Choosing a school – What Makes A School The Right One for my Child?

What are Acceptable Fees?

For many parents, school fees are a significant burden and this is a situation that is likely to become more common. Ultimately, you can only do your best for your child taking your economic circumstances into account. It is entirely possible for you to search for schools on both SchoolsCompared.com and our sister site, WhichSchoolAdvisor.com, using the fee range as your first priority.

You will find that there are many schools that are moderately priced, but not all of them offer the standard or breadth of education that you may wish for your child. We suggest that you use the Fee search as a starting point and then consider your other priorities. We would urge you to look at the quality of the schools and try to select those that offer the best standard at the budget that suits you.

Many of the good quality, more affordable schools are also the most difficult in which to find places. We would suggest you are  open-minded and consider the alternatives. This may mean an alternative curriculum to your first choice, a change of location or a newer school.

For Primary/Elementary age children, an alternative curriculum to the one you may feel is the optimum choice for Secondary or Middle/High school is worth consideration, since the focus in Primary/Elementary school is largely about the basic 3R’s rather than subject or country-specific. Find out more about curriculum choices here.

Many newer schools are offering significant discounts to attract new parents, so do not rule these out. Even established schools, in some instances, seem more open to negotiation – particularly if you have more than one child – and to offering more flexible payment terms. For more information, read our article – The Choice between New and Established schools.

If you are applying to schools that are over-subscribed, you will have to start the search and application process well in advance, so be sure to check when the application deadlines may be.

Having narrowed down location and fees, what should you consider about the reputation and inspection ratings of established schools?

Index
Overview – your framework to choose
Acceptable fees – what does that mean?
NEXT: Reputation and school ratings
Accreditation, why that matters
New versus established schools
Teachers and staffing
Facilities
Specialist subjects
Additional Language, or Learning Needs