Martin Collier, Master des Internats Haileybury, erläutert, warum Agenturen wie BetterSchool! nicht für nur für Eltern und Schüler, sondern auch für seine Schule einen echten Mehrwert bieten. Und warum er BetterSchool! vertraut.

Why is from your school's perspective working with an agency as BetterSchool! a straight way forward for school and parents alike?

Coming to a school in England is a complicated matter for parents. The English school system is different and the boarding element is also different to the experience of most children in Germany. We enjoy working with BetterSchool! because they are able to give advice to parents and explain our schools very well. As a result, it means that the right children come to visit us, i.e. those children who are good candidates. 

After speaking with BetterSchool, prospective pupils and their parents visit Haileybury already understanding a fair amount about our school, including the processes for admissions and entry into the school thereafter. This means that when they visit our school, prospective pupils and their parents can focus on the important issues, notably the education of the children, rather than be too concerned with some of the details of admissions and the like. So in many ways, BetterSchool! does our work for us. They help guide the right people to the right school and they help inform those people and their parents in such a way that it makes the process easier for the parents and it makes it easier for us.

How important is it for an agent to fully understand the ethos and culture of a school? And is this the case with BetterSchool!?

It's very important that agents fully understand the ethos and culture of a school. The independent school system in Britain has many outstanding schools. These schools offer similar things to parents; academic excellence, very strong pastoral care and a full range of opportunities outside of the classroom. But all of our schools are different. Therefore, it is very important indeed for BetterSchool to understand the differences and the nuances of the schools, so that they can then advise parents as to what is the best school for parents and their children to visit and to consider. 

BetterSchool! is clearly at the top end of the market. One reason why they are such a good agency is that they make the time to visit our school and we travel to Germany from time to time to speak with them. As a result, we know our colleagues in BetterSchool! very well indeed. Conversely, we feel that all of those who work at BetterSchool! are very well-informed and that they really understand our school.

Why do you as Master of a top boarding school trust us of BetterSchool!?

We trust BetterSchool! 

We feel that they are open with us and straightforward to deal with. BetterSchool! is very good at offering advice and we appreciate their thoughts. As a school, we are always seeking ways that we might improve, both in terms of the educational provision that we offer and our admission processes. Ultimately, we want to make it as easy as possible for prospective pupils and their parents to visit Haileybury and to decide that they wish to apply for a place at the School. BetterSchool! help us achieve this aim.

We also trust BetterSchool! because they are a highly professional organisation. They're very well organised and their lines of communication are very clear indeed. Proof that the relationship between Haileybury and BetterSchool! is as strong as ever is that we have never had more pupils from BetterSchool! in our school than we will have in September 2024.