WITH just under two weeks to go until the deadline to submit applications for your child's chosen secondary school, Newsquest Somerset is pleased to offer a helping hand.

Newsquest, publishers of the Burnham and Highbridge Weekly News, has launched a unique new education platform enabling people to review and select the right school or college in their local area.

The site’s aim is to become the go-to place for any parent who wants to make an informed decision about their child’s education.

The platform brings together information from a variety of sources including GOV.UK, Ofsted and the schools themselves, enhanced by features and functionality to make searching and comparing choices easy.

Parents will be able to:

  • Search and compare all schools and colleges in their local area and across the UK
  • Access Ofsted results, with links to full reports
  • Get advice from other parents and students or share your own views to help others
  • Access academic performance and league tables – presented as infographics to make them easy to digest
  • View a searchable calendar of open days and evenings
  • See bespoke guides to help with every aspect of the decision making

Schools, colleges and sixth forms can also edit and enhance their own profiles with features including:

  • Principal’s message – deeper insight into their core values and beliefs, new developments and anything else to connect with audiences
  • The ability to upload school brochures
  • Add a calendar of events throughout the year, with open days/evenings, social events, weekend activities, community outreach
  • Embed their Twitter feed

Henry Faure Walker, chief executive, Newsquest Media Group, said: "This is a great new site that connects and informs local people about the school and college choices in their local area. By providing a one stop shop for finding the right secondary school or college, it fills a neat gap in the market."

Don Ditri, digital commercial manager, Newsquest, said: “We all recognise that finding the right school or college is a potentially life shaping decision. The available information is often difficult to find and compare.

"In developing the site, we undertook extensive research, listening to the needs of parents, students, teachers, government bodies. The early feedback we have had from both schools and parents has been amazing.”

The new education site is embedded as the education channel within all 160 of Newsquest’s local sites.

To try it now visit: http://www.burnhamandhighbirgdeweeklynews.co.uk/education/