Hampton Court House- views please!

The number of teachers they have gone through over the last couple of years is eye watering! - it has not improved!. very little outside space, high fees, and no sense of community, no identity, low standards of teaching, bad atmosphere. so many kids left/leaving.

Hello, I read all these negative comments and nevertheless sent my two daughters to HCH in 2024. Btw we tried to send our son there back in 2022, but he was refused the place. I believe school was more selective back then. Therefore, I happened to have experience with 2 independent school in central London and I can compare and contrast HCH. It’s amazing. I never regret the move. Disclaimer I’m speaking about primarily school, cannot comment on senior school though. I’ve never experienced what is written above. Very strong academic, French program as second language is such an advantage, kiddos are free and happy there, amazing outdoors, they grow up with deers and rabbits. I spoke to other parents they confirmed they did have turbulent time with school but now everyone seems to be happy.

woukd love to hear an update as to people’s experiences now it’s been a bit of time, considering sending my daughter and son here so value any feedback

The school has not improved.It is a very toxic environment, in our opinion. And agree with others that the school fails consistently to deal with bullying. Regarding teaching, the high turnover of staff goes on!. The level of teaching is poor.

There is also the issue of nepotism.

The school frees have also been increased again, making Hch one of the most expensive, I believe. Families who have left have found large gaps in education, where their children are struggling to meet basic targets.

In short based on our experience and those of others both present and past- we could NOT recommend.

Sorry, I can't comment as, reluctantly, we took our daughter out of HCH. Many others from her year also left, so there are very few students we know still attending. I would love to think that Kate has got control and started to turn the school around. Unfortunately it was too late for us.

@FatMax, @PitParent - I am curious whether from your perspective the situation has improved since the Principal appointment in January 2023.

Thank you all on this thread for your comments.

*19% of unhappy staff

We are very supportive of the school, and have been unfailingly hopeful for improvement throughout the constant changes of Headteacher, fast staff turnover and continual broken promises. We have always been positive and polite in our dealings with staff, but some of the treatment our child has endured at the hands of others has been unacceptable. If, as you say, last year 92% of staff were unhappy, you can see how that will have affected the children and parents. We felt it on a daily basis. Even 9% of unhappy staff will take a toll on the atmosphere of a school. If parents are potentially spending over £100,000 and asking for honest opinions, I think it would be dishonest not to respond in that manner. If you read to the end, you will see that I did say that we love the school, despite the time, money and at times anguish it has cost our family.

I'm a staff member at HCH and very rarely comment on mumsnet views, but feel I must here. The HCH staff work incredibly hard to make HCH the special place it is for our children and families. I have seen and been a part of the journey at HCH and over the last 6 months huge progress has been made across all areas of our school, to ensure the quality of teaching and learning, enrich our sports and clubs offering and breathe life into every area of the school. The recent staff survey showed huge progress being made, the most significant for me was that last year only 8% of staff were happy within 6 months of the new leadership 81% of staff are happy.
The whole school feels stable and much more positive, of course we are still on a journey, but the staff (and all the parents I speak to) are fully behind Kate and feel positive about HCH's future.
Perhaps instead of posting unhelpful comments on mumsnet, you should get behind the staff and the whole community at HCH to ensure our school continues to be the best it can possibly be for our children.

We are parents higher up the school and like the Year 7 parents, our Year Group has had untold issues with bullying, poor teaching, lack of discipline, timetabling issues, poor organisation and generally poor communication both among staff and between staff and parents. Many issues have led to numerous meetings between groups of parents and senior staff. Ways forward are agreed but not carried out. For a very small school, communication is very poor. Kate the new Principal started strongly, but she hasn't had an immediate impact. Five heads / acting heads in five years has taken its toll. Contrary to other comments, it appears that now the school is owned by a group (Dukes) they are accepting any student for the money they bring, whether or not they fit the school. This was never the case under Guy Holloway. We also opposed the reduced teaching hours. Unfortunately, the result is that GCSE courses haven't been completed in expected timescales, and children are now staying until 5pm several times a week to make up the lost teaching hours. Staff and children are stressed. We love the school, but it is still in a state of flux.

Just to say we are very happy too. Have been at HCH for four years, lots of ups and downs but now stability, clear vision and happy children (and parents!).

Hear that Year 7 has an intake that is out of kilter with the usual HCH profile. HCH was an academic, enriching and nurturing school. I know the majority of parents in our year chose HCH because of this. Parents who don’t want this, should look elsewhere.

