Open Day Season: When Schools Hold Tours, and How to Plan Yours

An open day is a published chance to walk through a school. A tour is a visit the school offers, sometimes on that same day and sometimes on its own. There is no Australian season that every school shares.

As of 20 October 2026, no state or territory education department has published one national, or even one statewide, calendar of 2027 open days. Schools set their own dates. Use this page to plan the visits, not to guess a month.

When do schools hold open days and tours?

Whenever that school says so. Government, Catholic and independent schools all run visits, and they do not share one timetable. A date you remember from last year is not a 2027 date until the school republishes it.

The practical place to start is the open days page, which lists events schools have dated. If a school you care about is missing, check its own site. Then book. High-demand schools can fill a session.

Pair the booking with the enrolment timeline. A tour that happens after an application closes is a nice visit, not a useful one. For 2027 Prep and Foundation deadlines that have actually been published, that timeline is the page to use.

How to plan the visits

Keep the list short enough to remember.

1. Write down the schools you could really attend, given travel, cost and entry rules. The school directory is the place to build that list.
2. Note the event date, the arrival time, whether you must book, and whether your child is invited.
3. Use one question list at every school. For primary years, take the primary school tour checklist. For secondary years, take the secondary open day checklist.
4. After each visit, write what you saw before the next school blurs into it.
5. When two or three schools are still in play, put them side by side in Compare Schools.

What to ask that a brochure will not answer

Ask what a normal Tuesday looks like, not only what the display shows. Ask who teaches the year your child would enter, how the school handles a child who needs more support or more extension, and what the compulsory costs are beyond tuition. Fee lines belong on the fee schedule guide, not in a speech at the gate.

Watch how staff speak to students while you are walking. School culture and values is a fuller list of what to look for after the slogans.

You do not need to decide on the day. You need notes you can trust a week later.

The week before you go

Confirm the booking, the meeting point and whether a sibling or a grandparent is welcome. Charge your phone if you plan to take photos, and check the school's rule on photos of other children before you do. Take a pen. A notes app is fine if you will actually type in the car afterwards.

Write five questions and use them at every school. Useful ones are:

• What does a normal lesson look like in my child's year?
• Who do I contact if learning, friendship or attendance becomes hard?
• What is compulsory to pay, and what can we decline?
• How does the school teach a child who needs more support, or more challenge?
• What happens in the first month if the start is rocky?

After the visit, score the school against those five while the memory is fresh. A week of tours with no notes turns into a blur of courtyards.

Use the same headings in every note: travel time, who you spoke to, what a lesson looked like, support and extension, and compulsory costs. That makes two schools comparable. A glowing sentence about the oval does not.

If your child came with you, ask one question on the way home: where did they feel comfortable, and where did they not? Their answer is one piece of evidence. It is not the whole decision. You still need the entry rules and the dates.

If a school has not published a 2027 date yet, ask the office whether a date is coming and put a reminder in your calendar. Do not hold a place on a rumour from another parent.

What this page cannot tell you

It cannot tell you that March, or May, or Term 3, is when your school will open its doors in 2027. That date was not published as a national fact. Recheck open days and the school as the year gets closer.

Where the dates come from

School open days are published by schools, not by a single national authority. This guide does not invent a 2027 season or a count of events. The BestSchools open days page shows events that have been listed. Confirm any date with the school before you travel.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is open day season in 2027?

What is the difference between an open day and a tour?

Where can I see dates schools have listed?

How many schools should we visit?

What should I take to a primary or secondary tour?