What I Really Look For When Choosing a School: Our First Impressions of Alleyn’s
Created in partnership with Alleyn’s Hampstead
Choosing a school for your child can feel like one of the biggest decisions you’ll make as a parent.
There’s so much to consider — academics, facilities, values, location, extracurriculars, school culture — and when you start researching schools, the amount of information can quickly feel overwhelming.
But after becoming a mum of three, I’ve realised something important.
When you visit a school, beyond all the brochures and statistics, it often comes down to one simple question:
How does it feel?
That instinctive feeling matters.
Recently, Bertie and I visited Alleyn's Hampstead as a potential nursery option, and honestly, I came away seriously impressed. Not just by the nursery itself, but by the entire educational journey the school offers.
Our First Impressions of Alleyn’s Nursery
From the moment we walked in, the atmosphere felt warm, welcoming, calm, and genuinely child-focused. The staff were incredibly friendly and engaging. Professional, yes, but approachable and kind too. The headmistress especially struck that balance parents are often looking for: experienced and capable, while still feeling warm and human.
The school itself felt polished, but not intimidating.
There were books in every corner, toys within easy reach, and children’s artwork proudly displayed on the walls. Not perfect, uniform pieces but real creativity and individuality. The classrooms felt lived in and inspiring rather than overly pristine.
Nothing felt too precious.
Bertie immediately started exploring, touching things, and engaging with the environment, which I always think is such a positive sign.
And one thing that really stayed with me after our visit was the feeling that this was a school designed around children as individuals - not children simply fitting into a system.
A Seamless Educational Journey From Age 2 to 18
One of the things I loved most about Alleyn’s was the idea of building a pathway through education.
Children can start from age two in the Nursery and Junior School and continue all the way through to Senior School until they’re 18.
That seamless 2–18 journey felt incredibly reassuring.
Rather than constantly preparing children for transitions and new environments, there’s a sense of continuity and belonging. It felt like once you become part of the Alleyn’s community, your child is known and supported throughout their entire school life.
As a parent, there’s something very comforting about that.
The school is also fully co-educational throughout, meaning boys and girls grow, learn, debate, play sport, and experience school life together from nursery through to sixth form.
The 8 Things I Look For When Choosing a School
After visiting schools, I’ve realised there are certain things I naturally look for every time.
These are the things that matter most to me personally when assessing whether a school feels like the right fit.
1. Warm & Engaging staff
Professionalism matters, of course — but warmth matters just as much.
I always look carefully at how staff interact with children.
Do children seem comfortable approaching them? Are conversations natural? Does it feel nurturing?
At Alleyn’s Hampstead, the warmth felt genuine.
The staff weren’t overly formal or distant. They felt approachable, kind, and engaged.
And as a parent, you want to feel your child will be truly seen and understood.
2. A school that feels inspiring but still child-led
I loved that the school felt beautiful and thoughtfully designed without feeling intimidating.
The displays around the school reflected real children’s work and creativity.
Not perfect, identical pieces but individual expression.
The school felt calm, organised, and professional while still clearly belonging to the children who spend their days there.
3. Happy children
Honestly, this is one of the biggest indicators for me.
The children we saw looked relaxed, confident, and comfortable in their environment. They played naturally together and seemed genuinely happy. You can often sense the culture of a school simply by observing the children within it.
4. Emotional wellbeing being prioritised
One thing that really stood out to me was how seriously Alleyn’s takes children’s wellbeing. Their AEQ programme - Alleyn’s Emotional Quotient - focuses on emotional intelligence, resilience, confidence, and helping children develop a strong sense of self.
I also loved hearing about The Well, a dedicated wellbeing space within the school.That felt incredibly thoughtful and reflective of a school that understands academic success alone isn’t enough.Children also need emotional security, confidence, and the ability to navigate challenges.And honestly, in today’s world, that feels more important than ever.
As the school describes it, academic rigour sits alongside emotional development, while technological fluency is balanced with human judgement.
5. A future-focused curriculum
One of the most interesting conversations during our visit was around preparing children for the world they’ll actually step into as adults in the 2040s.
The future is changing rapidly, and schools have a responsibility to prepare children not just academically, but socially, emotionally, and technologically too.
Alleyn’s Hampstead spoke about their AiQ initiative - Alleyn’s Intelligence Quotient - which encourages creativity, experimentation, technology, innovation, and design thinking.
What I particularly liked was that the focus isn’t simply on using technology, but understanding it responsibly and thoughtfully. It’s future-facing without losing sight of the human side of education.Because ultimately, the future won’t just require academically capable children - it will require adaptable, emotionally intelligent, creative young people too.
6. Opportunities beyond academics
Academic excellence is obviously important but I also strongly believe children should have opportunities to discover who they are outside the classroom too.
The All In curriculum at Alleyn’s really stood out because it offers such breadth from an early age.
There’s swimming, dance, drama, debating, coding, sport, creative clubs, and co-curricular activities woven naturally into school life.
Children are even encouraged to shape the clubs offering themselves so they can pursue the things they’re genuinely interested in.
I loved the phrase the school uses: encouraging children to ‘Find their thing’ because every child shines differently.
7. A school that supports family life too
One thing I appreciated as a busy parent was how the school incorporates activities like gymnastics and dance into their wraparound care and after-school provision.
Family life already feels busy enough, and having activities built into the school day can make a huge difference to the balance of everyday life.
8. A place where children can truly become themselves
The phrase “All We Can Be” is central to Alleyn’s ethos.
And what I liked was that it didn’t feel like a marketing slogan.
It felt embedded in the conversations, the environment, and the atmosphere of the school itself.
One quote that particularly stayed with me was:
“The most important thing is that the children believe that who they are and what they can become genuinely matters here.”
And ultimately, I think that’s what most parents are searching for.
Not perfection.
Not pressure.
But a place where children feel known, supported, challenged, inspired, and encouraged to grow into themselves.
Final thoughts
Choosing a school is such a personal decision.
Every family values different things, and every child will thrive in different environments.
But for me, the schools that stand out are always the ones where academic excellence sits alongside warmth, wellbeing, creativity, and genuine care for children as individuals.
And that was the feeling I left with after visiting Alleyn’s Hampstead.
A calm, nurturing, future-focused environment where children are encouraged to be “All We Can Be” — while also being supported to find exactly who they are.
For more information please visit https://www.alleyns-hampstead.org.uk/