Thank you all so much again.
I am sorry to hear the challenges being faced by the year 7 children, their parents and the teachers. We had a similar situation for a very challenging cohort of children at our last school. I hope that you all manage to find resolution and solutions. Really helpful to know that Kate has seen the survey. Helps us hopefully to have a frack and open discussion.

This is all very tricky!
Are any of you able to post a picture perhaps of a time table? Worrying to see if too many hours of the day is used for clubs! @MrsSeeGreen or any other year 3/4/5 parents at HCH!

My children are not in Year 7 so I cannot comment - but the rest of the school from my experience in both lower and upper years seem very happy with the stability and direction.

I understand from the parent community, that year 7 has a very strange intake, a legacy from the last Head - who took anyone.

The new Principal became full time from January - so I don’t doubt that she will soon have control over year 7 if there are any issues.

There are significant issues in Y7 plus this was first class year group they increased to 2 form entry. The survey was created out of frustration by a group of y7 parents for y7 parents only and was filled out by 23 of 26 parents. So a fairly high return.

As I say it may well be a Y7 anomaly but there are still major issues and a teaching staff not qualified to deal with an almost 80% makeup or SEN children in Y7 which is not what the school is sold as. It is not a selective school at all despite the pretence that it is.

Y7 disruption is high, significant behaviour issues and a huge turnover of staff. Teaching hours were significantly reduced in September to make way for a much longer lunch and a poor array of clubs (that are an additional cost) to fill that time.

I can only say what we have experienced in this year group and it’s not a pathetic group of parents looking for an excuse to leave - it’s a genuine attempt to make things better.

@PitParent if you are a year 7 parent I think it’s weird that parents would conduct their own survey- who moderated the questions? Who ensured they weren’t leading? What if only a minority answered? My understanding from the Friends of HCH is that Kate sends whole school parent questionnaires every half term as does ISI when they inspect?
I would have liked to have been invited to give my views as a parent if other parents had taken it upon themselves to “represent” our voice.

It was conducted by y7 parents only and not by the school. Was submitted to Kate and poorly received. Y7 may well be an anomaly but there are significant issues that aren’t being addressed.

@PitParent When was that survey conducted please? And were the findings shared with the Kate? I am interested to know what her response to this has been and hence her leadership style being new to the school.

@Springhassprung123 @MrsSeeGreen @WinterFoxes @KindergartenKop @PitParent I can not thank you all enough for all yoru opinions and insights. We hope to meet with the headmistress and look around again to get a second feel for it. I saw that there preformed the production three nights in a row. May I ask what the play was ? And do the younger years get involved and play significant roles too? Our DS has a love of reading, drama, history and the arts. Also does LAMDA. We didn't get to meet any of these teachers except the ART teacher. Any more insight on these teachers would be incredible. I was slowly pulling away at the idea of this school with all the Year 7 and bulling rumours that have extended to general parent population even at our school.... and we are not close and certainly would not be competition in terms of location. The current English teacher reminds us of Dead Poets Robin Williams "Oh Captain my Captain" and we are so sad Mohave to leave him... and the music teacher is uber cool and makes even assembly hymn fun and upbeat. No disrespect to Hymns but he has a flare that I have not had the chance see in other teachers yet.

Why would one year group of parents do their own weird survey?! Was this ISI/ Ofsted/ opened up to other parents? If not then it could just be a dinner party moan pretending to have credence- pathetic IMHO. Maybe parents can’t afford the fees anymore and are looking for reasons…

As a current HCH parent I never received this survey- I don’t believe this is true. Are you @PitParent a current parent at HCH? Looking at your lists I don’t think you are.
the ISI inspection was fantastic - I don’t know what motivation you have but I don’t think you know the school now.

The parents of Y7 last term.

I have a friend with dc at HCH and they are happy with it. It used to be very eccentric but that was years ago under a different head.

Hi @HappyLily I’m so pleased that @Springhassprung123 & @Mumscabs have already responded and I can only agree with them both. My children have absolutely flourished since joining HCH- in fact I spoke to the Principal (Kate- she is so warm & experienced - wonderful to see strong female leadership) just yesterday and my youngest’s latest reading assessment show that he has jumped forward more than 8 levels since September. He’s reading at home which was always so difficult before. I love the ballet, all the clubs , the performances and I’ve been made to feel so welcome by the Friends of HCH. I’ve heard from parents that the Sixth Form will be 4 times the size this September which is great news for my eldest. I’m really happy with our choice- academically rigorous but such a loving atmosphere. Hope that helps & good luck with your choice!