Questions to Ask at a School Interview
Questions to ask school interviewers when your family is the one applying for a place. The first two groups are for the interview itself: one for a parent, on what the school is looking for and how the decision is made, and one for the student to ask. The rest go further into the school, for the visit around the interview: the shape of the day, how lessons are taught, what happens when a child falls behind or is unkind, how the school talks to home, what a year costs and how places are offered.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
The interview
What kind of student does well here?
Why ask it
The answer is the school describing who it is built around: the worker, the all-rounder, the confident talker, the child who joins everything. Set it beside your own child as they are now, not as you hope they will be. Then ask about a pupil who came in without those qualities and how it went for them.
What sort of child does not thrive here?
Why ask it
No school suits every child, and an interviewer who says so plainly is doing you a favour. A candid answer names a type: a child who needs quiet, one who needs a lot of structure, one who dislikes sport. Be wary of 'every child does well here'.
What do you do differently from other schools nearby, and what did you give up to do it?
Why ask it
Any school can list its strengths. The second half is the useful part, because more sport, more languages or smaller classes have to come out of something else: time, money or another subject. If nothing was given up, the difference is probably small.
What are you hoping to find out about my child today?
Why ask it
A fair thing to ask an interviewer, and best asked early. The reply tells you whether they are checking academic level, how a child talks to an adult, or how the family would fit, and it saves you guessing for the rest of the visit.
What do children who are new here find hardest in the first term?
Why ask it
It asks for something the interviewer has watched happen, so the answer tends to be concrete: the size of the site, the homework, lunch with nobody to sit beside. If they cannot name anything, ask how the school finds out how new children are getting on.
What are the school's values, and where would we see them on an ordinary day?
Why ask it
Every prospectus has a list of values, so the second half is the real question. A convincing reply points to something you could go and look at: how lunch is run, what gets praised in assembly, what a child is asked to do after a falling-out. A value nobody can show you in practice is probably just wording.
How do you allow for a child who is shy or has an off day in the interview?
Why ask it
Ask it out of your child's hearing. A reassuring answer mentions more than one look at the child, such as a taster lesson, a report from the current teacher or a second meeting. Having heard it, you are less likely to spend the visit apologising for a quiet child.
What will my child be asked to do, and will they be seen without me?
Why ask it
One for when the date is set, not the day itself. Formats run from a chat about a favourite book to a taught lesson or a written paper, and telling a nervous child what is coming tends to help more than practising answers.
Who decides on a place, and how much does the interview count beside the reports and the assessment?
Why ask it
Some schools decide by committee and others leave it to the head, and they weigh the three differently. If the interview is mostly a courtesy, it is better to know that than to read meaning into every remark on the way out.
Do you expect children to have been tutored for the assessment?
Why ask it
An awkward one that is better asked than guessed at. Follow the answer with what the paper covers and whether there is a sample to look at, so any preparation is aimed at the right thing. If the school says it would rather children were not tutored, find out how the assessment allows for those who were.
If you could change one thing about the school, what would it be?
Why ask it
Interviewers are used to selling, and this gives them leave to stop for a moment. The size of the answer matters less than its honesty: a cramped dining hall or a clumsy timetable is an ordinary complaint and a good sign. Put it to more than one member of staff and see whether the same thing comes up.
What is going to change here in the next few years?
Why ask it
Building work, a new head, a bigger intake or a switch of curriculum would all land during your child's time at the school, not the interviewer's. Ask which changes are decided and paid for and which are still hopes. For anything that touches the year your child would join, ask when families will be told the details.
Is there anything in the school reports you would like us to put into context?
Why ask it
It belongs near the end. A patchy report, a change of school or a term missed through illness is easier to explain while you are still in the room, and an interviewer finds it easier to raise a doubt when invited to.
For students
What would my first week here look like?
Why ask it
It shows you are picturing yourself there. Listen for whether new students are met at the door, shown round and given someone to sit with, or mostly left to work it out.
How would you describe the students here?
Why ask it
You are asking who you would be sitting next to. Friendly and hard-working are easy words to reach for, so follow up with what students do at lunch or what they get excited about, which gets you a picture and not an adjective. Then see whether the students you pass on the tour match it.
What clubs, sports and arts could I join, and when do they meet?
