Questions to Ask on a School Campus Visit

You get one morning inside a school before you decide where your child spends the next decade. Most parents spend it following an admissions officer past a trophy cabinet and leave with a brochure. This guide gives you the questions that get you past the tour, and the things worth watching while nobody is explaining them to you.

Ask to see a normal classroom

Schools show visitors the newest block. Ask instead to look into an ordinary classroom with a lesson in progress, for the grade your child would join.

Watch for four things. How many children sit in the room. Whether the ones at the back are involved or drifting. Whether the teacher is talking at the class or with it. And whether children’s work on the walls is recent and theirs, rather than printed posters.

Then ask the questions the tour will not volunteer:

• How many children are in a section, and how many sections per grade?
• How many teachers does a Pre-KG or LKG classroom have?
• How long has the class teacher for this grade been at the school?
• How often do teachers change mid-year, and what happens when one leaves?

Find out how they will tell you things

You will spend years on the receiving end of this school’s communication. Test it now.

• How do I hear about my child’s day, and how often?
• Who do I call when something goes wrong, and how fast does someone answer?
• How many parent-teacher meetings are there in a year, and do I meet every subject teacher?
• How do you tell parents when a child is struggling, and at what point?

A school that has thought about this answers in specifics: a named person, an app, a number of days. Vague warmth here usually means vague communication later.

Walk the places nobody shows you

Ask to see the washrooms your child would use. Ask who cleans them and how often. This single question tells you more about how a school runs than the mission statement on the wall.

Then look at:

• The playground at break, if your timing allows. Is it supervised, and by how many adults?
• The labs. Do children use the equipment, or is it behind glass? Ask how many practical sessions a term.
• The library. Are books being borrowed, or arranged for display?
• The infirmary. Who staffs it, and what happens if a child is hurt at 11 am?

At AECS Magnolia Maaruti, the campus on Bannerghatta Road has science and computer labs, sports facilities and an infirmary, and you are welcome to walk through all of them. The Campus and Facilities page lists what is on site so you can plan what to look at.

Ask about safety plainly

Most parents feel awkward asking these. Ask anyway.

• Who is at the gate, and how does a visitor get in?
• Who is allowed to collect my child, and how do you verify them?
• Are there cameras, and who reviews the footage?
• What is your policy when one child hurts another?
• Is there a counsellor on campus, and how does a child reach them?

Listen for whether the answer is a policy or an improvisation.

Pin down transport and timings

The commute shapes your child’s day more than any facility on the tour.

• Which route covers my street, and where is the nearest stop?
• What time would my child be picked up, and dropped back?
• Is there an attendant on the bus, and is there one on every bus?
• What happens when a bus is late, or a child misses it?
• Is transport charged separately, and in how many instalments?

At AECS Magnolia Maaruti, transport runs from Pre-KG to Grade XII across JP Nagar, BTM Layout, Bilekahalli, Gottigere, Hulimavu, Bommanahalli, Begur, Akshaya Nagar and Electronic City, and the fee is paid in two instalments. For the stop nearest your street and the pickup time on that route, call the transport coordinator, Srinivas, on 76250 50950.

Get the money in writing

Ask for every figure on one sheet before you leave the campus: admission fee, tuition, transport, books, uniform, activity and examination charges, and what is refundable if you withdraw. Ask when each falls due, and what the school has raised fees by over the last three years.

A school that will not put the full list in writing has told you something useful.

After the visit

Write your notes in the car, before the next school blurs into this one. Three questions decide it:

1. Could you picture your child in that classroom?
2. Did the staff talk to your child, or about them?
3. Did anyone avoid a question?

If you are comparing schools along Bannerghatta Road, the Bannerghatta Road guide sets out the other points to weigh, and the JP Nagar guide covers distances and bus routes from that side of the city.

Booking a visit at AECS Magnolia Maaruti

The school office is open Monday to Friday, 8.00 am to 3.00 pm, and Saturday, 8.00 am to 12.00 pm. Call or WhatsApp Jify Joseph on 76250 40408 or Roopa on 73376 53666 to book a slot and check seats for your child’s grade. Admissions for 2027-28 are open for all grades except Grade 10 and Grade 12. The Admissions page has the age criteria, the documents and the five-step process.

Frequently asked questions

When is the best time to visit a school?
A weekday morning while classes are running. An empty campus on a Saturday tells you nothing about how the school works.

Should I take my child along?
Yes. How the staff speak to your child during the visit is one of the clearest signals you will get.

How many schools should I visit?
Two or three, within a week of each other, so the comparison stays sharp. More than that and they blur.

What should I ask for in writing?
The full fee structure, including transport, books, uniform and activity charges, and the refund terms.

How do I book a visit at AECS Magnolia Maaruti?
Call or WhatsApp 76250 40408. The office is open Monday to Friday, 8.00 am to 3.00 pm, and Saturday, 8.00 am to 12.00 pm.