All secondary schools have an open evening, or opportunities to visit the school when it is in session. They are advertised on the county or borough website, in the local paper, or you can contact the school directly.
How does this affect my choice of school?
An open evening is a put on show – it is not necessarily how the school will be when your child goes there in the day.You must therefore combine attendance at the open evening with other avenues of investigation to get a realistic and rounded view of a school before you decide whether it is the right place for your child. Go to an open evening of school you were not considering, but that your child could get into. You might be pleasantly surprised.