Why ask it
The 'when' matters as much as the list. Something that meets at lunchtime is easy to try, while a team that trains at seven in the morning or on Saturdays is a commitment for whoever drives you. Pick one or two you would actually go to and ask how many people turn up.
If I wanted to keep going with my sport or my instrument, what would that look like here?
Why ask it
Name the real thing: the club you swim for, the piece you are learning, the language you started last year. It tells the interviewer something true about you without sounding rehearsed. A specific reply, such as a team that trains before school or a teacher who runs the orchestra, is better evidence than a list of clubs.
What is the biggest difference I would notice from the school I am at now?
Why ask it
Say a little about your present school first: how big it is, whether you have one teacher or many, how much homework you get. Then the answer can be about you. It might be longer days, moving rooms between lessons or more work done on your own, and each of those is worth a follow-up.
Where do students in my year go when they have free time?
Why ask it
Adults tend to describe lessons. This gets at the rest of the day: the library, the field, a music room, a corridor. If the answer is a list of supervised activities, ask where people go who just want to sit and talk.
If I got stuck in a subject, who would I go to for help?
Why ask it
Asking this does not make you look weak. It shows you know that everyone gets stuck somewhere. Find out whether help means staying behind with your own teacher, a lunchtime drop-in or an older student, and whether people go without being told to.
Do new students join teams and clubs straight away, or is there a trial first?
Why ask it
Useful if you would be joining in a year when teams and casts are already settled. Find out when trials or auditions happen, and whether there is a second team, a junior choir or a beginners' group for people who are keen but new to it.
Which rules do new students most often get wrong at first?
Why ask it
A friendlier way of asking what the school is strict about. Uniform and lateness point to a place that minds the small rules. Phones and behaviour in lessons say something different about what the days are like.
What do the older students do for the younger ones?
Why ask it
Houses, buddies and mixed-age teams all sound good on a website. Ask for one thing an older student did for a new one this year. A real story suggests it happens when no teacher is organising it.
What chances do students get to lead or organise something themselves?
Why ask it
Prefect badges and team captaincies go to a few people near the top of the school. Ask what someone in your year could run now: a club, a charity sale, a lunchtime tournament, a page of the magazine. If you have organised anything before, even something small, this is a natural moment to mention it.
What do students here look forward to every year?
Why ask it
A trip, a house competition, a play, a sports day: whatever they name first is close to the centre of the place. Notice whether it is something everyone takes part in or something a few people are picked for.
What kind of student do teachers here enjoy teaching?
Why ask it
A polite way of asking what the school rewards. Curious, hard-working, sporty and well-behaved are four different answers, and you will know at once which one sounds like you.
What advice would you give someone starting here next year?
Why ask it
Someone who has watched a lot of first terms tends to have a real answer: join one thing early, ask when you are lost, do not judge the place by the second week. It also shows, without your saying so, that you mean to arrive ready. Write the answer down afterwards, because you will want it on your first day.
What made you choose to work at this school?
Why ask it
It turns the last few minutes into a conversation. A specific answer about the students or a colleague tells you more than a line about values, and you will remember it when you compare schools later. If your interviewer is a current or former student, ask why they chose it.
Is there anything else you would like to know about me?
Why ask it
A good last question when there is something you did not get to say. If they say no, add the one thing yourself in a sentence: a project, a team, a book you wanted to mention.
Daily life
What does a typical day look like for a child in this year group?
Why ask it
A timeline is much harder to gloss than a philosophy. Listen for how much of the day is spent sitting still, how much is outdoors, and when the taught day actually ends.
What time does the day start and finish, and is there a bus or care before and after school?
Why ask it
Ask for the gate times, not the lesson times, and whether clubs or supervised homework run after the last bell. Then get the practical detail: where the bus stops, what early and late care cost, and what happens on the day you are stuck in traffic. For a working household this answer can settle the choice on its own.
How big would my child's class be, and how many adults would be in the room with them?
Why ask it
A website usually gives only the class size. The second half of the question gets at what a child actually has, so check whether the other adult is there all day, shared between rooms or attached to one pupil.
Who would teach my child, and how many different adults would they see in a week?
Why ask it
One class teacher all day and a different specialist every hour make for very different weeks. Ask who covers when the main teacher is away, and whether that is usually someone the children already know.
