Mount House

[CornwallMum107]

Does anyone have any views on this school? Its been recommended to us and looks great but useful to have some input from parents. Thanks

Having just read Propatria's posts dating back to February, I feel extremely saddened by the many caustic and unfounded remarks. I also wondered where Propatria might have been educated herself, as the errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar are not good advertisements for any educational establishment.

Does this thread have the most ever first time posters?,hilarious and of course all genuine...

Yes I am pretty much a first time user and yes I am proud parent from MH going forward with the merger!!! And very much genuine .... Really Propatria is that all you can muster.. The reason I find myself on here is because of the playground chatter about your very unpleasant nature on here and at school. Parents negative manner is reflected very often in the Children, your world must be a very unhappy one.. Let's hope it doesn't rub off.

Yes there really are genuine first time posters! My first ever post was on 10th June. DS had been to an OK dinner; all talking about the merger, mumsnet threads and Propatria and her constant vitriol and he told me. I was curious and I read them all. I really didn't like either my DS or me being sneered at because I had chosen to send him to KC. Finally I cracked and posted. Because I continue to be amazed at the content of her posts I have looked at both school's websites and the Charity Commission site as advised (!) and my DS is forwarding on any info he gets including the infamous emails! If MH was merging with that other school in Tavistock I could understand the attitude of Propatria but KC has always been an expensive fee paying school and some of her friends and neighbours may have children there now! It's almost too late to fuss - my spies tell me the MH governors have voted to merge. Oh and the OK's do not like the name change! (FYI 6th post!)

It seems that the viscous cat has bittern her tongue !

Maybe now that it's all signed and sealed that we can all move forward to what we all hope is a school that can bring Positive values to children without down casting others.

Devon river,mmm,let me think what that could be a reference to....congrats to kelly marketing,a real variety of names.
The legal merger had been a given for ages,what doesnt change is the fact that 80/90% of MH parents have no intention of sending offspring to kelly senior,however they are keeping an eye on any drop in standards as are other preps,hence the full page advert in saturdays WMN,which I gather has already attracted several parents to arrange a look around KH
Fear not,this viscous cat has not bittern her tongue...

Alas you have me wrong and nothing todo with KC but more to Former MH , I think most people read your comments with humour and wonder that such nonsense could be produced from one person.

If your predictions are right then the KC prep moving on to the old site will be pleased at finding such an empty space!

I take my hat off to parents who will drive to Taunton daily.

80/90 % if you are so correct then there should be a mass flood of parents leaving next week.

Last point is that a school on its knees is only a reflection on its staff and headmaster , there can only be one result in September and that is up !

Well said Andycrighton ..too much time has been taken up with one small minded individual who has no place in what will become a strong school moving forward. Good Luck to the new Mount Kelly..I would post the new motto but think we are still waiting for it!

Best wishes to all those paresnts who have DC at Mount House/ Mount Kelly. I do not have DC at either, but I live in the area and I know most of the schools between Truro and Exeter, one way or another, either working in them,sending DC to them, knowing colleagues who have or still work in them etc.

Might I just say here that I am pleased that propatria has been seen here for what she is. She has made some stinging attacks on other quite respectable schools who did not deserve her attention ( and living in Truro, somewhere not in Truro, on the A30 and within distance of MH it seems - she seems to change location a lot) and she claims great knowledge of schools far and wide, which I is not knowledge at all but just a list of gossip and old snake bite tales.

Too many schools have had the "propatria" treatment. Maybe now posters will take her scathing attacks with a pinch of salt?

Thanks Jeanette, really helpful. It is always nice to get feedback from a parent that has used the service! Few years ahead for us yet, but we would consider boarding if it is the right environment.
Don't envy the team working over the summer to get the school ready for September!! Look forward to meeting you all soon x

I bring all recent events in to context , in September there is a new school , however this new school is and has the values of Kelly and no other.

Be careful to rely on the past as of September, it will improve and if not before many things will change , at the new site there will be more in keeping with the current values , traditions and standards at Kelly.

