Which schools are Academic Hothouses

[Nextstep123]

Which private schools would you consider are ‘hothouses’. Term is often used to deny being like this but i am wondering which schools really are ‘hot houses’ these days ?...

The ones at the top of the league tables! Full of bright competitive children and families! If you are either of these you know where to look.

Where do you think the line is drawn ? Would you call Harrow at hothouse ?

No,in fact I dont think theres very many if you define it as I do,ie Academics to the almost total exclusion of everything else..I can think of one or two but you've already said in another thread you aren't interested in one of the obvious ones..

I don't think there are any academic hothouse at all. The schools at the top of the league table, like WA or Eton and even Westminster, are very keen on extra curricular. Some of the best results are gained by students who are very focused on other, time intensive, activities like sports and music, sometimes competing at international levels. Academically, all these schools encourage learning beyond passing the test and time intensive extended research projects or other interests, like learning a new language, are encouraged during 6 form. It's simply that these schools are so super selective that A*s dont pose much of a difficulty to their pupils. I dont think that the results say much about the school, teaching, atmosphere etc, just about the selectivity upon entry.

Isn't the "hot housing" concept more a thin of primary rather than secondary school?
You can teach to pass an exam in primary to some extent, but there are a lot leas places to hide in secondary for that.

You have to separate out ‘hothousing’ that comes from parents and DCs, for example due to competitiveness, cultural reasons or perfectionism. Many London Independent or grammar schools enrich for all those —and in some cases may rely on it to compensate for lazy teaching— . DCs, their parents and by extension teachers then have to be very strong minded not to feel pressurised into it beyond what might be helpful for a lazy but bright DC.

IMO hothousing by teachers is when they focus their teaching purely on what is required to extract the maximum marks from GCSE and A level papers and overload homework principally for that aim. Sometimes that is linked to pushing DCs into subjects that get the best exam results.

Very academic schools that stretch beyond the syllabus are not hothousing when DCs are sufficiently bright, work fast and enjoy the challenge of super-curricular work. It would however be hothousing for a bright DC who would rather only do sufficient to get the best marks and spend the rest of time on other things.

No. I don’t think Harrow is a hot house. Not from DSs I have known there. Some were quite relaxed! In some schools think it’s more DC and parent driven. The need to compete. The need to be top. The fear of little failures. Obsessive researching about universities and gaining that extra edge. I’m not sure it comes from the schools.

St Swithuns in Winchester is a 100% hothouse.

@SeaGale can you elaborate? I understand it is a decent boarding school and although less popular that previous years, still very popular.