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Original poster

Private schools in the North East

70 replies

Nyorks · 06/07/2021 16:19

Hi, I'm just after any feedback on Teesside High, Yarm School or Cundall Manor if anyone can help?
Have tours booked of each but hoping to hear from those with experience at the schools.
It would be for both pre-prep through to secondary, DS and DD Smile Thank you

OP posts:
Foxhasbigsocks · 07/07/2021 13:17

Bumping for you op

Original poster
Nyorks · 07/07/2021 14:40

Thank you @Foxhasbigsocks Smile

OP posts:
Foxhasbigsocks · 07/07/2021 17:41

Another bump of the evening crowd!

Original poster
Nyorks · 07/07/2021 17:45

@Foxhasbigsocks haha perhaps there are no Yarm or Teesside High parents on here.
We are going on a tour of TSH tomorrow so will hopefully get a good feel for the place. Always good to hear from those with personal experience though!

OP posts:
Foxhasbigsocks · 07/07/2021 18:02

I will be very interested to hear what you think of it!! In my day they had the most horrific dark brown uniform and were all girls and not very academic. I expect it’s changed HUGELY

Foxhasbigsocks · 07/07/2021 18:15

My own take is that the most important thing is to look at whether the kids look like your kids would gel with them

Original poster
Nyorks · 07/07/2021 23:44

@Foxhasbigsocks The uniform has gone at least!
You are so right about seeing how the children are. I think it will come across if they don't enjoy the school or if they are similar characters to my son.
I'm trying to go in open minded so we will see! Ill let you know how we get on Confused They have been excellent on the phone and email so far

OP posts:
Izitso · 08/07/2021 00:16

How has Red House School in Norton Village been overlooked?!!! It's an amazing place unlike any other. I'm ex staff and am SO proud to have been part off such a fully rounded, family oriented, unique establishment! The ethos remains the same as ever but was shaped massively by the management of Mr Colin Robinson. Happily, his influence still has bearing today, continued by staff who came along afterwards. You feel the school envelop you as you walk through the door! BTW this is not an advert!

Izitso · 08/07/2021 00:18

Speak to Mr Daniel Kitching to get a real feel for the place!

Foxhasbigsocks · 08/07/2021 00:28

Ooh yes Red House School @Izitso

Would it suit slightly more quirky kids?

Izitso · 08/07/2021 07:09

Without a doubt. I'm sure the other schools are excellent too but I can only speak for R.H. Good luck!

RandomMess · 08/07/2021 09:11

Where would you be travelling from, I'm just thinking of the nightmare traffic to get through Yarm 😂

Foxhasbigsocks · 08/07/2021 09:32

Yes in terms of Yarm School that would be a very significant thing to think about. I used to frequently drive through Yarm and the traffic was sometimes horrific. You may already know this op

Foxhasbigsocks · 08/07/2021 09:34

@Izitso that is really good to hear. I have quirky kids myself and I think key for avoiding bullying is to be in a school with others like them. I was nervous about bullying if I went for a school full of very “alpha” kids

Original poster
Nyorks · 08/07/2021 10:33

@Izitso I will definitely take a look! Thank you for the insight Smile It sounds great.

@RandomMess traffic is such a nightmare in Yarm isn't it Sad I'll be coming from A19 South so not through the town itself thankfully!

OP posts:
Izitso · 08/07/2021 13:35

@RandomMess Red House is more or less the first thing you'll see as you leave the A19. I've moved away now but still love passing there.

RandomMess · 08/07/2021 13:44

@Izitso I was referring specifically to TSH and Yarm as if either involved driving through Yarm for 10 years it would influence my decision and I'm sure the traffic is far worse than when Iived there!

Izitso · 08/07/2021 14:11

@RandomMess, my apologies, that was meant for @Nyorks The traffic on Yarm is still horrendous at times that's for sure!

RandomMess · 08/07/2021 14:15

No wonder I was confused 😂

Glad TSH have changed their uniform, blue and brown has to be one of the worst combinations ever!

Original poster
Nyorks · 08/07/2021 19:29

@RandomMess blue and brown is definitely an interesting combination haha

I do hate traffic. I'm hoping to take advantage of the fact the schoolbus passes our house if we were to choose THS/Yarm.

I have never seen Red House but will book on to their open day.

So we saw THS today. We only saw preprep as they were late to come out to show us around and we ran out of time...

The children were so polite, engaged in everything, clearly very bright and happy. They seemed to really respect their teachers and the work they were doing looked to be interesting.
The classrooms were good with small class sizes and good outdoor space.

We saw nursery, y1 and y2, their outside space and music room. So not a great of the school unfortunately. They did answer a lot of questions we had well and I do feel like our DS in particular would do well there.

I am very mixed about it at the moment but really need to see the other schools to be able to compare. The facilities/spaces/ICT provision we saw weren't really any better than a state primary, but that isn't obviously our main reason for the move and we didn't see the higher years' facilities.

The uniforms were very sweet. Gingham dresses, ties and shirts for the boys and little blazers with cute little hats!

We have to wait until September to see the other schools as it is the summer holidays from tomorrow. Will be revisiting THS in the hope of seeing more of the school Smile

We chose a bad time to want to view schools it seems haha

OP posts:
Foxhasbigsocks · 08/07/2021 19:35

Sounds very promising @Nyorks

Did you get a feel for whether the kids would get on with your dc?

babynameneeded · 08/07/2021 19:47

Hello OP

I've very recently moved to the area and only last week visited both red house and TSH.
I have a visit book for Yarm next week.

These are my 'findings'

TSH is my favourite. The classes are very small and it felt incredibly personal. The lady who showed me around was delightful and the children seem genuinely happy to be there. One thing that appealed to me was the lack of SATs and the idea that children should thrive in the correct environment without the pressure of exams. The only point I didn't like about it is the aesthetic look of the school. It just felt a bit bland with not a lot going for it, but I've put that aside mentally as it felt a much nicer school inside

Red house was lovely, and they have the cheapest private fees in the north east which is obviously a bonus. Nice small grounds and a separate senior school. Again, lovely small classes and I met a few teachers. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the school, I just didn't get a good 'vibe' for want of a better word in comparison to TSH.

babynameneeded · 08/07/2021 19:50

I have a feeling I am going to find Yarm to big and business like, and not personalised enough

Original poster
Nyorks · 08/07/2021 19:59

@babynameneeded thank you for commenting.
I felt the exact same to be honest. We were slightly put off they the almost hospital/military like buildings' exterior look (we are both ex forces) but tried to put that out of our minds and focus on what was happening inside.

You are totally right about the children. They looked genuinely happy to be there and enjoying learning.

@Foxhasbigsocks I didn't to be honest... I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. I feel like he might still be the odd one out kind of, but there isn't anything wrong with that if the school encourage everyone to be respectful and kind. Their anti bullying policy seemed to be well thought through. Obviously I'd hope that it would be applied equally as well...

OP posts:
babynameneeded · 08/07/2021 20:03

Yes it isn't your typical looking private school, however, I felt they'd be incredibly inclusive of any child and I stood in each classroom for around 15 minutes and they were all interacting so well with each other.

RHS was a much more personalised tour, which I thoroughly liked, however the pre prep classes can end up quite big, and part of me didn't like the fact it was on a main road with not a huge amount of space outside until they moved into the senior school