Christ's Hospital, Horsham

[RnB]

Anyone have any experience of this school?

[KellyElly]

Hello :)

[happygardening]

"emotionally supporting friends does happen very intensely in boarding schools."
Again i am all too aware of this but I don't believe children should be expected to constantly support others especially when this is taking priority over other things like their own friendship groups/activities and education. My examples may not be true representation of all children's experience at CH but as the parents and children involved are all perfectly sensible I think it fair to assume that the experiences are valid. Both chose CH because they liked the broad intake neither wanted there children to spend seven years mixing with the super privileged and both would recommend it but they saw this as a downside.

[MrsSchadenfreude]

I used to work in Romania, and went to visit a school (maybe an orphanage?) where CH were helping out. I was really impressed with both the staff and the children - they were polite, friendly, patient, hard working and really engaged with the children and what they were doing. I'd have certainly considered sending my two there, based on what I saw. The staff were great too (Muir-John and Vicky, I think) and I'd happily have let them take mine half way across Europe!

[Daisy17]

Fair enough, I don't know the circumstances, but I'm surprised they were "expected" to do this at the expense of their work. By who?! But yes, it is intense and personal space is hard to find, so if that's not your bag then you won't suit boarding school. But that's any boarding school, not a fault of CH.

[happygardening]

Daisy as a mother of a full boarder and now with over 9 yrs experience of full boarding and also having worked with boarders I don't accept that the pressure to support those with difficulties is as strong at "normal boarding schools" as it is at CH. Yes personal space is at a premium and no acknowledges that full boarding wont suit everyone more than me and I really believe in it. But from talking to the two friends with DC's who were at or are at CH the level of support that they were being excepted to provide by their HM's to some of their fellow dorm mates was above and beyond any I have ever seen in another boarding school.
Children find extreme behaviour upsetting (as do many adults) by extreme I mean OCD, extreme emotional out bursts, clinging obsessively to one person etc most initially try to help and support but if it continues and they find themselves repeatedly sharing a room with a child with these kinds of behaviours becasue they are seen as a "good stable influence" then they start to become unhappy at school IMO this is not what school is about no matter how reduced the fees are.

[rabbitstew]

I wonder what proportion of students from CH go on to join the "caring professions"?

[LuisSuarezTeeth]

HarrowMom I tried to pick out the relevant bits of your post, but frankly it's ALL blatantly racist and offensive. It makes you APPEAR to be something approaching a cunt.

HTH

[Sunnywithshowers]

^^ What Luis said.

[YourMaNoBraBackOfMyCar]

HarrowMom, you absolute horror of a human being. You should be thoroughly ashamed of yourself.

[YouStayClassySanDiego]

That HarrowMom post is the only one she's ever posted .

Very odd and a thoroughly nasty piece of work.

[LowLevelWhinging]

wow. how utterly VILE HarrowMom

[KellyElly]

happygardening Not at any point in my seven years at CH did I see this happening. In the second year we we a sort of 'older friend' to a first year child in our house, that was the extent that the nurturing went. There are many schools (non bording state schools) where a mentor/counsellor programme is in place where an older child 'supports' a younger child. This certainly didn't happen at CH, in fact we had personal tutors (adult teachers) who we chose to 'counsel' us as such.

[DavidHarewoodsFloozy]

Harrowmun wtaf? .

Sounds like a great school.

[Minifingers]

My children go to an inner london primary with an 80% non-white intake. The small number of children who each year snaffle up scholarships to the very excellent and high achieving local private secondaries almost all come from very conservative and god-fearing African and West Indian families, some of whom are single mothers working in the health service as nurses or are teachers themselves in the state sector. It is these families who have their kids sat down day in day out, doing extra work after school at home, and they're doing this from reception. That's why they do well in scholarship exams, not because some private schools are being politically correct in admitting them.

[burberryqueen]

I went to see it, it looked great, and there was a right mix of students, looked like a large contingent from South London, and plenty of impoverished middle class single mums etc etc.
it is not that long since it was 100% white btw according to my aging godmother who lives in Horsham so it is a school that moves with the times at least.

[burberryqueen]

and everyone is given the same test, "harrowmom"

[Peachy]

Gosh.


My input is that we live in a vairy naice village with a Comp sought out by high earners who would otherwise be paying at a local private you will all have heard of. I decided NOT to send my eldest there (my second child does attend) and found a school based on what I perceived he needed- including strict discipline- and he has flown, now top of his class in many subjects and planning a future in a very specialist field.

This school is one most of my community would not touch; low income, ds1 is the only pupil whose parents remain married, particularly troubled estate, and all that brings with it.

And I love it; I love the discipline, the gifted Head who works so brilliantly with all children, the ways they motivate all the children and get the best out of each child.

The local comp is nice; suits ds2, but having sat in on a few classes recently it's carried by the parents and anyone less able or who hits a barrier (and any child can sadly, illness or a loss perhaps) will slip through the gaps; each school is right for each child but for sheer excellence II rate the estate one every time.
From which I would take do not judge on stats, visit and get the feeling of what is right for your child.

[Peachy]

(Only pupil in his class, can;t exactly know all of 1500 parental histories obviously!)

[Dawndonna]

propatria, I would say that I sincerely hope you are right, but actually I wouldn't like to judge your children based on your poor spelling and punctuation and weird attitude towards children from what you consider to be 'difficult backgrounds'.
May I suggest you go back and check your own posts. Sentence structure is interesting and that's just to begin.

[rabbitstew]

meow

[SauceForTheGander]

My DH was written off by many teachers as a kid. He's black and was from a poor family : standing out because of his colour and because he was on free school lunches etc. One teacher thought he was only good for the 100m. But mainly he was ignored.

Fortunately other teachers in his excellent comp took time and made efforts and told him he could go to university of he wanted. They changed his life. They believed in him so he did too.

No one has any business writing off kids because of the families they come from. You have no idea about them and all you are doing is confirming your own prejudice.

My DH is a brilliant man who has faced up to racism his entire life. I'm stunned by the hoops he has had to jump through. So depressing to see such lazy thinking on this thread.

We are a mixed, blended family. All sorts of skin colours in our household. Amazed to learn we might not be normal or happy enough for some ! Not that I give a fuck tbh.

[EliotNess]

it wasnt 100% white even in the 1970s so I think she is barking up the wrong tree

[EliotNess]

i went there and hated it. Freaking weird place IMO. Am very anti boarding.