Dear devonriver, to bring things into context would be to express concern that having been promised joint headship- bringing the best of both schools -we now find that the promises meant nothing and that both Kelly and mount house head have to tussle for a single headship. I'm just very disappointed that the stability of joint headship wasn't a least carried through until the 1st year review. The timing of such announcement ( one week before the end of term) was not at all helpful. May I ask what are the current ' values' , traditions and standards of kelly that you talk of? In what way would the values and traditions be different from mh? I was lead to believe that long serving staff (about to retire), from Both schools, had made a list of traditions that would be carried forward to the new school. I was led to believe that the new school would follow the common entrance standard. What other things are people aware of?

Jeanette we have suspected for a while that this was the case. The protesting MH parents were being blamed for the delayed announcement. We had a Farewell to old KCPS site on Friday and this was a major topic! The buzz was that one will be Head and the other Deputy. We have been told about the MK credo and this is on all the websites - those are the values of the new foundation. Our Head who we all support has been brilliant in keeping us up to date on the merger. We have had weekly newsletters because don't forget our children are moving to a new site and we have more worries than you presently there! I hate to say this but I feel I have to - MH approached KC Foundation not the other way around and you don't seem to realise that you are now part of a school that goes up to 18.

KCPSmum it certainly true that it is possible to stay at the school until 18, but it is not compulsory and I don't know any current MH parents who are assuming that their children will automatically go to KC.

I'm sure some will send their children there if the new head does a good job, but quite a lot of them live further out, and will send their children to Exeter or the Plymouth grammars if they move at 11.

It might not be the option you have chosen, but it is important to remember that there is still a significant number of MH parents who want a good preparation for CE at 13. MH's problem was that that number has declined in recent years, but if MK does not guarantee to offer CE then those parents won't necessarily just opt for KC, there is a risk that they will leave the school.

MH had an extremely good reputation as a prep school and, as has been mentioned above, there isn't much in the way of competition in the region. It would be unwise for MK to waste that and to forgo a whole chunk of potential future pupils too.

Sorry Indrid of course you don't have to send your kids to the senior school. Not all year 6s go to what will be Mount Kelly College now. But we have been told that the foundation will offer CE in Forms 1 and 2 of MKC as well as years 7 and 8 of MKPS!
The chairman of KC governors told us this and all the KCPS teachers agree! The new head of MKC is coming from Rugby School and we have been told that there are 2 new deputy heads from Marlborough and Christ's Hospital. When they told us about Kelly 2018 they promised us improved academic standards and it looks like they mean it!

I think it is the offering of CE at both venues that has made the MH contingent uneasy. It seems to make the most sense for one group of children to move to KC (or elsewhere) at 11 and for the CE children to all stay on at MH. But that is obviously a MH point of view and I do understand that there may be KC parents still in the mix who don't want that. Maybe they will be able to streamline that in a couple of years once everyone knows what it is they have signed up to.

I did go to the MH party on Saturday and the overwhelming feeling was of wanting to contribute positively to make the project a success. There was some talk of the 'rebel' parents group but they seemed to be regarded as misguided dreamers who were clutching at straws rather than people deliberately trying to cause harm. There was no mention of this thread either, which was good.

I have a friend who taught at Rugby, so I am pretty confident that the new head will be quite whizzy. I just hope all goes well with the new set up, and that the children have as wonderful time there as my son did.

Indrid,sadly its more than a risk,some parents have already told the school they will not be returning in September, and releasing this info on the friday before the end of term has upset everyone,it sadly shows that promises are not being kept and a lack of trust in anything promised by the foundation is now clear in many MH parents,kelly need to understand most parents at MH have already rejected kelly once(by sending dc to mh rather than kelly prep),they will do it again if they need to,the standards of which Devonrivers(who of course is as she claims "nothing to do with kelly") speaks have in fact been rejected by the kelly governors who realise the school has to up its academic game if it wishes to compete and survive,interestingly Im not sure where they think these new brighter pupils are going to come from and what is going to happen to those who tell us they like the "more to life than exams" ethos,the end of btecs,an actual entrance exam with a pass mark,it that what kelly parents really want?Where are these new more academic children now and why would they consider kelly ,Kelly is what it is,a small local private school(with lots of swimmers on freebies)it is not seen as an option by parents beyond the locale and that is very unlikely to change.

