Lady manners school vs Hope Valley College, Derbyshire

[mumzy]

Just wanted some opinions & inside info about these 2 schools. We are looking to relocate to the Hope Valley area in a few years time when our ds hits secondary school age. We have been looking at properties in the area and there seems to be a cachet if they are in the Lady manners catchment area. However we have also seen a house we like in Eyam which is not in LMS catchment but Hope Valley college. Is LMS significantly "better" than HVC and in what ways and do the catchment areas for the schools ever change?

[fizzbuzz]

Well we used to get kids from Hope Valley into our 6th form and they were always OK, although catchment has changed and we don't get them any more. I think it was just 6th form catchment that changed.

Agree that Lady Manners does have a certain something, but wouldn'yt you have to get through all that hideous traffic in Bakewell.

I live right on the edge of Sheffield/Hope Valley border, but don't know much about either

[bikerunski]

I used to work in Sheffield and we got work experience kids from Lady Manners and HVC. There didn't ever seem to be any particular trend in how intelligent the kids from either school were, but LM kids were a bit snootier.

[nappyelite]

Is the Hope Valley area nice then from a property point of view? We're looking to move and aren't fussy where we go as long is it is fairly open and the schools are good for secondary age.
(sorry to barge in)

[fizzbuzz]

Hope Valley is lovely but epensive. I teach in the next school up from Hope Valley, just inside the Sheffield/Derbyshire border.

It's nice here as well, expensive though

[WillSly]

It would be expensive to live near either to be honest, they are not very far from each other and so house prices are somewhat similar.

However, the fact of the matter is that HVC does not accomodate students from 16-18 and so, if your children would want any decent education, they would have to change wheras Lady Manners has a sixth form meaning the change can be avoided.

Also, the HVC choir is only for girls which is not the case at Lady Manners.

There are other matters, but these I feel are quite central to the debate.

[mrssun]

HVC choir does not only have girls in it. It is a mixed choir with at least 10% of the school involved in it. There were 100 students involved in their recent production of Les Miserables in which many of the boys and girls who have gained experience in the choir were able to show their talents. Both schools are good in different ways.

[herbivore]

My child attends LMS although we live 5 mins from HVC, I cant understand how people who know nothing abot these schools or about the area can have an opinion on either of them just from hearsay. My child is not snooty but well dressed and good mannered, we chose LMS over HVC having had an awful experience there with a previous child but I know chilren who go and enjoy it. There is a bus service to the school from Hope Valley so the only person that has to deal with traffic (mostly caused from tourists driving impossibly slow) is the bus driver.
LMS also has a strict uniform policy which suits me unlike HVC where the kids look as though they are on vacation all the time.

[Hulababy]

I live in Sheffield but DH says one of his fellow partners has children at LMS and that is has a good reputation. Don't know anything about HVC, sorry.

[janeite]

My friend's children go to LMS and they are not snooty at all. I do hear that it is a good school though. Three bedroom houses in catchment are less than a three bedroom house where I am (Birmingham) or were last time we discussed it anyway.

[lolo23]

Well I have been to both and I can honestly say that I absolutely loved HVC. At HVC there is a fabulously unique relationship between children and staff which is relaxed (within certain boundaries) - the benefit to pupils social development of feeling they can interact and be respected as a person by their teachers is invaluable. Attending LMS 6th form was like being a new Y7 again - heavily disciplined with no freedom to be a person in my own right. Do as your told or be punished, wear your designer shirt or be looked down on... huge social gaps between the rich and poor.
HVC takes in a wide range of socioeconomic groups, allowing children to interact with and experience the various lifestyles people live. There is more openness from kids there about the money people do or don't have - some of my friends never went abroad yet some travelled the world, and it never made an ounce of difference to any of us. Go to LMS and the divides are clear... you know those upper class rugby playing snobs... well... you get the idea...
For me there is NO comparison. HVC has a uniform which is respectable and comfortable - LMS enforce an expensive and awkward ensemble and refuse removal of blazers - at HVC you will see friendly, motivated staff fostering healthy and positive relationships with students - at LMS you will see teachers with dangerously high BP shouting 'BOY! Where is your blazer?!' whilst the students develop a deep rejection of the supression... check out the LMS kids when they get uni freedom and you'll see how much the strict stuff back fires.
HVC is brilliant - the lack of 6th form is difficult, but the transfer to a new environment at 16 prepares you for moving on to uni or life in the real world. LMS kids are shocked when they finally leave the false little world LMS build up around themselves, when they see that the things they place high value on are not important to anyone else.
I also disagree with the hefty donations from certain pupils parents and the refusal of the school to address the behaviour problems of children from the wealthiest families.

[gentlemum1]

lolo23, i absolutely agree with you. hvc seems a lot more relaxed but still get the grades this is down to good teaching not a stuffy old fashioned school like lm that some pupils think they are better than one another because their parents have money. i also think that people from sheffield are moving into derbyshire and buying up property that should be for local people.i think they are trying to get free education (as these schools are good schools ) because they dont want to pay for private schools in sheffield it is about time that these parents were means tested and leave places and houses for locals.

[amazing28]

LMS i go there and im in year 9.From my primary school there were 16 in my year and 12 of those went to HVC, i know that at least 2 of them wish they chse LMS as it is the best!!! lol. I dont know what your on about saying 6form is like being a year 7 again as they have a load of freedom. Many say LMS is a posh school but its not really so stop people saying that. But dont diss HVC as i have many friends there but it there aways will be rivrally between the 2 schools.
Most of you people don't even know what the schools are like so dont comment.

[amazing28]

The 100 bus goes to eyam from LMS and its 80p, but now many new people are getting bus passes wherever they live

[ViveLePeakDistrict]

I concur fully that lady manner's is up it's own backside and it's pupils live in their own little, spoilt world. Any self respecting Valley Massive inhabitant should not even have any second thoughts about not shipping their child to the local school. Further, compared to LMS, HVC is a bastion of diversity and multi-culturalism with farmers happily mixing non-farmers. Besides, apparently these days LMS pupils actually wish they went to HVC and feel left out that they are not part of the Valley Massive. Think On

As noted above, it must be all these townies who are moving out contemplating such thoughts...Coming out here, taking our jobs and our women and pushing the price of a house out of reach of ye average farmer.

[pureandlocal]

While I concur with much of the country ramblings of ViveLePeakDistrict, I find the hypocritical footprints left behind in the pure valley soil too much to bear. I hope my words act as a wind of truth to erode these deceitful tread marks. VLPD?s continuous sermons of ?valley values?, ?plight of farming?, ?ban the influx of townie migration?, etc, are tedious, hollow and boast an air of pompous egalitarianism, that is so clearly fake and dare I say didactic. I put forward a question VLPD; ?Could you marry a farmer?s daughter?? I purpose there is evidence that you would have trouble seeing past her rosy cheeks and manure caked Wrangler Jeans (courtesy of the local Brough Mill). It isn?t the person, the honest hard working local (having a steady job) you would see, but instead a rung of the socio-economic ladder you are willing to tread on in order to climb and claw to the comforting heights of the lower-middle class. The same lower middle class you would or indeed did rub shoulders with 9 years ago at LMS. VLPD values are nothing more than an egotistical powered chauffeur driven vehicle to explore the ?rich? culture of his now residence, the Borough of London, or safe and leafy suburban Surrey as I like to call it. My respect and fondness for VLPD is receding as quickly as his hairline! Whist I agree HVC is the greater school, I only do so on the solemn fact they served nicer chips than at LMS, probably as they used good, honest dripping from locally farmed cattle. Whilst LMS used extra-virgin! Two Word: soggy chips, chips chips!

[bluefootedpenguin]

I have worked at HVC and visited LMS with a group of HVC students. Both schools are very different and would not be every child's cup of tea. LMS is very formal in its approach and does provide a more traditional style of Education. I did not find the pupils to be welcoming towards the HVC students and in fact there was quite a superiority complex with some individuals referring to HVC pupils as 'dope valley kids'. HVC has a much more laid back approach, only partial uniform, trainers allowed as well as mobile phones and ipods, generally not allowed in other schools but at HVC it all seems to work well. Both schools offer a good education but have a very different feel to them. My advice would be to let your child visit both prior to making any house decision, especially if you think Eyam is the right place for you. (I should add that I only worked at HVC on a temporary contract for two terms.)

[pureandlocal]

"dope valley kids" classic!!

It was "Valley Scum" while I was there!

[MrsUm]

This is a point i feel very strongly about!For years Hope Valley College has been considered a lower quality school, just because of the uniform they wear. This, i feel, is not a valid reason at all to judge a school. I know for a fact the slightly more casual uniform of polo shirt and jumper combination are easy and comfortable to work in, especially compared to the slightly unneccisarily over the top uniform at Manners. I have been told on many occasion that the staff at Lady Manners take priority over ensuring uniform is correctly worn over behaviour, not what i would want for my children.
The atmosphere at Hope Valley College is one any school should envy. Being such a small place means everyone knows each other and ,which seems so rare these days, is considerate to each others needs. The vibe the school gives out is so positive, which is especially benficial with new children comming to the school.
As for the lack of 6th form, this is not necessarily a bad thing. I know my children have enjoyed the change in perspective a new school brings. The fact that there are so many options now for 6th form education in Sheffield as well as Manners, mean my children were well propared in the process of chosing a university as they had been through such an experience before!

[mumzy]

thanks for all your comments I'm surprised this thread has continued for so long (but really pleased ). Still very keen to relocate to Peak district. I think with the secondary schools we'll really have to visit them both when the time comes to transfer and base our decision on what is right for dc. My only concerns now are:i) we may move when dc are still in primary school what are the rural primaries like will it be a real shock for children from an inner city school with 30 to a class? ii) Does the peak district get a lot of noise pollution at the weekends from gangs of bikers racing along the country roads and if so what areas to avoid??

[pureandlocal]

i) we may move when dc are still in primary school what are the rural primaries like will it be a real shock for children from an inner city school with 30 to a class?

