Lady manners school vs Hope Valley College, Derbyshire

This is really interesting. I attended both HVC and LMS and I'm really pleased to see that the relaxed atomsphere and relationship between the staff and pupils has continued. I absolutely loved my time at HVC, but had to attend LMS for sixth form - we were known as valley scum but not in a serious way and we integrated pretty well with the LMS lot (well i married one of them 3 years ago so as well as can be expected!). Going from HVC to Lady Manners was a bit of a culture shock and I hated in at first. Mainly because of the change in our relationship with the staff. At HVC we were on first name terms with some of the staff, drama productions were all inclusive and anyone could be involved, the school was just a fantastic community! However at LMS it was very odd having to call people sir and miss and being basically treated like a baby again! I was also really into drama (i studied it at A level and GCSE) but LMS only did musicals at the time so unless you had a good singing voice (which i don't) you couldn't get a decent part where as at HVC everyone was involved in productions. I also happen to think that (at that time) the drama department was very poor. I loved drama at HVC which is why i studied it at A level but LMS had drafted in a PE teacher to teach A level drama who i personally don't think was up to the job. I did settle in an make some good friends and my English and Sociology teachers were fantastic. But i still look back on my time at HVC with more fondness (proud to be valley scum!) I also think education wise LMS is no better than HVC (i was much more proud of my GCSE results than my A Level results.) Also i was always given the impression that LMS kids were snooty, some are but i don't think that's to do with going to LMS, but i foudn that there was more of a 'drug problem' at LMS than HVC.

Hmm, I'm seriously considering sending my son to LM. Both my dc attend a lovely feeder school to LM, and my eldest wants to go where his friends are going. I've heard good things about HV. I need to go and see both, I think.

eastwood, do you have experience of LMS and HV. Mittz, what a terrible shame that your experience was so bad there.

Oh God. Not fair of me to contribute really as I left 24 years ago.

But I had a miserable time at lady manners, I walked out of the 6th form due to bullying that had continued through from year 1 on and off and the school blamed me for not conforming. The ONLY thing I enjoyed about it was being involved in music. It had such a profound effect on me that in those past 24 yrs I have only ever agreed to even drive past the school once.

I would have moved it if it had been my DC's only school choice. I wasn't one of the select elite. I guess a lot could have changed by now but far far too much damage was done.
The HVC students that attended LMS for the 6th form were lovely as I remember but

A professional adult psychiatrist told me that they treat a higher proportion of adults for things, that passed through LMS than any other school in the area.

Lady Manners is all about show which is why they are so keen on uniform. The students are often poorly behaved, in lessons and around the school, and learning is frequently disrupted. Lady Manners is very good at keeping up appearances but their results are dropping and word is getting round that the school is not what it used to be. Go for Hope Valley - their results are better and they are not full of it!

Three of my children attended Hope Valley College where they received an excellent education before progressing on to the 6th Form at Lady Manners. My eldest grandchild currently attends Hope Valley College and is very happy there, and particularly appreciates the high level of music education offered. Sport is also excellent.

If you prefer a pushy school, much of whose teaching is geared to the more able student and has a strict uniform code, then perhaps Lady Manners is for you. If your preference is for a school that does its best to encourage ALL students to achieve their potential no matter what their ability and where individuality is valued, then perhaps Hope Valley College might be your choice.

As for progressing on to 6th Form, there are excellent courses offered in several schools and colleges on the south-west fringes of Sheffield which are in easy traveling distance of the Hope Valley.

Yes, property prices are high in the Hope Valley, but worth every penny considering the superb environment and life style it offers.

yes me too i am not slagging lady manners of i would advise any one to go to hope valley College

I am not here to be thought to be "slagging" LAdy Manners off. I am writing to advise you on what i have found with my children been at both schools throught their childhood.
However i am statinmg what i have myself found out and what my children have found on there experiences.
Therefore i am going to say how i feel about both schools .
and as i have said before we as a fmily have found out that hvc has got a hell of aLOt more to offer.

Yesss Totally HVC Is Well... The Best School In the Valley To Be Honest

Yes i tottaly agree .
so glad my children moved when they did if im honest

Hello Yes I Totally Agree i think it is incresingly droping the standerds li,ke they are not botherd i think Hope Valley is by far a better school with education to stoping bullying! x

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..

I Think Hope Valley College Is Better Than Lady Manners By a Long Shot Hope Valley College Has A Lower Drug Rate! Also My 15 Year Old Daughter Went To Lady Manners And Got Peer Pressured Into Smoking and taking DRUGS Where As Me 14 Year Old Boy Is Currentley At Hope Valley College Could Not Be Happyer He Is in a nice Non Bulling Enviroment. Also i think lady Manners Is inapropriot For Yopung People To Attend in my opinon Lady Manners Sucks!! Hope Valley College Is A very good school which is rising to an amazing standed un like lady manners!

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..

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.

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.

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!

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.

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?

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!

"dope valley kids" classic!!

It was "Valley Scum" while I was there!

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.)

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!

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.

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