Looking beyond the league tables

Choosing a secondary school is one of the few decisions parents make that has the potential to shape almost every aspect of a child’s future. From friendships, confidence and academic success to interests, ambitions and, in some cases, future careers. Yet for such an important decision, many families still rely on surprisingly limited evidence.

We wouldn’t book a family holiday without spending hours comparing TripAdvisor reviews, checking photographs, and weighing up alternative hotels or destinations. Buying a new car often involves months of research. Even choosing a restaurant for a special occasion can prompt a deep dive into menus, online ratings, recommendations and even content shared on social media.

When it comes to selecting the place where our children will spend around 7,000 hours over the next five to seven years, it’s remarkable how often decisions are influenced by a handful of factors: a school’s reputation, a neighbour’s opinion, one open evening or an outdated Ofsted judgement.

The reality is that choosing a secondary school in 2026 is more complicated, and more interesting, than ever before.

League tables still matter, but they don’t tell the whole story, Ofsted has changed, and multi academy trusts have transformed the education landscape. Schools evolve far more quickly than their reputations, and increasingly, the differences that shape a child’s experience cannot be captured by examination results alone.

Perhaps the most important question is no longer ‘Which is the best school?’ Instead, it is ‘How do I know whether this school is right for my child?’ In this issue, Educate explores how parents can do their own homework, challenge assumptions and look beyond the headline figures before making their choice.

Is there such a thing as the ‘best school’?

Parents understandably search for certainty as they want the reassurance they are making the right decision, but education rarely offers simple answers. A school that enables one child to flourish may be entirely the wrong environment for another. A highly academic culture may inspire some students while overwhelming others. A smaller school may suit a quieter child who values close relationships, while a larger setting may offer broader opportunities that help another young person thrive.

The most successful school is not necessarily the one with the best GCSE results or the longest waiting list. It is the one where an individual child feels supported and valued.

Finding that fit requires parents to think less like consumers looking for the ‘top-rated’ option and more like investigators piecing together a complete picture.

Don’t mistake reputation for evidence

Every community has its own assumptions about local schools. There is often one school that everyone wants to go to, and another that has struggled to shake off a poor reputation for years.

But schools can change dramatically through new leadership, investment and improved teaching. Equally, schools once regarded as exceptional may lose momentum over time.

The danger is that local opinion often lingers, so when somebody says, ‘I’ve always heard that school isn’t very good’, ask yourself a simple question: ‘According to who, and since when?’ Parents should differentiate carefully between evidence and hearsay. Reputation is worth listening to, but it should never be accepted at face value.

Learning to read the data

Performance tables remain an important starting point, but they should never be the end of your research. Many parents understandably focus on GCSE results, yet one year’s outcomes provide only a snapshot. Looking at trends over three years offers a much better indication of whether strong performance is being sustained. Most schools publish the data on their own website, so spend a little time looking through the figures for yourself.

Attainment 8 is a very useful measure to consider. It shows students’ average achievement across eight qualifications, including English and maths, three subjects from what is currently referred to as the English Baccalaureate, and three further approved qualifications. The figure becomes much more useful when you compare it with the national average and, where available, other schools within the same local authority. This can help you understand how a school is performing both nationally and within its local context, rather than viewing one score in isolation.

Progress 8 has traditionally offered another perspective by looking at the progress student make between primary school and their GCSEs. However, the disruption caused by the pandemic has affected the prior-attainment data available for some cohorts, so parents should be cautious about relying too heavily on this measure when comparing schools. Taken together, attainment data, trends and appropriate comparisons can provide a much more useful picture of a school’s academic performance.

Numbers, however, should always be interpreted in context. Schools serve different communities, admit students with different starting points and face different local challenges.

What does Ofsted tell you?

The changing role of Ofsted has left many parents wondering how much weight they should place on inspection reports. While the removal of single-word overall judgements means reports are less straightforward than they once were, they still offer valuable independent evidence if read carefully.

Here are some useful things parents should look for in a report:

• How does the report describe behaviour across the school?
• How does it describe relationships between students and staff?
• What does it say about safeguarding and how effectively are students kept safe?
• What does the report reveal about attendance and students’ engagement with school?
• What does it tell you about pastoral care and how students are supported when they need help?
• How does it evaluate the support provided for students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and other additional needs?
• Does the report suggest the school has a well-established culture, or does it indicate that improvements are still being embedded?

Like any inspection, an Ofsted report captures a school at a particular moment in time. It cannot fully convey the atmosphere of the school or predict how it will develop in the years ahead.

The increase in multi academy trusts

The growth of multi academy trusts has led some parents to assume that schools within the same organisation are largely identical, but the reality is often very different.

Many trusts share curriculum resources, professional development, financial oversight and improvement strategies. These can create welcome consistency, but leadership still matters enormously.

The atmosphere of a school is shaped every day by the people who lead it, teach in it and learn within it. Even where behaviour systems or curriculum frameworks are common across a trust, schools often retain their own traditions, character and identity.

Don’t be afraid to ask how much autonomy a school has, and find out what makes it distinctive. If leaders can clearly explain what makes their community unique, that usually indicates a clear vision, a strong sense of purpose and a culture that extends beyond the trust’s shared policies.

