Paved paradise in a parking lot

(With apologies to Joni Mitchell and her Big Yellow Taxi), Regan Schreiber, Head of Boarding at Hazlegrove Prep School, considers the importance of the school car park.

Ignore the website, forget the shiny brochure, and don’t even bother with the front hall – go no further than the school parking lot!

Word of mouth is everything in this game, and where is this more evident and truthful than in the car park? The gravel serves as a natural truth serum – all is revealed. Everything from life hacks and the frustrations and tribulations of being a parent to the best deals and bargains to be bought are discussed in this arena of mothers and fathers. Drop-off and collection serve as the touchpoints – the chance to engage and connect, to find out the truth. “Have you heard about...? Is it true? Apparently...” All is revealed in the school car park. Like children in classrooms, sharing anecdotes about their parents, parents solve the world’s problems and spill the beans whilst pausing and chatting in this, the real and very honest entrance to the school.

What does the car park say about the school? What can you learn about the school from the gravel quadrangle where all roads meet?

The humble car park – gravel or tarmac, with the obligatory muddy puddle for little wellies, all look similar. The gravel may even put you at ease as children bounce through it like bathers on Durdle Door’s stony shores. But step back, if you dare, and you may see the start of the magic of the school, as it unfolds right before your very eyes.

Teachers will greet you and your children by name. They will smile and more than likely (and we, teachers, make no apologies for this), crack a “dad joke”; all adding to the richness and promise of a new school day. The children will make their way down the path – cobbled,brightly-coloured mosaic or grassy, on their own – with their heads held high, embracing independence as they start writing their own story.

In the depths of winter, warm lights will illuminate their path as they skip along to school, bag in hand – while the sport’s bag, music instrument or ballet shoes, are left in the car for you to take to the front hall...after all, they too want you to experience the warm welcome! In the evenings, teachers will tick the register and “insist” on a polite and proper “Good evening and good-bye”, similar to Jim Carrey’s character, in the Truman Show. At Christmas time, your conversation will be soaked in the glow of a Christmas tree and fairy lights, as you talk about the Pre-Prep Nativity and the school’s delicious home-made mince pies...and hopefully, the generous glass of mulled wine on offer!

In the summer, you’ll fill your shopping bag with fresh produce and baked goodies from the stalls of the school fete, as the children do their bit for charity; and you may even find yourself tempted to “bust some moves” or “sing along” to budding young musicians busking.

And just maybe, if the entertainment and chauffeur duties allow, you could also find yourself earwigging on the conversation a car down from you. You will hear stories filling the air – stories of fun lessons, the latest antics on the playground or awards won in assembly.

Schools shouldn’t shy away from the car park; they should stride along to it, happy to share and meet-and-greet. Word-of-mouth is so important in this business but word-of-mouth, to schools, also means connecting, engaging and listening to our children and parents, in this, the coliseum of truth, the car park.

So, before you lean over and check the rear-view mirror or lick your hand to tease your child’s bed-hair, wind your window down and allow the natter of the car park to fill your car. And then bravely crunch into the gravel and soak it all up – your child’s journey starts here, in the car park – on the paved paradise.

This article appears in the 2022 edition of John Catt's Preparatory Schools, which you can view here: