AIBU to feel angrey after Holland Park School open morning?

As another poster suggested, she coul be trying to stop other parents applying, to give her own DD a better chance.

Two of my lovely neighbours have (and had) teenagers at local academy and awful treatment of their children, esp one of them. She went from a little girl who loved and thrived in primary school, excelled in sports (she did sports also outside of school and was winning medals from a young age) and maths to a kid who became frustrated, unhappy and a pure hatred of school, within 2 years.

They treated her abysmally. Her mum being called to collect her kid for walking into the school corridor with her coat on (winter) and had not yet managed to put it in her locker. When she told the teacher she was about to put it away, she was suspended for back chat and breaking the rules of no coats on. This was the start of it. She was accused of doing something, mum again called up, girl was told to apologise. The girl denied it, teacher wouldn't listen and insisted in a written apology. Then they looked on the CCTV, which proved the girl was nowhere near the incident and it wasn't her. The teacher told her to still apologise! The kid was (rightfully) cross now, and said no, she is the one who should be apologised to. Another suspension for back chat. What does that teach a child? She was expelled, twice, for voicing her now utter frustration with the teachers when other issues happened, (such as being told off for wearing her tie too short), for her to be reinstated because upon appeal, the school had acted out of their guidance and expelled incorrectly, the head teacher was even suspended on the second one. They would also do things like keep her out of her games lessons as she was incredibly good at sport, as a way of punishment. I mean.. goodness me.

In the end, mum took her daughter out of the school because she was watching her kid get behind and so very unhappy and it was exhausting for her too, trying to fight the school. Daughter now goes to another school where kids are allowed to be kids and respect goes both ways with teacher and pupil. She's going to be sitting her GCSE maths a year early despite 2 years of disruption to her education, she is happy, she is working hard, she's not taking frustration out in the home anymore, all is good, finally.

I truly believe some of these schools are destroying education for children, and what should be some of their happiest times are becoming miserable. They just seem to want robots, but sadly not all kids can fit into that mould.

"most in Holland Park will be well off"

Absolutely not the case. It's in a very wealthy area but, like most of inner London, the very wealthy live cheek by jowl with the very poor.

The wealthy send their children elsewhere.

What sort of ulterior motive are you envisioning the OP to have ?
There’s an awful lot wrong with many schools in the UK right now and many of us who care about the welfare and education of young people are choosing to speak up about it

That does sound grim and joyless particularly if you had good expectations. I am sure you will find a school with a better overall vibe.

Fwiw I looked at a secondary for gs and the show around was a disaster. Everything went wrong when I could tell they had tried hard to stage manage. Spirited pupils getting detentions, pissed off pupils in dance so funny, teachers pushing parents cars stuck in mud topped off with the viewing teacher passing out on the school driveway and being driven away in an ambulance.

Sadly most are. People running and working in schools like this need to be publicly shamed and pilloried. It's absolutely disgusting what they have done to secondary education.

Thank you for writing about this OP. My son's school was terrible and unfortunately I didn't figure it out until he started having panic attacks. Much better to know now.

The black curtain mention is odd because the curtains were surely open at the time you viewed the school. Therefore, they would hardly be noticeable.
There is a lot of glass in this school; surely they were a form of protection against the sun.
The primary school I attended had black curtains everywhere. They were black out curtains dating from WW2. I never saw them closed and in no way did they impact on my education.
Like many other posters, I am surprised you have so much to say so vehemently, based on a single visit to the school, especially as the arrangements are similar to many academy schools.
The KGB agent Alexander Lebedev sent his son to the school, Evgeny, who is now in the House of Lords, thanks to Boris Johnson.
I find your comparison with Russian schools tasteless. If you choose to live in the UK, you should not knock it.
I suspect you have some ulterior motive in writing your post.

OP are you interest In hearing about the other schools in the borough?

One was maybe 5 years ago. The other left after breaking down in a meeting around 3/4 years ago.

Why would you think that a room with nothing in it will help someone with ND. If anything it will have the opposite effect

So which was the Soviet school you were in (as referenced in your first post)? Which of the former USSR republics was it in?

Well I definitely ‘bang on ‘ about young people being treated with respect & kindness in a creative environment. .
My kids were lucky enough to go to such schools with great teachers had good relationships with both teachers & peers in establishments with minimal bullying & excellent academic outcomes .

Did you want all the children chattering off-topic in lessons? Or doing projects where the ones with well-off parents (okay, most in Holland Park will be well-off?) can do well but the ones who don't have this advantage, or books at home, or visits to museums can't do well?
Quiet corridors mean no bullying. Quiet classrooms means children are working. Minor infringements of rules carry sanctions, as they must because otherwise they escalate to major infringements of rules.
It's not the school for you, obviously. Not all schools will be like this. Look at some others - but bear in mind a quiet atmosphere is a learning atmosphere. Though I am somewhat dismayed there was no interaction between teachers and students - but they are putting on a show, be aware.

Yes, I know. As I posted already upthread, some MATs are particularly into these Michaela-style punishment / behaviour systems. I saw a couple of schools that were particularly bad, and they were also in UL — so it’s likely that it’s a common style of behaviour management within the MAT. But it is by no means only UL who have adopted this kind of behaviour management system to some degree.

It’s very fashionable in the state sector at the moment, and it goes beyond just “being strict with bad behaviour”: in the UL schools I’ve seen the kids are also lined up in the morning outside to be read an “improving” motto to each day; there are mantras about success that they chant; they aren’t allowed to speak in the corridors and have a specific system for moving between lessons and so on.

It’s pretty OTT and likely to suck the fun, soul and love of learning out of even the most compliant children, even if they all get nicely robotic results.

actually wanting to learn/your child to learn but being unable to because the teacher spends the entire time doing crowd control/off sick with stress due to bad behaviour makes lots of people 'devastated and angry.' I left school nearly 20 years ago and I'm still angry about how shit my secondary education was, and from everything I've heard it's only got worse.

given the pupils were so eager to show you these detention rooms it doesn't sound as though they find them hugely traumatising. sitting in a room designed to minimise distractions is hardly being thrown in the chokey. tbh given they're teenagers it probably reminds them of their dens bedrooms, perhaps they like having a little chill out in there!

If this school isn't the one for your child then don't apply there. But in 3 years time when she tells you about one of her classmates being arrested for bringing a knife to school or whatever, maybe curtains over windows won't seem so bad.

@SpanThatWorld Out of interest, the people you know who taught there - was that within the past three years? I ask purely because their reopening seems to have put a delay on ratings, so there could be a chance it's improved... (but personally, I'd be looking elsewhere!)

Yup.

I used to do primary liaison when I was a young teacher. The first time that I went into some primary classes, the children would fall deathly quiet until they realised that I was just another teacher there to observe and to work with the class.

Unfortunately many schools are like this now. There often isn't much of an alternative.
(Can't speak for the other schools in the borough Holland Park is in as I don't know a huge amount about them)
I agree with the OP - I just find this style of education all very depressing.
Not everyone will agree with that though. Obviously.

So many studies showing that this doesnt prepare children for life, working collaboratively, problem solving etc does...I agree very sad

Ah, academies. If possible run a mile. They are so strict that kids get put into isolation or suspended for uniform infringements. Kids are not allowed to be kids at these places. Just google, there's stories coming out now up and down the country.

I'm sure the staff are going to love that. 🙄

It may be that children are being sanctioned for minor matters but there are times when pupils don't tell the whole truth. Example: Johnny claims that he only broke a pencil, when the actuality is that he deliberately broke each pencil that the teacher gave him.