The jump into sixth form can feel bigger than parents expect. Suddenly your teenager is choosing subjects that shape university applications, managing longer stretches of independent study, and weighing up who they want to become after school. Most parents want to help, but few are sure where the line sits between useful support and unhelpful hovering.

To make things clearer, here are the questions parents ask most often, with practical answers.

Ask two parents what makes a good children’s activity and you will often get two very different answers. One will talk about the instructor, the programme, the results. The other will talk about the room: whether it felt safe, whether their child wanted to go back. Both matter, but the second is often underrated. The space a child learns and plays in shapes how they feel about the whole experience, and that feeling tends to outlast the activity itself.