Habs school for Girls

[youlookalotlikeme]

Hi,

Does anyone have a view on this school - positive or negative?

Considering for my DD (yes, yes, PFB before anyone asks). Have tried asking in Education, but not getting any replies.

TIA

[zillyzilly]

My dc were riding at three. Not cantering, though. Trotting very, very fast.

[NellyJob]

oh leave OP alone, she just wants the best for her bright little girl.
My son was very bright at that age, i wish i could have sent him somewhere more pushy, - now he just hangs around the house smoking, occasionally attending a tutorial centre.

[tilder]

Am glad seeker mentioned the cantering. I was a little concerned about the safety of it. Having taught young children to ride (read to sit and not fall off which is generally the limit physically at that age in walk and sitting trot although some do rising trot) was a little surprised to read that. Some children could go along with it depending on the pony but its not a great idea.

Not my business to comment on your daughter but if you are sure she will get an offer and already has offers from elsewhere I would look at how it will work on a daily basis and what the chances are she will stay the duration eg look at drop out rate.

What is your gut feeling?

[wordfactory]

Well this is very curious.

DC should not be cantering at 2/3 yars old. That is not an achievemnet is is simply the sign of a really crap riding school.

Ditto 2/3 year olds cannot play the piano. They don't have the span.

As for teaching themselves spanish at 2/3...

Anways up, Habs is absolutley not for the quiet and shy. And Berko aint remotely academic. So hey ho...

[zillyzilly]

How has two years old suddenly come into it? Nobody's talking about two-year-olds, are they?

[wordfactory]

Well she's 3.3...so unless she has garnered her skills recently she must have started at two no?

[zillyzilly]

Well, that's a bit of a leap of imagination, isn't it? To what end?

[FunnysInLaJardin]

I am smiling here and trying to imagine DS2 who is 2.9 doing any of those things. He can't speak English properly yet! Although he does excell at Cheeky Git and can climb up the kitchen cupboards at 9.30 pm to get a handful of biscuits when he is SUPPOSED TO BE IN BED. Maybe that points to a career as a mountaineer or cat burgular

[SkiBumMum]

I've no idea about Habs, but I do know that STAHS is doing its assessment days in January following applications in November (I have the piece of paper in front of me with the dates on). OP, has your daughter been given a place early? That would not appear fair!

[MrsCampbellBlack]

This thread has really cheered me up.

Am going to have serious words with my own 3 year old DD after nursery today.

And honestly - I was told that my pony mad DD shouldn't bother with proper lessons until 5 or 6 really am surprised that any stables would teach a 3 year old and especially let her canter!

[wordfactory]

Funny worry not.

My four year old boy started school unable to tie his shoelaces and had ambitions to be a tractor .

He recently began secondary school (a fair bit more selective than HABs ) on a scholarship.

[MrsCampbellBlack]

My 3 year old wants to be a dog

[wordfactory]

Then I predict a rather sparkling academic career mrscampbell

[Turniphead1]

I think debating the nuances of the OP's DD's listed achievements has kind of been done to death.

But I do agree with what Seeker says about the cantering. That might be helpful - the rest of the comments not about the school (though very amusing) are really just designed to ridicule.

You say she is "shy" - but almost like the inverse of what you consider to be her talents now - you really can't know if she is going to be "shy" longterm.

You mentioned she is shy because she wouldn't be comfortable speaking in public - well that majority of 3 year olds wouldn't. To be honest, I don't think Habs would offer her a place if she were cripplingly shy - or shy beyond the norm of their general intake. Most selective schools try and take a mixture of personalities. No teacher wants an entire class full of loud, brash kids - nor the meek and mild.

It comes down to - are you up for the whole very academic thing - quite a lot of homework earlier than most kids will have it, and exposure to competitive parenting?

Were it me - I'd probably go for it. Bottomline - if you feel its the wrong school for DD at any time you can (and should move her). But to move her FROM Berkhamstead to Habs would be a lot more difficult.

Good luck and the rest of you "Hags" - ha do you see what Ive done there - be nice!!!

