Haileybury school

[Rettie]

Hi
Could anyone please advise if you would recommend Haileybury school? Or any high school around the Hertfordshire area?
Thank you

[Lenazayka]

Do you mean Haileybury Turnford or Haileybury Imperial College?

[sleepismysuperpower1]

st chris school in Letchworth Garden City has a good reputation. you can read what the good schools guide said about it here

[Rettie]

Sorry should have clarified Haileybury imperial college

[orangeicecream]

I went there.... Loved it :)

[Eledamorena]

I have friends who attended, friends who taught there, and friends currently teaching there! Would highly recommend but obviously depends what you're looking for.

[TheLastNigel]

Heard nothing but good things about it.
St Edmunds as an alternative?

[Lenazayka]

70% of the children on boarding, international and posh facilities, C of E, good pastoral care, delicious food and high attention of the staff.
Price higher than St Edmunds college (Catholic and less academic, not our choice at all).
There is Bishops Stortford College, they have better GCSE and A-Level results, swimming team (Haileybury has not but have climbing) and less religious.
DS liked most of all Haileybury, it was a WOW factor to him because the first school he looked at.
Other option is Bancrofts, St Albans and Haberdashers.
Usually, boarding schools have 6 days of learning, days - only five. The exams' result lower than at the day schools because of they are international.
Most of all I liked: 1st Bancrofts, 2nd St Albans, 3rd Bishop Stortford, 4th Haileybury. I am not sure about Habs yet but this is another thread.
DS has own opinion: 1st Haileybury, 2nd Bishop Stortford and St Albans, 3rd Bancrofts and Haberdashers.

[Rettie]

Thank you so much, you have all been incredibly helpful x

[Zorro99]

Haileybury was I thought a good school but having entrusted the school to oversee my son’s education there for 6 years and having invested close to £200k in that time on his education the reward was not what I expected. Do not get me wrong the school can only do so much but I do not believe Haileybury did it’s upmost to foster my sons educational requirements and push him as I had expected. I read the Schools PR and I find the reality far from it. Would I recommend Haileybury? ... no .. I would not .. I think you would do better to send your son or daughter to a local comprehensive and pay a fraction of what I spent on a tutor 1-1 ... at least they will get the individual attention they deserve or need. Don’t fall for the Haileybury PR and the pics of the beautiful buildings .. it’s all a facade.

[Bored2death2020]

Zorro - thanks for sharing your opinion. Was also considering the school for DC but got a bit put off as they have cancelled Math and English exams for 2021 entry! And just left VR and NVR tests and an interview. I worry that this decision will result into a weaker cohort and as a result teaching will be focused on those falling behind as oppose to on those doing well academically. What were your main concerns about Haileybury?

[TartanTexan]

It’s not a particularly academic school, they take most that apply, especially more recently. A good school generally IMO.

[Singingrain1223]

@Bored2death2020 , off topic but the girl's school in SW London, Lady Eleanor Holles - has also announced scrapping Maths and Eng and VR/NVR etc only. I'm sure many schools will follow suit to ensure equal opportunities for all. You can follow this on the girls SW London 2021 thread.

[Bored2death2020]

Hmmm, not sure how is that equal opportunities. If you are aiming for a particular school , lockdown or not, you should be studying. If children didn’t do anything that’s parents’ fault. Finally how many kids from state schools apply to very expensive private schools? I would imagine not a lot. And in that case, they all should revise at home. Otherwise schools will end up with very weak year group that will drag down those who are in top sets. I have checked lots of schools and most reputable schools didn’t scrap the Maths and English exams. I would be very wary of schools that have done it....

[Zodlebud]

@Bored2death2020 I think you are missing the point of verbal / NVR tests AND schools like Haileybury.

That sort of testing is designed to test natural ability, not taught and retained knowledge. It will make the admissions process fairer for all. You are honestly mistaken about schools like this not having many state school applicants. My DD has just started at a very similar school in the same area and more than half the children have come from state school.

Schools like Haileybury offer a balanced and rounded education. They are exceptionally good at meeting the needs of all children, be they super bright or needing a little extra help. What is important that the child reaches THEIR potential and not become just another A* in a list of results to woo new parents. When you look at the results from what is essentially a not particularly selective school they are really very good.

I also “love” the fact that you think top sets are somewhat dumbed down if they are not able to have the very brightest children in them. Given the focus many parents put so much emphasis on results, why would they not ensure that the brightest are getting those top grades?

My friends daughter has just left Haileybury with an excellent set of A levels. They were very well deserved and she managed to play sport at an exceptionally high standard whilst studying there.

If you want schools full of only the very brightest children then Haileybury is totally the wrong school for you. Westminster, Winchester College and Wycombe Abbey are better bets. So don’t knock a school for not being “academic” when that’s not what they are all about. Chose the school that best fits the needs of your child and don’t worry about the intricate detail of the testing used to get a place. If it’s the right match then it will work.

