GEMS Hampshire School

[GG22314]

Good Day! Does anyone here have any insights on GEMS Hampshire School in Kensington&Chelsea? It is on our shortlist of schools and we would love to get feedback from parents who have had experience with it. Thanks in advance!

All private preps in London are full of "foreigners" because that is the demographic of most Londoners who can afford private schools. One of my dc is at a very prestigious and well-known prep and in her class I'd guess she's one of 3/20 with two British parents. That's just the way it is.

Also, saying you need a particular accent to get into a secondary school is nonsense. GOOD schools are looking for academic potential and nothing else.

I didn't find the foreign mix an issue at all but I recommend against this school. I'm just switching my daughter out. Chaotic, unpleasant admin constantly out to make an extra £1k off the parents. Both smart and more average kids seem to have problems. None of us were very pleased when we found out they were plunking our kids in front of Justin Bieber videos during the school day to keep the kids under control. Some lovely other families at the school though so it's a shame they couldn't sort out this school after the management problems.

Hmm GEMS stands for global education management systems, and that's what they do treat schools as a business. They are initially from India, then Middle East and now UK.
Have a google of Sunny Varkey and Dino Varkey. Money given back to free schools in India. Lots of schmoozing with the likes of Tony B liar and Bill Clinton. Some teachers not happy no pay rises for a number of years. Very corporate on occasion. Sly things like invoicing for the whole year ahead.
Lots of school across the financial spectrum, certainly in the middle east.
No idea about the UK schools at all.
Having said all that I am very happy with the GEMS school my DC attends outside the UK. but i'm not sure for how much longer I would be

My children are at a Gems school ( not the one in the op) and we like it as the quality of teaching is good, but it is a fair bit cheaper than "traditional preps", which charge double.

We call it "state school plus" , it is a prep without the old money old boys network stuff ( which for many means they would not consider it).

Kids are happy and doing well, expectations of pupils are high, which I like.

This 2005 Guardian interview mentions the management problems at its Milton Keynes school some years ago. It had four headteachers leave within a year and the bad publicity forced GEMS to pull out of an academy sponsorship agreement. The school was recently rebranded with a new name. See GCSE results.

There has been a few UK chief executives since 2009. In 2010 the ex-chair of Ofsted quit after 7 weeks.

The best decision I have made for my children was to pull them out of GEMS Hampshire School.

I do agree with Andrea99 and I do recommend against this school too. It is a rip off as short trips had to be paid by the children although stated on the website to be included in the tuition fees. The school is only nominated non-denominational but the fact is that christian theological themes lay behind all religious educational lessons. The administration has been changed recently but the problems are still very strongly active. Chaos is every where and parents' concerns are not answered or dealt with, sometimes forgotten. unfortunately, some teachers in Gems Hampshire are not at a standard of a private school and some do not approach the parents in a polite way. It is a little better than any state school in London. Children's school clothes and items sometimes disappear and never show up again and we have had this problem more than once. Children from Gems Hampshire do not feed into top secondary schools like Westminister and St Paul due to the standard of education that is not high enough. I would prefer any good state school to Gems Hampshire.

"the fact is that christian theological themes lay behind all religious educational lessons." Not true at all. I taught RE at this school for a short time.

My elder son has been at Gems Hampshire school for 4 years and my younger son for 2 years, since age of 3, and I have never felt a christian influence, just the opposite! The teachers focus on every celebration, every religious or non-religious event, from the point of view of tradition and reflect the importance of different cultures, usually through arts and crafts.

Compared to a few other Chelsea private schools, the yearly tuition for GEMS Hampshire is more reasonable, as far as I am aware through friends' kids in other schools.

With the arrival of Mr. Brennan, the knowledgable, experienced and the well-connected headmaster (previously at Hill House), many things have improved, especially the educational standards and the top-school feeds and guidance for the parents.

There are a few transient students since the parents move in and out of London every 2-3 years due to work. I hear that the school is working on minimising such transition, which is the only aspect that i feel needs improvement. I am actually very happy to have many different nationalities in the school, for a global vision for my kids. I wish there were more British families, though.

It was upsetting to read a lot of negative reviews about GHS since in our 4 years, we have been extremely content with Little Gems School, the curriculum, the interaction and involvement of parents with the school, as well as the professional attitude of the staff, and all the extracurricular activities and clubs.

I actually would very much recommend it to parents and my friends, and i happily have been .

I am thinking of sending my kids to Hampshire (the prep school) - does anyone have any experience with it? Is it academic? How are the teachers?

Hello Mummies, just to give you a heads up regarding my personal experience with GEMS School/The Hampshire School of Chelsea.
My son has been at the school for three and a half years since Nursery
It has been an amazing experience for our child and our family.
We really appreciate the holistic approach of the school; everything is important from academics, sports, art and much more. The children can blossom in all areas which helps them learn and progress whilst enhancing their emotional intelligence.
There is very good communication between the families and the school, the continuity and the links are excellent. The teachers are fair but firm and they have a great balance.
As the learning is differentiated it helps every child to succeed and make good progress. I know that my child has a strong feeling that he belongs in the school, and he has solid friendships.
The teachers are very approachable, available and open to suggestions.
I definitily highly recommend it!