Heads You Win

Sally-Anne Huang - Kent College, Pembury

Parents make a huge investment based on a huge degree of trust when finding the right school for their child. My own priority is to ensure that the school notices my child – that they understand each child as an individual so that when I speak to staff, the child they describe is one I recognise. I don't want my own child, nor my students, to be an also-ran: just another member of a class. As I look around a school, I want to see that the pastoral framework isn't just a system but an environment based on relationships between staff and students. You can learn a lot from children who make eye contact, who smile, and who are not bothered by being around adults.

I like to see a school that offers a diverse programme, not one that is only educating one type of child, for exam results. I like to see lots of sport and music but I also want to see other aspects of the students being developed. A very good school will be able to find out something about your child that you didn't know and develop it. We offer over 50 different activities run during lunchtimes and in the evenings. They are very much girl-driven but we make sure the girls strike a balance. There can be a danger of focusing on competitive sport and drama, for instance, rather than sport for fun, or perhaps textiles. Something like pottery may offer a social occasion and a chance to relax from academic study. A good tutor will make sure that girls aren't doing too much, or too little.

There's a bit of an arms race with schools in that certain boxes have to be ticked: the swimming pool, the theatre, the sports hall. A good school will have a rolling refurbishment programme but buildings are only a small part of the picture. The best facilities in the world won't guarantee a happy child. Parents have priorities when looking at schools and narrow down their selection. I think it then depends on how their child reacts to the school at the open day. If appropriate, we encourage students to have a taster day and a night boarding. There is no such thing as a right or wrong school. It's all about getting a match for your child.

Kent College, Pembury is a day and boarding school for girls aged 3-18 years. www.kent-college.co.uk