As a parent searching for the right school for my daughter, I was amazed at how little qualitative information about schools I could find online.  Most of the information was either based on rankings and academic scores or generic information from the schools’ websites and other rehashed information.

I began going on schools tours and found it fascinating how vastly different each school presented.  Each school is different in every way – from the culture and vibe, to what the leadership seems to value, how much emphasis they put on different aspects such as respect, inclusivity, well being, academics etc etc.  I thought how the principals presented their school, their understanding about the schools’ role in students’ lives and what kind of people they hoped to their students would become as adults, spoke volumes about the kind of institution they ran. After all, culture comes from the top.  I also love asking students their opinions about their school.  I’ve found them very honest!

I started the Melbourne Schools website initially just to share the information I had obtained from school tours.  While the information gleaned from a tour or open day was useful, I quickly realised most parents want first hand account of schools from other parents so I started a parent community on Facebook called Melbourne Schools Discussion Group which has grown exponentially in the first couple of years.  I now also have a monthly newsletter and newly launched Melbourne Schools podcast where I interview parents and ex-students of schools.

Articles of the schools tours are my or the guest author’s experience only.  It’s what we saw and heard on the day of the open day or tour,  it’s not actual experience of the school.  They are also not a “review” of the school given that it clearly only documents the tour or open day, not the actual experience of being a student at the school. However, what we aim to do is to give parents a little insight to the qualitative aspects of schools, what they think is important in a student’s educational journey and what think they can offer.

My goal is to help parents make more informed decisions about their child’s education by giving them some clues about whether the schools’ environment and culture would be a good fit for their child.  I definitely recommend going and seeing by taking a tour yourself.  Best of luck!

If you have any questions or suggestions, contact me.  I would love to hear from you!