Box Hill School 2018

[Surreybetamum]

Hi there. Does anyone have an insight on Box Hill School? Thank you.

Nice little school, good pastoral care, smaller class sizes/good staff to student ratio. New sports facilities going in but pool is old.

It is known as being less academic but a great school for the right kids.

Mixed reviews. definitely not academic with some bad results. had some problems recently with bullying and (alleged) self harming.

Can't give you any first hand experience yet, but we have accepted a place this coming September for our son. I'm quite excited as we had such a good feeling looking around the school, speaking to present pupils and teachers. It's small (currently in a big straight through school in Asia with 200 in each year group) which will suit him really well and i love the schools philosophy of developing the whole child. On the other hand, this school would not suit my eldest so you really need to go and get a feel for it yourself. Hopefully I will only have good things to say this time next year. All schools have bullying issues, bullying children come from all walks of life. It's all about how the school deals with it...

All senior schools have bullying and self harm issues, they are teenagers. I was going to look round for my DS but saw huge number of teacher vacancies and that's a really poor sign so I'm unlikely to bother unless the head of the prep advises me to.

Huge number of vacancies? Where do you find that information - I could only see a couple when i searched....
Anyway surreybetamum, there's not much on mumsnet about Box Hill and i'm beginning to think that's a good thing. You need to go and see it yourself and see if you can hunt around your friends to see if they know anyone. I've never lived in Surrey but know loads of people who have and heard nothing negative. It all depends on what you're looking for i guess.

There are quite a few vacancies - most (if not all) of the long serving teachers have left/leaving. We felt our DS was not being stretched and we were concerned with discipline - we removed him this year, as did some others. The pluses are its small, international, with a strong IB focus. Depends on what youre looking for.

as a current parent I have to agree - its terrible. really bad problems with bullying which they never got hold of. I think I complained nearly 30 times about my son being horribly bullied, it only stopped when one of his friends who was also a victim of the same child tried to kill himself. The head is a dimwit. All the good staff have left. Weve had four crap chemistry teachers in two years running up to GCSE. And now my sons not been given a laptop in a GCSE despite being dyslexic, entitled to one, promised one etc. PLEASE AVOID THIS SCHOOL.

This school has gone downhill dramatically in recent years following the departure of the previous Head. Organisationally shambolic and an alarming turnover of staff. Meaningful communication with parents is very poor. The marketing department is busy though.
Significant problems with bullying, pastoral care is patchy and the current Head and leadership team are uninspiring. Go in with your eyes open if you are considering a place.

My son is due to start in September, into year 9, just wondering if anyone has any children the same age who attend or are due to? Would love to arrange and intro before school starts if anyone’s keen? We live in Oxshott x

HI @Lindsmcgeeoxshott
Our 12 years son will also join this school next year (Year 9). We are currently based in Madrid. All very exciting. However, a little bit concerned about some of the comments about bullying, big teachers staff turnover, etc.

Sorry I cant recommend. We removed DS a year ago (he had 2 scholarships at BH) and it was the best thing we ever did. He is now thriving. BH is international and good for the IB, but results are very mixed to poor. Alot of DS peer group who were on scholarships have moved on. I'd hate anyone else to have the experience we had so feel compelled to respond I'm afraid... Perhaps there are others who had a different experience, but those I know that stayed on are not staying for 6th form...

Hello! I think the school has suffered some problems the last few years but this year a whole team of new teachers have started and seem to be really on top of their game. Always available on email, lots of feedback, zero tolerance on not doing homework and quick to move pupils if in the wrong set for their ability. We are happy so far and (touch wood) no reports of bullying. I hope the school has turned itself around as it certainly looks that way! Good luck with the move from Madrid!

My son started in September and he absolutely loves it. He has a fabulous year group (currently Y8) and he was comfortable from day one. I can't yet comment on the academics, although he seems to be doing well, and he has had the same teachers since the start but i've heard this isn't true for everyone. From what i've seen so far and heard from current parents, bullying or any type of unsavoury behaviour is quickly dealt with and from walking around the school during the school day to watch sports matches i've not seen anything but camaraderie between the children. Good luck with your move.

Hi, just wondering if anyone else has any recent feedback for Box Hill - we are looking at it for current Year 8, but are really concerned about the comments regarding the staff turnover and the bullying issues..

Any information would be great, thanks .

Hi, I'm afraid I cant recommend. Friends had children who stayed on and now understand the current year 11 is in chaos.....

Hi Everyone,
Our son is joining in Year 9 and would be keen to get some more recent feedback. I understand that the school has made rapid strides over the past two years and much has changed.