What to Ask at an International School Open Day

An open day is a school putting its best foot forward, on purpose, with staff briefed and the nicest classrooms on the route. That's not a criticism, every school does it, but it means the value of the day depends entirely on what you ask, not what you're shown. Groups move fast and time is short, so the parents who leave with something useful are almost always the ones who arrived with questions already written down.

Check the schedule before you go

Some schools run one big general tour for everyone. Others split sessions by age group or curriculum stream, which matters if you've already narrowed things down, for example between IB vs British curriculum. If your child's year group has its own session, book that one specifically. A general tour will skim past exactly the details you need. For a broader list of the deeper, values-led questions worth bringing on the day, doris also has a guide to school tour questions.

What to ask on the day

Generic questions get generic answers. These tend to get a straighter one:

• What's the average class size at my child's specific year group, not the school-wide figure they'll quote by default?
• If my child needs extra academic or language support partway through the year, what actually happens?
• How does the school communicate day to day, an app, a weekly email, a parent portal, and how quickly do staff typically reply?
• What does the admissions timeline look like from application to a confirmed place?

Talk to pupils, not only staff

If current pupils are around, ask them a few honest questions directly: do you enjoy coming here, what's one thing you'd change, what do you do at lunch. Children tend to answer far more plainly than staff, who are naturally more diplomatic in front of a prospective parent. It's not about catching anyone out, it's simply a second, more candid source of information you won't get from a brochure.

What to pay attention to

Pay attention to what isn't on the itinerary. Ask to see an ordinary, unstaged classroom, not only the showcase space you've been walked through, and ask if you can watch a real lesson in progress rather than a demo built for visitors. It's also worth glancing at the less glamorous parts of the building, toilets, changing rooms, corridors between lessons. Spaces that are kept clean and cared for even where nobody's specifically showing off tend to say something honest about how the school runs day to day.

Watch how quickly, and how specifically, staff answer a question about staff turnover or waitlist length too. A vague or deflected answer tells you something. German European School Singapore (GESS) runs its open days split by curriculum stream rather than one blanket tour, which is a reasonable benchmark to hold other schools to when you're comparing how seriously they take the day.

What to bring with you

• Your list of questions, printed or on your phone, not left to memory once you're mid-tour
• One question specific to your child (their needs, their age, their language background) that a generic script won't cover
• A note of who you spoke to and what they said, names are easy to forget by the third school

Booking and following up

Book directly with the school where you can, and confirm again nearer the date since slots fill quickly around September and January intake cycles. doris lists upcoming open days by country and school, which makes it easier to line up several visits around one trip instead of separate journeys weeks apart.

Step 1: Pick a country here 👉 https://tips.doris.school/schools/events 

Step 2: Browse upcoming events 👉 https://www.doris.school/schools/events/singapore/singapore

filter by date, event type, and curriculum 

Step 3: check event details and register 

FAQ

How far in advance should we book an open day? Four to six weeks is typical for popular schools, particularly around September and January intakes. Some schools take later bookings if space remains, so it's worth asking even close to the date.

Can we visit outside the official open day dates? Often, yes. Many schools offer private tours by appointment, and they tend to be quieter and more useful than a large group open day where you're one of forty families.

Should both parents go if it's possible? Not essential, but two sets of ears catch different things, and it does signal genuine interest to the admissions team on the day.

What if we can't attend in person at all? Ask whether the school offers a virtual tour or a recorded session, then follow up with a call to admissions to cover whatever the recording leaves out.

doris is a free, impartial international school discovery platform designed to help parents find the right international school for their children worldwide. Every school profile includes fees, curriculum, admissions, pupil numbers and more. Parents can compare schools, contact schools directly, access expert parent guides, and connect with a community of parents around the world. Start your search at doris.

This guide was written by Aziza F, part of the doris editorial team. doris sources school data from institutions worldwide and speaks directly with parents navigating the school search process. Fee data reflects published and publicly available information for the 2026 to 2027 academic year and is reviewed annually. External sources: school open day pages, doris parent community.

Schools are listed for informational purposes only. doris does not rank or promote any school.