Tiffin versus Hampton

Even if Labour puts some tax on that would be minimal. Not significant enough to impact the parents. If the school places will be much more expensive so there will be demand for the states schools places. Taking tax from private schools to build more state schools may not be the best economy.

I am fairly well informed about the university system, FE and HE in general as it's my area of work. So I am aware of all the cuts etc. We will see what happens with the next government but I would like to take a more optimistic view. There will be more places available to state children if the inequalities continue. Whether people continue to want to go to university is another issue.

I doubt they will. It's all nonsense. Not informed about labour but very informed about the education system and funding under labour and Tory. All spin, all profess to be giving extra money to schools- we NEVER see it and infact we are all having cuts!!!!

@lolo99 you seem very well informed about what Labour are going to do, are you in the shadow cabinet? 🙄If you're right - top universities will give even more places to state school educated children as a consequence due to the inequality...and rightly so.

This is exactly true. No extra money is going to state schools, it's just another spin to get people to vote labour (through envy) and it will never happen. That money will, like all the other 'extra funds' will line the pockets of whoever. What will happen and has already started is that private schools will cut their bursaries- some have already. It will make the system even more elitist, not less so. People really need to open their eyes and use their brain. State school funding- Tiffin is also a state school- will not be getting better. It means resources, buildings and services will be cut. Not pretty.

I have a boy at Hampton, so am biased. DS2 to follow…
the quality of teaching is strong, class sizes good and when there was an incident of unpleasant words, I was surprised how efficiently and fast it was dealt with.
DS is shy, and the only boy. From his primary. Hampton tutors put his arms around him and he settled in well.
the ethos is a lot more relaxed and supportive- but getting good results- arts is amazing and there are plenty of sporty and non sporty kids.
I cannot compare to Tiffin. But if money is no object, go for Hampton.
STEM teaching is superb…

My much younger cousins went to hampton (recently graduated from uni) and they were very happy there. What impressed me most wast not the academic education - which was excellent - but the fact that they and their friends are such charming, confident and kind people, which speaks to the ethos of the school as well as they values of the families that send their kids there.

We had the same dilemma as you OP and chose Hampton. My son is in his second year and it has been a great choice for him. He is not sporty and has found extracurricular activities that he enjoys in the lunchtime clubs. He has a lovely group of friends, the teachers seem excellent to me we had our most recent parent's evening yesterday, the school is kind and nurturing.

I felt that he'd be lost in the crowd at Tiffin and also felt nervous that we'd never actually been inside the school (no on-site open day in 2022 due to Covid restrictions). The class sizes will be bigger and they will be subject to the same budget constraints as other state schools.

Go with your gut feeling, you know your son better than anyone.

@12345change hmm I must admit I have not thought about this way. If it hurt anybody- apologies. For that very reason and opportunity to hear some of his second language, I am sending my half-Polish, half-British son to the Catholic school.

It’s the suggesting certain ethnic groups would feel more “at home” in a particular school that is boardline racist and offensive..

@bferkoff , you have already committed to pay the Hampton Autumn term fees and you are no doubt planning when to buy the uniform. If finance isn't an issue then take the Hampton place, it's a really great school with all sorts of personalities and so many opportunities if your ds is into music or sport as well as all the lunchtime clubs. The funding of state schools is not going to improve despite a future change of govt.

:))) You have a good sense of humor @bferkoff
I believe the issue isn't necessarily about the politics of skin pigmentation, but perhaps more about a shared second language. For instance, it's quite common for Catholic schools to offer GCSE preparation courses in Polish and Portuguese. This is simply because there's a significant number of students studying these languages at GCSE level, prompting these schools to provide preparatory courses for them.

The state school does publish a student breakdown by ethnicity group, but I don’t think private schools publish this.

Information is available in the link below under the school underlying data.

https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/628f39518fa8f5039a1bd625/Ethnicity_Schools_Note.pdf

Interesting study

why would it offend? That there are not as many e.g. Sri Lankans second generation, Polish or English? Do you mean that it may be offending to e.g. Romanians that their kids are not adequately represented? The Tiffin admission process is fundamentally fair, solely based on exam performance. Nothing else matters. South Asian families demonstrate strong ambition, diligently preparing their children for these exams from an early age. Just look at the doctors who studied in UK. This topic has been discussed extensively here before and many has observed it. Go to Open Day and observe the composition of the cohort firsthand. Btw, Chinese kids are also strongly represented there- Hong Kong

How do you know this? I don’t believe schools publish the details of students like this? Also I know you don’t mean any offence here but your comment could cause some.

Also, @bferkoff, if your child is of Indian origin, they may feel at home at Tiffin, as most of the kids there are Indian. I'm not exaggerating; it's a hard-working ethnic group, very ambitious when it comes to education, and the dominant ethnic group at Tiffin is Indian.
He will also meet many bright Indian boys at Hampton, but since it is private, they are seeking a more balanced cohort. I wouldn't say any ethnic group is dominant there; it's more of a mix.

Hampton is wonderful- so many opportunities, fabulous teachers, pastoral and resources. Tiffin is a state school, same funding issues. If you can afford the fees stick with Hampton 100%

@12345change only one of them is a teacher. The rest of them are in operational roles. Interestingly, I have met through work a Hampton Boys graduate, an older gentleman. He was one of the last years when the school wasn't a public school but a state grammar. I was very surprised - how interesting!

It’s interesting and I don’t envy the op’s decision at all. One thing I would say is the teachers rarely criticise establishments they currently work at publicly..obviously some do but it’s more common that they are supportive while they work there.

And for what it’s worth I agree that Tiffin girls is much better than the boys and the boys school needs to and should improve especially in the light of Ofsted report.. it will be interesting to watch what happens when it is Ofsted again - as they are doing the rounds in Kingston/ Richmond at the moment with Greycourt secondary school and TKA both being inspected in the last four months..

@12345change
Having known someone in Tiffin girls school the the pastoral care is not that great. It’s very competitive and unfortunately lots of girls with MH concerns who feel unsupported by the school.

I know that, but it is still a much better school than Tiffin Boys in many aspects. Superselective state schools are for strong resilient kids and unfortunately, they don't do interview and admission is only based on academic results - test.

I live on the street that touches Hanworth Road where Hampton boys and LEH are located. 4 ( yes, four!) of my neighbours work there, one as a teacher. They speak very highly about the school. And I also know 2 people working at LEH and two recent graduates and here the opinions are maybe not negative but not as enthusiastic as about Hampton Boys.

Is your boy really sporty? That might help sway your decision. My dd went from state school where they don't do much sports to thriving at her secondary and loving all the sports they have to offer (she also does the sports out of school, but loves that she can do it in school as well with friends).