How long have the teachers in this year group been at the school?
Why ask it
A gentler way of asking about turnover, and an easier one for an interviewer to answer straight. People retire, move away and have children, so one departure means little. If most of the teachers your child would have are new, find out what happened.
What do lunch and break look like, and who is outside with them?
Why ask it
For many children this is the part of the day that decides whether it was a good one. Find out who supervises, what happens when it rains, and whether a child who would rather come inside and read is allowed to.
How much homework is set, and what do you expect from me at home?
Why ask it
Get it in minutes per night for your child's year, then ask about your own part: listening to reading, checking a planner, signing something off. What happens when it is not done shows whether homework is practice or a test of the household.
How are phones and screens handled, in lessons and out of them?
Why ask it
There are two questions in it. One is the rule on a child's own phone: handed in, kept in a bag, or allowed at break. The other is how much schoolwork happens on a tablet or laptop, who supplies it, and what a teacher does when the device becomes the distraction.
Learning
How would you describe the way lessons are taught here?
Why ask it
Schools reach for labels at this point, such as traditional, progressive, enquiry-led or child-centred, and one label can cover very different classrooms. Ask what you would see if you opened the door on a maths lesson: who is talking, where the children are sitting, what they are writing on. Then ask to open that door.
What is taught in this year, and which curriculum or exams does the school follow?
Why ask it
Curricula and public exams differ by country and by type of school, so ask what this one follows and how much of it the school chooses for itself. It matters most if your child might move again, because not every qualification carries over neatly to another system. Ask for the year's outline on paper.
How much of the week goes on art, music, sport and languages?
Why ask it
Ask in lessons per week for your child's year, and who takes them: a specialist or the class teacher. These are often the first lessons to be trimmed as exams come closer, so check whether the answer is the same two years further up the school.
How do you group children by ability, and how often does a child move group?
Why ask it
The second half matters more than the first, so ask how many children changed group last year and what prompted it. Where almost nobody moves, an early placement can follow a child for a long time, and you will want to know how a parent would query one.
How would you know within a month if my child was struggling?
Why ask it
You are asking about their monitoring, not their intentions. A good answer names something concrete: a reading check, a piece of marked work, a teacher who noticed at the door.
What happens next when a child falls behind in reading or maths?
Why ask it
Listen for a sequence and not a reassurance: who gives the extra help, when in the day, and what the child misses in order to attend. The last step is the one that gets left out, which is how soon somebody checks whether it worked.
What would you give a child who already knows what the class is being taught?
Why ask it
More of the same work and different work are not the same answer, so notice which they describe and who plans it. 'We stretch them in class' needs an example, so ask what a child who finished early was given last week.
How does support for additional needs work here, and who coordinates it?
Why ask it
Good intentions are easy to describe, so ask for names and hours: who coordinates, how much of their week goes on it, how often a plan is reviewed. What a school has to provide differs by country and by type of school, so ask what applies here. It is worth asking even if your child has no plan now.
What would you expect my child to have covered before joining, and what happens about any gaps?
Why ask it
A child arriving from another school or another curriculum often has a gap somewhere, perhaps in a language or in how maths is set out. A good answer names where joiners tend to need help and who gives it, and does not treat the gap as a mark against the child.
How is progress assessed, and what would a report tell us?
Why ask it
Tests, teacher judgement and standardised scores each tell a parent something different, so ask which the school relies on and how often. Then ask to see a blank or anonymised report. Grades with no comment, or a comment that could describe any child, would leave you guessing between parents' evenings.
Could I see some ordinary work from a child in this year, not the best piece?
Why ask it
An everyday exercise book shows the level of the work, how it is marked and whether the child was asked to respond. Display boards are chosen. If the answer is no, ask what you could see instead.
When do students start choosing subjects, and which combinations clash on the timetable?
Why ask it
A subject list tells you what is taught, not what can be taken together. Ask which combinations could not run this year and how many students got their first choices. For a young child the answer is years away, so leave this one out.
Where do children go on to from here, and when does preparing for that begin?
Why ask it
The impressive destinations get volunteered, so ask where the middle of the year group went. Then find out what the preparation consists of: who advises families, and how much of the final year goes on exam practice.
Care and contact
How do you deal with bullying and unkindness between children?