[tilder]

Agree 3 is young for proper lessons. The legs on a lot of children at that age wouldn't reach below the saddle flaps and are so light they are just a passenger really. They can still enjoy it on a lead rein at sedate pace.

[EyeoftheStorm]

My good friend has a daughter at HABS. They didn't tutor and are not pushy. They just thought they'd give it a go. At almost 4 when she went to the assessment I would have described her as earnest, curious, focused and quite robust. She got in and they are happy there and so is she.

But my friend said perhaps for the children who were tutored or prepared that that is ongoing. It sounds quite pressurised to me and you would have to be confident that your child had the resilience for that competitive environment.

[ReallyTired]

I think you are being a little mean to the OP. I suppose she did set herself up for a ribbing by posting on AIBU, but even so.

Three year olds all have wonderful dreams. It would be depressing if they didn't. DD wants to help a little boy in her class with fragile X by finding a cure. If people didn't have dreams then the human race would still be in caves and we would not have invented the wheel.

What does the OP want in a school? I think the OP has to consider where she thinks her daughter would be happiest for the next seven or so years. Worry about senior school later.

Berkhamsted is coed for prep school so it would give a different experience to an all girls school. Does the OP want single sex or coed? How far is the OP prepared to travel each day. If you use a bus to get your child to school then you have less contact with the teachers.

[KellyElly]

My three year old asked if she could have an Obama toy after watching coverage of the elections - maybe she's gifted and looking towards a career in politics ;)

[PoppyAmex]

She's 3 years old and picked up a few words in Spanish from a cartoon. She does NOT speak two languages nor is she ambitious. She's 3!!

[sue52]

Completely agree about with Seeker about a 3 year old cantering. Is this your own pony or at a riding school. I can't believe anywhere reputable would allow or encourage this.

[youlookalotlikeme]

Thanks for your amazing assessment of MY daughter. Mind if I disagree?

I really can't be bothered to argue.

So here:

1. Spanish: She can count and do basic maths up to 20. She can sing nursery rhymes and all general greetings including happy birthday / Christmas etc., She can ask for food / say her name / ask basic questions.
   

1. Piano: She can do all well known nursery rhymes. She is beginning to put The Entertainer together with two hands. This is the only thing I can play with two hands. She has never had lessons.
   

1. Riding: She adores it. She has been riding since 2.5YO. 1-2 a week. The riding school are brilliant. They are fully insured for children 2YO + and SN children.
   

The only thing I worry about is she is (late) August and she is shy and a little socially awkward, as am I. I appreciate I've been laughed out of it on this thread (thankyou!) but I do worry how we would cope in a competitive environment. I'm not up for this sort of fight everyday.

Is Berkhamsted not academic? That is not what I'd understood. ANd they are only co-oed in prep,,, not later on.

[zillyzilly]

Be nice if the thread could be supportive of the OP and her daughter now that she's answered all the questions.

[winnybella]

But you said that she's pretty fluent in Spanish

[mirry2]

As a Habs parent I can tell you that for even bright children, entry into the school is not a given and the op maybe heading for a fall. At her assessment her dd may have an off day, may be unwell or may not stand out from all the others. Also for those who thing that entry to the senior school is automatc - it certainly is not, and all the girls from the junior school have to sit the same entrance exam and pass it as the girls entering at aged 11.

I never heard of any 3/4/5 year olds ever being tutored for Habs and I don't know how they could be as none of us knows what went on during the selection process.

Finally any parent who talks up her dd would get short shrift from the other parents and I have never heard my dd measure herself against the other girls in terms of academic acheivement. I don't believe that is encouraged at all although they are expected to constantly strive to improve their own performance.

[youlookalotlikeme]

For a 3YO, she can hold her own.

She could be asked what her name is, how old she is, what she would like for dinner in spanish and answer, fluently, the answers in spanish.

You could show her colours, and she will tell you them in Spanish... same with foods, animals and family members.

IMHO, that's pretty fluent.

I'm not sure you'd expect much more from a 3.3YO in their native language.