Hurtwood House: Recent experiences

[Marushaa]

Hi all! Would love to hear from parents/students going to Hurtwood House. DD got a place. She's creative, but also good at foreign languages and history. The facilities weren't too impressive, but the food and promised investment in the quality of teachers sounded positive. I also liked the encouragement to stay on top of academics before doing extracurriculars.Right now, I'm on the fence and need some help. Any feedback would be great.

I heard anything from 'amazing school' to druggie privileged crowd :)

I am years out of date, but historically it was very much the domain of dim rich kids. Sometimes those who had been asked to leave their previous private schools because they wouldn’t manage A -levels, or for other reasons…

Don’t know if that is still the case!

Thank you! how out of date is it? What year are we talking?

20 😂

Sorry, I hope someone with more up to date info comes along soon.

Ok I am back having reached out to someone I know who is in the know and works locally.

Reputation recently very much on the up. Popular still with arty and theatre types, lots of international students too. Nice vibe about the place. The Head also got the thumbs up.

Hope that’s helpful!

Thank you so much! This is very helpful.

Hi Marushaa,
DD is considering HH; was wondering if your daughter ended up going there and what your experience has been,
Aaron

Hi, we went back for another visit and spoken to teachers of history and drama and they were very inspiring. The facilities leave much to be desired. There’s no library and kids study in a semi-permanent tent structure. Many do not mind it though. Some facilities are not maintained well. As my daughter is due to start in September we still do not have in person experience. So my conclusion was that Hurtwood is an excellent place if your child wants to pursue stage, acting because of the connections and teachers. I would say it is more of a theatre and arts college. We have chosen a broader school in the end as my DD is leaning towards a non-stage path.

To add: it is purely sixth form college and I suspect they expect a more mature behaviour from students and treat them more like adults. My DD needs more nurturing and I chose a place where they still look out for signs of discomfort as they have younger kids as well.

Hi. Do you mind me asking where you ended up sending your DD in the end. I am in the middle of looking at 6th form college for DD to opt out of IB at her school. Thanks.

Hi just to add I’m a current mum at Hurtwood House and can’t speak more highly about it …yes they are streaks ahead of any other school if your child likes performing arts (mines doing this as main a levels but even just as extra curricular shows its pretty insane) but the academic subjects are super strong - I’d also say we get weekly assessment results so your child can not slip - which for me I love..English maths and economics are especially strong subjects (they’ve just released the unis where yr 2 kids have got into and it’s impressive English at Oxford etc) and if you want somewhere that prepares them for the next step this is the place. Because it’s only sixth form they are nurtured but also really pushed to start being independent getting them ready for uni- I feel the independence of uni without the preparation of hurtwood (especially because it’s a boarding school) can otherwise be a huge daunting leap- hope this is helpful.

Hi, had to change my handle, have troubles logging in. We chose Bedales in the end.