Why ask it
Ask for the process and a recent example rather than the policy statement. The part to listen for is what happens with the child who did the unkind thing, not only the one who was hurt.
What happens when a child breaks a rule, and when would you call me?
Why ask it
Discipline answers matter most at the edges: what earns a phone call, what earns exclusion, and whether you would hear the same day or at the end of term.
Who would my child go to if something was wrong, and how would they know that person?
Why ask it
Most schools can name the adult. The test is whether the children could, so find out how often that person sees each child when nothing is wrong. On a tour, put the same question to a pupil.
Is there a counsellor or a nurse in school, and how would a child get to see them?
Why ask it
Find out how many days a week each is on site and whether a child can go on their own or has to be sent by a teacher. Ask too what parents are told and what stays private, since practice on that differs between schools and with the child's age. A part-time post shared across a large school is worth knowing about before you need it.
What do you do when a child starts refusing to come in?
Why ask it
The answer shows whether the school treats it as an attendance problem or as a sign of something else. Listen for someone who would ring you early and a plan that starts small. Be wary of an answer that begins with the attendance policy.
How do you help a new child find friends, and when would you step in if it was not happening?
Why ask it
A buddy on the first day is common. The better answer covers week six, when the buddy has gone back to their own friends, and names who is watching the playground for a child on their own.
How does the school keep children safe during the day?
Why ask it
Start with the plain things: who can walk onto the site, how visitors are signed in, and who a child may be handed to at the end of the day. Then ask who leads on child protection and how staff are checked before they start. The rules on this vary by country, so ask what this school is required to do and what it does beyond that.
How mixed is the school community, and how do you make sure every child feels they belong?
Why ask it
Ask about whatever would matter to your own family, whether that is background, faith, language, income or a disability. Numbers are part of the answer and daily life is the rest: whose festivals are marked, what is on the reading list, what is done when a child is singled out for being different. Some of it you can check for yourself in the corridors.
How and how often will I hear from my child's teacher?
Why ask it
Pin down the channel as well as the frequency: an app, email, a book in the bag, a word at the gate. Then ask what a parent sees between written reports, and check the answer with a current parent if you get the chance.
How do you tell a parent something difficult about their child?
Why ask it
Ask about the last time it happened, with the details left out. The answer to hope for is an early phone call from the person who knows the child, not a line in a report at the end of term.
If I disagreed with a decision about my child, what would happen next?
Why ask it
You are asking for the route before you need it: who you speak to first, who is above them, and whether anyone outside the school can look at it again. It is easier to ask now, as a general question, than later with a particular grievance.
How do parents get involved here, and what do you expect of us?
Why ask it
Some schools want parents in the building, reading with classes and running the fair, and others would rather see you at the gate and at concerts. Neither is wrong, but one will suit your working week better. Ask plainly about fundraising and donations as well, and whether taking part is truly optional.
How do you keep both parents informed when a child lives in two homes?
Why ask it
The detail to get is whether reports, emails and meeting invitations go to both addresses as a matter of course or only when someone asks. It doubles as a small test of how carefully the office handles family details. Leave it out if it does not apply to you.
Places and fees
How many places are open in this year, and who is offered one first?
Why ask it
Entry outside the main intake years can mean a handful of places. Ask whether siblings, children of staff or families from a linked school are placed first, since that changes the real odds.
When will we hear, and how does the waiting list work if the answer is not yes?
Why ask it
Get a date and a method, because a letter, an email and a portal each get missed in different ways. On the waiting list, ask whether it is ranked and how many children came off it last year.
Is there anything else you need from us before a decision is made?
Why ask it
A missing reference or an unsigned form can stall an application without anyone telling you. Asking also brings out the optional extras, such as a recent piece of work or a letter from a music teacher, and whether anyone reads them. Get the date by which everything has to be in.
If the answer is no, will you tell us why, and can my child apply again?
Why ask it
Practice differs: some schools give feedback when asked and some never do. Find out which later entry points exist and whether this year's notes would be read again, since a child can look quite different two years on.
What bursaries, scholarships or other help with fees are there, and how do we apply?
