Saint Christina’s Catholic prep school in St John’s Wood offers a great beginning

You need to be able to imagine your child within the school you are considering and you need to involve them in the choosing: if they do not like the school you are considering, they are unlikely to settle.

Open events can be very helpful in giving you a feel for the school and more specifically the leadership, teachers and pupils within the community, however, you should always organise a separate visit on a working day to get a more authentic experience.

In addition to this, consider what people say about the school now – it is easy to judge a school by a reputation that may no longer be deserved.

Parents of children already within a school are normally objective and will point out things that a school can do to improve as well as giving the positive points.

A tour around the school on a working day is really important. Great teachers are really enthusiastic about their subjects and have an ability to bring that interest and passion to the children they teach in an engaging and relevant way.

Do you get excited about a subject talking with a teacher? Does the teacher speak to your child as well as to you when you visit? Do you think that this person, who will have so much input into your child’s development, has what it takes to inspire, enthuse and nurture them?

Make sure that you have the chance to meet the people who will look after your child and ensure that you understand their approach and the values that your child will be exposed to.

Also check that you know what the school offers in terms of enrichment, both academically but also in terms of extra-curricular activity – aside from the intrinsic benefits to deeper learning and a balanced education, extra-curricular interests are often the things that stay with our children well after they have left school.

In making your choice, choose for your child, not for you. However they package their offering, be sure you that your child will thrive.

It is, after all, they, not you, who will be taught by the teachers, and they, not you, who will benefit or not from what is on offer within the school whether or not the cupola over the dining hall was designed by Christopher Wren.

Visit saintchristinas.org.uk for more information.