Which school? A study of parents’ choice of secondary school

Abstract

Summary This study used semi‐structured interviews to explore the basis on which parents of first‐year secondary pupils had chosen the school which their child attended. Parents of boys and girls at both mixed and single‐sex schools were asked about the sources of information they had consulted, the aspects of the school which they had taken into account and the four most important reasons for their choice. The four aspects most often cited by parents as most important in their choice of secondary school were: 1. Discipline good/children well‐behaved. 2. Emphasis on good exam results. 3. Single‐sex (gins‐only or boys‐only school). 4. Proximity to home. Parents of African or Caribbean background most often cited the school's emphasis on good exam results as their main reason for choosing it, while a single‐sex school was chosen by the highest proportion of Asian and ‘other white’ parents? Parents of ‘other black’ ethnic background most often emphasized good discipline, whereas those of English, Scottish, Welsh or Irish backgrounds did not favour any one of the four aspects in particular. Nearly 86 per cent of those parents who had chosen the school mainly because it was single‐sex were parents of girls.

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