A:I think the kids are gonna have to deal with more attention from the teacher due to smaller classes! This is a good thing, no? I don?t see a problem here, so i would not be so concerned.

ii) Does the peak district get a lot of noise pollution at the weekends from gangs of bikers racing along the country roads and if so what areas to avoid?

A: In the Peak District the silence is deafening....though the birds can be a bit raucous of a morning....oh and best avoid moving near a church as the bell ringing can get a bit tedious on Sunday morning! Bikers? Gangs?

[hatwoman]

hi mumzy - we relocated from suburban london to pd a year ago. our kids were in a primary school with 60 kids a year (now, in fact expanding to 90) to a school with 70 in total.

upside is small classes; teachers that truly know each individual; considerable interaction between different ages - both in work and play and - often with LMS - which i think is great - LMS kids do some sort of leadership awards and as part of that they often organise events for local primaries eg a cross-country competition, sports coaching; in our case a flexible appraoch to the curriculum - (eg dds allowed to go on to the next maths book rather than having to wait for the rest of the class; whole school spending a science lesson seeing which group (each group being of several ages) could make the highest pile of snow, rather than school shutting/keeping kids indoors becoz of ice.); a sense of community - that';s tied to the village. obviously many schools have a good sense of community but it's not always part of a wider community - village schools very much are - we've been bowled over by how welcomed we've been and how many friends we've made.

downside - small classes = smaller pool of friends - hard for some kids to fit in, but perhaps a good life lesson - having to get on with/work with people you might not choose as friends; slightly less in the way of afterschool clubs; less multi-cultural...erm...struggling to think of more.

the other thing is that virtually all the priamries have space - so you do actually have choice. imo one or two or too small - Stoney Middleton has abt 20 pupils. and I think but not sure) Eyam is v. small too. others tend to have 60-100 - which is great.

re tourists - yes it can get busy (Matlock Bath and Bakwell for example however the joy of living here is that you get to know all its lovely corners that the day trippers miss. so weekends you can avoid them.

[planetscollide]

I've really enjoyed reading this discussion so far and, as I attended both schools, thought I'd contribute.

I attended HVC between 11-16 and it's absolutely true that there is a more 'relaxed' atmosphere there compared with LMS. HVC is 1/3 the size of LMS with obvious consequences.
It's a great school with a 'sunny' outlook on life but can feel somewhat claustrophobic when you reach the 4th and 5th year due to the smaller number of pupils and the fact that everyone seems to know everyone else's business.

I've seen it mentioned in previous posts that there is a distinct attitude difference between HVC and LMS. This is true, LMS has a 450 year history and more traditional stance which inevitably generates a more classic schooling outlook.
In my experience, whilst there is a small amount of snobbery between the 2 schools, some HVC students positively revelled in being the 'underdog' and didn't see the situation objectively.
What it came down to, as with most situations was that if you met students from LMS as a HVC student with a chip on your shoulder you wouldn't get very far and you'd see what you expected to.
I had no trouble whatsover.

I attended LMS for 6th form and didn't find it oppressive or old-fashioned. It has a strong sense of tradition but, as noted previously, it's rightly proud of it's 450yr heritage.
I found the more traditional approach benefited me while I was doing my A levels as the work load was so heavy that having a strong teaching presence kept me on the straight and narrow.

The teachers definitely do not spend more time chasing people for their uniform infringements and the teaching staff I came into contact with (History, English sociology and maths depts) were brilliant - committed, enthusiastic and willing to help those who were struggling.

I also grew up in Eyam so I hope you enjoy living there as I have loads of happy memories from the carnival, village show and pantomime!

[MissDaae]

I am a former student of Hope Valley College, and enjoyed my time there. The staff at the college are very friendly and happy to help. Hope Valley College has no sixth form, so i can see why people are put off by this, but i personally believe this is good, as it means the leavers have a choice in where to go, and it is acceptable to go wherever they chose, whereas at Lady Manners you are looked down upon for leaving before sixth form, these children are also encouraged to grow up with the changing of schools, meaning they do not have such a shock when leaving at eighteen for university and further education. Teaching them to make friends in a new environment, which is useful for later life. Hope Valley College has this year achieved 82% of its GCSE students recieving 5A* - C grades, which is very admirable on all accounts. The College is also in the top 25 schools in the UK without a sixth form, again an admirable feat. I believe both schools have good qualities, but personally would choose Hope Valley College, due to its staff, students and achievements, such as recieving speciaisms in; The Arts, Technology and Applied Learning. As well as having a state of the art music department built, complete with recording studios, solo tuition rooms and a performance area. This school would be the choice for me, personally.

[mumsareus]

My 14 year old boy got offered drugs at lady mannors.
however we moved the children to hope valley college and now my two older children have got good gcse grades.
i do not however feel fourcing your children to go to lady mannors a ggod deal.

[mumsareus]

I totaly agree mummyKinsss ...
my children found the same however they didnt get peer pressured....
i must also say since my children moved from LAddy manners i have heard bad reports and my friends children are asking to move school..
i have strong feelings for this surly if so many people are wanting to move something is going wrong..