Mumsnet Talk

Are they happy there? Do they have friends?

is this 'got to be sporty to survive & thrive at Hampton' thing a myth, or outdated?

My sons are very different. One is sporty, very driven, very self confident. The other is dreamy, arty, needs lots of encouragement as he's not too confident, and lots of prods as he;s not a self starter.

It's DS2 I'm concerned about. He's naturally academic but doesn't try hard, naturally artistic but also doesn't show much enthusiasm. He's very sociable and really happy when he's with a group of friends. he is obsessed with D&T which looks outstanding at Hampton.

What we can't gauge is whether the school will give him some drive or whether he'll wilt among all these pushy, sporty Alpha boys.

Not a very up to date view, but a friend went to Hampton 20 yrs ago (!)

He was definitely not a rower! He was v active in the drama club there which was thriving and did v well at the school

So never has been just for sporty boys

They all have to choose a summer and winter sport to do during games and they do pe, but other than that there is no pressure on them to participate in sport. In fact, there are loads of clubs that are not sports based at all.

For the record, my DS is certainly not a pushy, sporty Alpha boy!

not speaking on behalf of my DSs who are primary age, but one of our neighbours just finished there and loved it as a non sporty type ( he sings at the royal college of music) - his mum was telling me a few years back how they can try lots of different things - he even tried rowing at about 14 - and thought the world of the school

why don't you ask the head directly?

A total myth. Boys there range from geeky to jocks and all seem very happy.

Really glad to hear this. A local mum whose son is there was going on and on about how they 'drown' there unless they are sporty, and how they are all really pushy and over-confident. But of all the schools we've seen, it seemed to be the most vibrant in music art and drama, as well as being sporty. And it seems to plough a lot of its money back into 1st rate facilities for the boys.

Good to hear some other opinions.

My DS is quite sporty but not I think an alpha over confident male and Hampton has opened up so many other things to him, especially choral music. As others have said drama, art and DT are also strong and lots of his friends are more into these things and just do the minimum in the F football team or whatever but they all seem to get on. I suspect that the head really loves his sport as he always mentions those successes first, but music is very strong and highly regarded and there are clubs and competitions for everything and all are encouraged to try out new things. The Good Schools Guide says there isn't a typical Hampton boy and from what I have seen over 18 months I think this is largely true.

TooMany, that quote about there being no such thing as a Hampton boy is great. Thank you for passing that on.
DS2 will be happy if he's allowed to focus on DT, art and drama. DS1 on music and science and sport. I've been looking for a school they'll both love and Hampton seems the best bet so far.