It is also worth looking at what has changed since the school joined the trust. Have results, attendance or behaviour improved? Has there been investment in facilities, staffing or additional support? Have the school and the trust had consistent leadership, or have there been frequent changes at senior level? Where information is available, consider staff turnover and whether there appears to be good retention of experienced leaders and teachers.

Change is not necessarily a cause for concern, particularly in a school that is improving, but understanding the level of stability can help parents build a clearer picture of where the school is heading. A quick search on LinkedIn can be surprisingly revealing, giving you an indication of how long senior leaders and teachers have been at the school and whether there has been significant movement in recent years.

The invisible qualities

Parents will naturally focus on measurable outcomes such as GCSE grades, progress scores and even university destinations, but often, the more revealing questions concern the inputs that produce them:

• How do staff and students speak to one another?
• Do teachers know students well?
• What happens when a child is struggling?
• Do students feel comfortable enough to contribute in lessons?

It is important to note that outstanding outcomes are usually the product of outstanding culture. Yes, these qualities are harder to quantify than examination data, but they influence every school day.

The influencers

Few parents would admit that social pressure influences their decision-making, yet behavioural science tells us that humans naturally look to those around them when making uncertain choices.

From WhatsApp groups and playground conversations to local Facebook pages and community gossip – these all create powerful narratives about which schools are ‘good’ and which are not.

Sometimes gaining a place at a particular school can become a ‘badge of honour’, but please remember, popularity and suitability are not the same thing.

One of the most valuable questions parents can ask themselves is: ‘Am I choosing this school because it is right for my child, or because of what other people might think?’

The answer deserves an honest reflection.

Meaningful enrichment

Enrichment can play an important role in a child’s secondary school experience, helping them discover new interests, develop confidence and build skills that extend well beyond the classroom.

Almost every school can produce an impressive list of clubs and activities, however, the number of opportunities on offer does not necessarily tell parents very much about the quality of the experience.

Find out how many students regularly take part and whether there are opportunities for children with different interests and abilities. Look at the place that sport, music, drama and the arts have within the school, as well as opportunities for volunteering, trips and experiences outside the classroom.

It is also worth asking how students are encouraged to take on responsibility, whether that is representing the school, mentoring younger students or stepping into student leadership roles.

What really matters is whether these opportunities are genuinely part of students’ experience. A school may offer dozens of clubs, but a shorter list of well-supported activities that children enjoy and regularly attend could tell you far more.

Looking beyond the prospectus

Every school prospectus presents the best version of itself. To build a fuller picture, parents need to look beyond the glossy photographs and carefully chosen testimonials.

Here are some helpful ways you can build a better idea of the school:

• Read several months of school newsletters to see what the school genuinely celebrates.
• Follow its social media for a few months and look at what is being shared and who is telling the story. Is there student-led content that gives the young people a voice? Do students appear proud to represent their school? Look at engagement too, such as likes, comments and interaction from parents, former students and the wider community – this can give you a sense of how connected people feel to the school.
• Take a closer look at the school website too. Is it regularly updated, with current news and key information for families, or are you finding pages and documents that are several years old? A website won’t tell you how good a school is, but regularly updated information can be a small indication of how well organised it is.
• Online reviews can also provide useful insights but treat them with caution. Parents who have had particularly negative experiences are more likely to post comments than those whose experiences have been positive. Rather than focusing on individual reviews, look for any recurring themes across multiple sources and use them to inform the questions you ask when you visit.
• Don’t forget to look at recent press coverage to see what has been reported about the school over the past few years. This might highlight changes in leadership, investment, achievements, expansion or challenges that you would not necessarily discover through the prospectus. As with online reviews, consider the date, source and context of anything you find rather than allowing one headline to shape your opinion.

Make the most of open evenings

Open evenings remain one of the best opportunities to experience a school, but only if you look beyond the polished presentations. Yes, attend the headteacher welcome talks, but also spend time talking to classroom teachers, support staff and, most importantly, current students. Try asking them more reflective questions, such as:

• What do new students find hardest when they join Year 7?
• If you could change one thing about your school, what would it be?
• What are you most proud of?

In addition, when speaking to the headteacher or a member of the senior leadership team, ask what the school is currently working to improve, why those areas have been prioritised and what they are doing about them. The answers should provide an honest picture of where the school is now and where it is heading.

Don’t forget to ask about careers too. It might seem a long way off when your child is about to start Year 7, but understanding the careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) available can give you a good indication of how the school prepares students for life beyond the classroom. Find out what partnerships it has with employers, apprenticeship providers, colleges and universities, and what opportunities these create for students to explore different pathways and experience the world of work.

Choosing the right school for your child

There has never been a perfect school. Every school has strengths, every school has areas it is working to improve, and every child will experience school differently.

The challenge for parents is not to identify the school with the highest results or the strongest reputation, but to find the environment in which their own child is most likely to thrive.

That means looking beyond league tables, questioning long-held assumptions and considering the qualities that cannot easily be measured: relationships, culture, wellbeing, character and belonging. It means recognising that choosing a school is not about finding the one everyone else wants, but the one that is the best fit for your child.

As admissions become increasingly competitive and the education landscape continues to evolve, parental choice remains as important as ever. The goal is not simply to secure a place at the most fashionable school, it is to find the school where your child will leave not only with strong qualifications, but also with confidence, resilience, curiosity and the foundations to flourish in the next stage of their education and beyond.