[Bored2death2020]

@Zodlebud thanks for the reply. I appreciate that Haileybury provides a well rounded education, however, I was interested to know about the concerns parents have/ had with the school. @Zorro99 mentioned they were disappointed with the school. I am aware that it had reputation of being not very academic school but was told that with the new headmaster who joined a few years ago they started being more selective and a lot of kids who would have gone there before were failing the exams. Now with exams a scraped ( just nvr/ vr tests just not enough ) they might go down that old non selective route. I would like a well balanced education for my child but not at the expense of academics. So it would be good to hear more from people

[Zodlebud]

@Bored2death2020 They had more people sit the entrance tests for 2020 than they have ever had in their entire history. They are not scrabbling for children to fill spaces.

I have friends with children in Years 7, 8, 9 and 11 there. One on an academic scholarship and one on a music scholarship. All children are flying, are happy, and so are their parents.

Dare I say that perhaps Zorro is pointing out that their child didn’t get amazing grades this year. Bearing in mind they were all teacher assessed, they probably show a much truer reflection of their abilities than if they had sat an exam. Maybe there was an expectation that their grades would be higher than they actually were when that was not going to be the case? I wouldn’t take the comments of one parent with potentially sour grapes about the school as being typical of what you can expect.

[Zorro99]

You are indeed correct that I am as you state expressing sour grapes. Having spent in total £180k on Haileybury and my son achieving reasonable grades in GCSE i think Haileybury did him a disservice on his assessment. I am talking about even reaching an C grade standard. Now considering he got a C in his mock and 87% of all students were assessed as a C or higher then I wonder what the school was doing this past 2 years if he was not even capable of reaching the minimum pass grade .. kinda strange don’t you think??? I am sure if your kid was the one in this situation you would be asking too. My point was if I had I known the school was going to say theY cannot meet the bare minimum I would have taken my money elsewhere!!! Haileybury is expensive and I am questioning exactly what I got for my money. The reason you pay the premium is for the school to deliver the results. In this case they did not and as he was with them boarding I question what they were teaching him.

[Zodlebud]

@Zorro99 please don’t think I am being confrontational as that’s really not my intention. Not getting the grades your child wants or needs to continue their education is very stressful. I know nothing about your child so cannot possibly comment on whether the grades were a true reflection or not. I think a great many children and parents will be having feelings like yourself this year as the school has essentially grades your child - it’s their “fault.”

However, your post comes across as having an expectation that in paying the money to a school that you are buying a good set of grades. If your child is a D student, has always worked at that level, and then has a great day and scrapes a C in a mock, then the teachers would have graded them a D, not a C. That seems only right and fair. That is not necessarily a failure of the school. Your child might not be bright enough, or not shown a proper dedication to their studies. What I am saying is that it’s not likely to be that the school is rubbish - there may be other factors here to consider.

More than three quarters of their GCSE results were graded 7 or above this year and just over half were 8s and 9s. IB results were very strong. They haven’t disclosed their A-level results publicly yet. Maybe that is hiding something we don’t know?

[Zorro99]

Yes perhaps you are correct. Guess we will not know will we. I am not going to disclose all the facts here but I think getting above average grades at GCSE and achieving good results in what is the closest thing to the real exam is the best indicator I have. You are right you do not buy grades .. that is the great thing about exams they are a leveller .. what I am saying is you pay to have the extra level of attention and the extra push ... for ref school to conclude that they can only get aD out of someone they have had charge over their learning for 6 years and who performed well at GCSE is in my opinion a pretty poor admission as to the quality of their tuition. Sour grapes ..maybe .. but quite frankly they do not know .. no exam was sat! Only a mock !

[libbytrois]

Not the first time I've heard about kids being stitched up by CAGs in Haileybury last year so it's not a lone incident. Disappointing regardless of where you go to school. Never been a fan of the school though.

[justanotherneighinparadise]

DP went there abd only has happy memories of it.

[Beyondthesea123]

I went too Haileybury many many years ago. I was not particular like the school while I was there however I did make many good friends whom I still see them regularly. Many things I did not like back then. Pastoral care was not great and the food was sucked.

It was not an academic hot house but 80-90% of the pupils still got to Russell group universities ( I got an update from the school and it still perform similarly to what it did back then). Oxbridge’s bridge number is between 5-12% each year. Most of the people are from around Hertford/ London area.

It has a great alumni network since in the past it has higher profile than today ( it trained and sent pupils to become a civil servant in India), Alan Sainsbury went there so as Clement Attlee (it is a strange place since it is more of Labour public school while the rest of public schools that are more conservative). Very strong link with the army and has one of the best CCF program in the country.

People who did bad in academic back then now doing very well in life. I think the school’s environment helped you to develop certain character ( confidence, grit and leadership) that is very helpful further on in life.

Academically going to this kind of school will get your child to Russell group university if your child are in the top 80-90 %, numbers are similar to those of Oundle, Rugby and Charterhouse. Even if your DC goes to Eton, Winchester, Sevenoaks, CLC or Wykeham abbey, if they are not in the top 35% it is most unlikely for them to get into Oxbridge and will attend to the same university as those in Haileybury or in other public schools anyway. In reality however it is not purely academic getting you into university, attitude and character are also important.

Academic is not everything I think it is important to look into what your DC enjoy. If your DC love CCF, Rugby and Hockey this is the place. If your DC prefer music than it is better to go to King’s school Canterbury where musical people are cooler and not branded as loser. However if you compare to school around Hertfordshire this is possibly the best., however if you have day option
Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School is may be better but it is a lot more stressful.