Why ask it
Keep the two apart: a scholarship is usually given for ability and a bursary for need, though schools use the words differently and some offer neither. Ask how many current families receive help and what size of award is typical, which says more than the top figure in the prospectus. If an award comes with conditions, such as keeping up a sport or a grade, ask to see them.
Does asking for help with fees change how an application is read?
Why ask it
Some schools assess need separately from admission and others say openly that they cannot. Neither is a secret, so ask which applies here, when the forms are due, and whether an award is looked at again every year.
What does a year here cost in total, including uniform, trips and clubs?
Why ask it
The headline fee is rarely the whole bill. Ask for a full-year figure for a child in this year that includes uniform, trips, lunches, instrument lessons and after-school care, and ask how much fees went up in each of the last few years. Where there are no fees, the same question still applies to the extras.
If you offer a place, how long do we have to decide, and what would we be signing?
Why ask it
Acceptance deadlines can fall before other schools have answered. Ask what the deposit is, whether any of it comes back, and how much notice you would owe if you later withdrew. Terms differ from school to school, so read the contract itself before you pay.
Could you put us in touch with a family who joined in this year group?
Why ask it
A family who joined at the point your child would is more use than the parent who helps with the tours. Two things to put to them: what surprised them in the first term, and what they would check if they were choosing again. If the school cannot find anyone, ask why.
Could my child spend a day in class before we decide?
Why ask it
You will not be in the room, so the evidence is your child at pick-up: who they sat with, what they did at break, whether they want to go back. How readily the school agrees, and how well the day is organised, tells you something too.
Before, during and after a school interview
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Choosing which to ask in the room
An admissions interview often leaves only a short time for your questions, so nobody gets through a list this long. Mark five or six that matter for your child and ask those face to face. Anything with a factual answer, such as fees, hours, deadlines and the waiting list, can go in an email afterwards, and a written reply is more use to you anyway. Leave out whatever is answered on the first page of the website.
If your child is interviewed too
Find out what form it takes, how long it lasts and what the school is looking for, then tell your child exactly that. A scripted answer is hard to keep up once the interviewer asks a follow-up, so practise talking and not lines: what they are reading, what they like doing, what they would want to try at a new school. Tell them it is fine to take a moment to think and fine to say they do not know. Afterwards ask what they were asked and how the room felt, because their impression of the adults is worth as much as yours.
If you are the student
- Take two or three questions in with you. That is plenty, and it is fine to have them written on a card.
- Ask about things you would really do there: a subject, a team, free time, the first week.
- Leave fees, results and deadlines to the adult who came with you.
- If your question was answered earlier in the conversation, say so and ask a follow-up to it. That shows you were listening.
- You do not have to ask anything clever. One question you really want the answer to is better than three you were told to ask.
Ask each person what only they can answer
- The admissions interviewer: what they are looking for, how the decision is made, who the school does not suit.
- The head or principal: intake numbers, staffing changes, discipline, what the school is trying to change this year.
- The class teacher your child would have: what a day looks like, how they track progress, what they do about a child who is stuck.
- The additional needs coordinator: how support is triggered, who delivers it, how plans are reviewed.
- A pupil on the tour, out of a teacher's earshot: who they go to when they are upset, and what happens if they do not understand something.
- The office: how absences, medication and late arrivals are handled day to day.
Visit on an ordinary day
An open evening shows a school at its most prepared. Ask for a second visit on a normal teaching day, ideally mid-morning and again at lunch, and ask to see a class in the year your child would join and not a showcase lesson. If a school can only ever be seen on an open day, treat that as part of the information.
What to look at while you are there
- Whether the work on the walls is the children's own, with mistakes and corrections visible.
- The toilets and the cloakrooms, which show how well the building is looked after where visitors are not expected.
- How staff greet children in the corridor, and whether children look at adults when they pass.
- How the noisiest child in the room is spoken to.
- What the outdoor space is like in bad weather, and where children go when it is too wet to use.
- Whether children who are alone at break are noticed by anybody.
Before you commit
- Get fees, deposits and payment dates in writing, along with the notice period for leaving.
- Ask what happens financially if you withdraw mid-year, and whether a deposit is refundable.
- Ask about sibling policy and whether a younger child would have priority for a place.
- Confirm the transport arrangements and what they cost, since this often decides how the school fits your week.
- Read the most recent inspection or accreditation report yourself, not only the summary on the website.