Launching Talk Education's Parent Advisory

Choosing your child’s school is one of the most important decisions you'll ever make. As parents, we’ve done it ourselves (many times!) and we know how tough it is. Endless agonising, school visits, debate, discussion and hair-tearing and then, once the decision is made, a chance conversation with a friend sends you off in another direction. We can make it easier for you: what are the important things to ask when searching for a school? How do you know which is the right school for you? When do you know to stop looking?

Talk Education delivers a new concept in school advice. We’ve created our specialist School Search to guide you through the decision-making process and give you the confidence to make the right choice, armed with the most up-to-date insider knowledge.

How do we work? We listen – and we talk! Life is complicated enough, so we’ve made our parent-advisory service really straightforward.

In our School Search you’ll have a one-hour video discussion with an adviser to talk through your child’s interests and abilities. From this, we will draw up a bespoke list of potential schools tailored to your – and your child's – needs. In a follow-up discussion, we will create a shortlist for you to begin your search. Alongside this, you will receive a subscription to Talk Education’s Schools Guide, so you’ll be able to compare and contrast schools on our site, make notes on your dashboard and receive the latest news, updates and open days on your shortlisted schools.

'I feel so relieved now, having an insight into these schools, especially at a time when I can’t actually look around them due to Covid' - Leo Bamford, My Baba

Meet our advisers

We’ve put together a crack team of super-knowledgeable, experienced advisers, ready to help you.

Lucy Williams

Lucy is Talk Education's London schools expert, where she lives with her three children. She has also created a consultation especially for parents expecting their first child, which lays the foundation for choosing nursery schools, preps and beyond.

Before Talk Education, Lucy was Head Researcher of Tatler's Schools Guide and Director of Tatler's bespoke educational events. Her in-depth research, her passion for education and her extensive list of educational contacts provided the backbone to the Tatler Schools Guide and inspired her to curate, write and later host the pioneering Schools Live events, provide educational consultancy, appear on panels and give speeches all with the aim of guiding parents to find the best-fit school for their children.

Nicola de la Rue

Nicola covers schools in the East of England for Talk Education and has been involved in researching schools for more than 10 years. Nicola lives in rural Suffolk and has two teenage boys.

What's the best thing about visiting schools? Meeting a class of children who are so inspired by their science or design projects that they are all clamouring to tell you about it at once (you would be surprised how often this happens!).

What's the worst thing about visiting schools? Feeling obliged to eat yet another delicious, but definitely not needed school pudding at lunch.

Susa Greville

Susa has been visiting schools for eight years and covers London, Sussex and Kent schools as well as having the occasional roving reporter job further afield. She previously worked as an equity research analyst in the City and as a consultant in the not-for-profit sector. She lives in west London with her husband, two children, a bouncy Labrador and a pair of very squeaky guinea pigs.

Susa has a bee in her bonnet about the ability of a school to provide imaginative, healthy and tasty food which will set the children up with good nutritional habits and attitudes for life. A high point for her on a visit recently to a prep school was seeing pupils enjoying a lamb curry from the school-reared flock of sheep, homemade naan breads and delicious salads – a wonderful example of the holistic approach to education which that school embodies.

Kathryn Watson

Kathryn spent more than five years as a researcher for Tatler's Schools Guide and is an expert on northern and Scottish schools, as well as the UK's top boarding schools. She has three children, two at university and one in the sixth form.

What's your best memory from a school visit? Visiting Gordonstoun school on the beautiful Morayshire coast in the Scottish Highlands, I was persuaded to stay the night and enjoyed great hospitality including dinner with staff and sixth-formers, a theatre performance, a snoop inside its own fire station and walk to Hopeman Harbour to see the school’s sail training vessels and yacht, Ocean Spirit.

What's your worst memory from a school visit? A comical episode at a boarding school… a charming young housemaster opened the common room door to show me the wonderful facility, only to find the TV blaring and a lanky young GCSE pupil reclining on a long sofa, fast asleep and snoring, halfway through the morning. Slightly embarrassed, I smiled and said how wonderfully relaxed the atmosphere was throughout the school.

Want to know more? Here’s how Talk Education can help:

School Search: You’ll have a one-hour video discussion with a consultant to talk through your child’s interests, abilities and personality, and to discuss what you and your child are looking for in a school. From this, Talk Education draws up a bespoke list of potential schools tailored to your – and your child's – specific needs. In a follow-up discussion, you’ll go through the merits of each school, and together work up a shortlist for you to begin your search. Using your subscription to Talk Education’s Schools Guide, you will be able to compare and contrast schools on your shortlist, make notes on your dashboard and receive the latest news, updates and open days on your favourite schools.

£1,500 + VAT

One-hour Problem Solver: You might be trying to decide between two schools you already know, or need help with a knotty issue – what is prep-school boarding really like for a child who has never boarded before? Are A-levels or the IB more suitable for your teenager? If you’re new to the mysteries of UK independent education or are a new parent starting to plan your baby’s educational journey, Talk Education’s instant advice in their One-hour Problem Solver is a good starting point.

£300 + VAT

Bursaries Advice: Many schools have healthy bursary pots for the right candidate, but the application process can be daunting. If you are considering applying for a bursary to your chosen school, or would like to know whether you might be eligible for one, Talk Education’s one-hour Scholarship and Bursary Consultation will help you navigate the often complex system of applying for financial aid.

£300 + VAT

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Advice: Talk Education works closely with Acorn to Oak Education – a team of specialist SEN school and college search educational consultants – to help parents seeking advice and assistance. Acorn to Oak has a strong record in supporting families to access successful placements in both mainstream and specialist settings; they will help you to identify schools that meet your child’s needs, draw up shortlists of potential schools or colleges and help with applications.

From £750 + VAT

'Talk Education has turned this daunting, confusing prospect into a more enjoyable process. Talk Education, thank goodness for you!' - Leo Bamford, My Baba

Find out more on Talk Education here or head to My Baba to read Leo Bamford's brilliant feature on Talk Education's School Search.

Launching Talk Education's Parent Advisory

TE Schools Advice