Narries,it really is time you stopped letting your dislike of me getting in the way of the truth,you have once again failed to back up your earlier comments or apologise,now you make silly claims on where I live,never mind Im sure you have your reasons,your support of kelly senior and description of it is fascinating,a while ago in a thread the statement was made regarding Shebbear and Kelly"They are not the kind of schools you pay for,they lack refinement" dont know if you remember that but you should do,it was posted by you..., not sure how that reconciles with your statement in this thread about kelly"its a good school,it always has been".the vicar of Bray lives...

Propatria, I guess it was inevitable that a certain number of 'discontents' would leave. It would be a mistake for the governors to assume that that will be it though, there are a lot of 'wait and sees' too.

Depending on what is in todays email regarding headship(doubtless to be issued after close of play..) those wait and sees could well become goodbyes....

Narries,it really is time you stopped letting your dislike of me getting in the way of the truth

I do not know you propatria so I cannot dislike you. I dohowever,dislike many of the rude ,abrasive and dismissive things you post about other schools.

you have once again failed to back up your earlier comments

What is there to back up?I said MH was in trouble. Now its folded and KC have taken them over ( merged is a nice way of putting that). QED.

sure you have your reasons,your support of kelly senior and description of it is fascinating,a while ago in a thread the statement was made regarding Shebbear and Kelly"They are not the kind of schools you pay for,they lack refinement"

I have said here I do not have DC in Kelly. That says enough I suppose. However, it is a good school. Lacking refinement is not the same thing as providing a good education. I do not think anyone should go around being disrespectful or rude about other schools.

Tbh , given your exacting standards as exhibited in comments on MN I am surprised MH was good enough for your DC.

narries,you know very well what comments you made,just like youve avoided backing up your geographical location nonsense.
As for your kelly comments,you think its a good school but not worth paying for,how exactly do those two go together? as for lacking refinement,pray tell us which schools in the south west do you feel have the refinement you require?
Perhaps you could change your user name to Hyacinth...
Are my standards exacting,well like you I dont think kelly or shebbear are worth paying for,but then I dont think the vast majority of private schools are worth paying for.nothing against Kelly in particular,just not worth paying for .

Really Propatria, you are just ranting now. You make no sense at all.

It would be helpful if individuals didn't get into a slanging match- please.
That said, with reference to kpcsmum it appears different parents have been told different things. We were told, written to repeatedly, there would be joint headship. Then 4 days after signing the merger everything changed. It's not that i would have minded a head and a deputy ( rather good idea) the point is we could have been informed of this prior to the merger. Such information should have been given as soon as possible. Whilst, i didn't agree with the difficulties a few mount house parents were making before the merger i don't think any parents can be blamed for both sets of governers constantly telling ex mh parents incorrect info. A rather unfortunate situation.
With regards to you thinking I didn't realise we are now in a school that goes to 18, I think you are very mistaken. I can see a huge advantage in this. I have opening supported this as a positive and I'm sure it will draw far more children providing good competition to st joes and Truro. It doesn't however mean that I will automatically send my children there until they are 18. We were told by mr snow that the mount Kelly senior school would compete for all students in the same way that all the other senior schools compete for students. I have a set of bench marks and my children have a set of desires;if mount kelly senior ticks the boxes great if not then I would like choice. It would be naive to assume mountKelly to 18 is a given for all students.
I'm perfectly happy for the school to offer CE at both venues, it doesn't make me uneasy at all. It was just that I felt if they could change their mind about the joint headship, with no notice, then anything could change -including their decision to go with CE . I'm sure the devil is in the detail as they have been doing preparation for CE in yr 6 of the old mh. I'm sure it will work it's self out.