible life endeavors, the better and easier their education would be. Children show their leaning early enough, parents only need be attentive and the supportive.
    
2. Ease of commuting. The pressure on family life has put so much on the child to bear. Most children leave home for school as early as 5:30am in busy towns and get back home as late as 6:00pm. Quite worrisome. Parents have come to resort to school buses thereby losing some quality family time along the way. Another option is the boarding schools, but I find that easily making it to the open days and visiting days are beginning to pose a bother. It becomes necessary to factor in the transportation (road network, distance, cost, and risk) when deciding for a school. Notice that no mention has been made of proximity- sometimes family schedules do not obey the proximity rules.
    
3. Schools antecedent. What is the school known for? Who are their products within the society? Should you care about this? Absolutely! Yeah, we act like we don’t care but we all love to have a role model- someone who points us to a likely outcome to expect. And these days of a cult following, children need a figure to associate with. What’s more? How else would a school sell itself to you if not by their achievement? If a school has been in existence for the upwards of 10, 20, 30 years as we find a lot of them celebrating now, then I expect they ought to have a few high flyers out there.
    
4. School fees. This might have come first. We have to look at sustainability as realistically as possible. Can you pay the fees without being partial to one child? Should anything happen to one parent, can the other one carry on with little pressure? How about life after secondary school? What are the chances of maintaining standards when earnings grow smaller and irregular? Any plans?
    
5. School Ethics. Customer experience is key. How well is the school’s communication structured? You want to be abreast with the goings-on of your child- academic performance, behavior, character etc. The schools' facilities also have to be supportive for your child’s development. How big is the school, what extra-curricular activities do they have. Remember that a school should support the all-round development of the child- mental, character, physical and emotional. What extra-support can the school offer? When push comes to shove, you’d find the extra-support might just be what your child needs to excel.
    
6. Private or public school. Em... Well, it’s what we have, so I might as well talk about it. It’s a subject we don’t want to touch (even with a long spoon) but most of us parents today went to the government schools, the public schools- we turned out okay didn’t we? Would your child go to your Alma Mater? Why not? Some of the then- public schools have been seriously upgraded and are now not-public schools. Some have been returned to the missionaries who founded them and are very good on their rebound. They pay fees just not as high as the ‘lofty’ private schools. State governments in recent times have shown will and might in raising the bar of the state government schools. Both in standards of education and school environment. So, before you write off the possibility of sending your child to the school you finished from, you might want to visit first!

The list is inexhaustible.  however, what the child stands to gain, the possibilities of harnessing his potentials and shaping the child's mind in readiness for what the future holds for them should be the main focus. your child’s education should be quality, thorough, comfort and fun rolled into one!