Please can anyone recommend or give feedback on private schools in Hove? - Deepdene, the Fold, St Christophers, Lancing Prep, Windlesham?

[HoveToffeeCrisp]

All the Hove primary schools are oversubscribed so we are looking at private options. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Hello Mimidaisy
It's great to hear you are joining Deepdene. When does your child (or children?) start? Do get in touch if you would like any further info or want to meet up with other Deepdene parents and children during the summer.
Best wishes

I too would like to recommend Deepdene School to anyone out there looking for recommendations ! We looked at all the schools in the area and it certainly had the best academic standards plus - big plus ! - the children are really happy there. We are very happy with the choice we made as it has totally lived up to our expectations. I think a really strong point in the school is the high proportion of specialist teachers who are incredibly enthusiastic (and knowledgeable!) about what they teach and this really inspires their pupils.

Can anyone please tell me the class sizes at Deepden.

I hoped I could just remove my recommendation for Deepdene School as I have no wish to write negative things but as I can't delete my previous recommendation I must write to say briefly that the school has a new head teacher and is changing rapidly and I no longer recommend Deepdene School.

Hi archerabc - just wondered whether there are any specific points you can make to explain why you would no longer recommend Deepdene? Is the quality of education and/or care dropping, for example? Do you still have children there? Grateful for any thoughts you can share. Thanks

Hello archerabc - also wondering what are the changes to Deepdene you mentioned? Very grateful for any thoughts as we are thinking of schools now. Many thanks

Have you looked at lancing college prep school in hove? Lovely lively school and it starts at 3 at nursery and through until 13.

Sorry I meant lovely lovely school. Really pupil and family focused.

I totally disagree with archerabc , Deepdene is a better school with the new headteacher, she has brought lots of new and exciting options to Deepdene, but still with its traditional feel. I would highly recommend Deepdene to any prospective parents

I can understand why people might not want their recommendations for Deepdene School to remain available on the Internet because it has changed a lot under the new headteacher and Ofsted now rates Deepdene School as Inadequate
It states
"The effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate.
Quality of teaching , learning and assessment requires improvement.
Personal development, behaviour and welfare requires improvement.
Outcomes for pupils requires improvement.

Early years provision requires improvement."
Here is the full report

reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/files/2521529/urn/114641.pdf

I will say it again, Deepdene has changed for the better. The Ofsted report is totally not true and if u take time to read it properly totally contradicts itself. Go and visit Deepdene and meet the new headteacher, make your own mind up, she is amazing, and the school's academic results are truly outstanding. My children are extremely happy there and are achieving amazingly. I don't know why gardener321 would need to put their recent message on here, unless they have a grudge to bear!

It's really interesting to read your comments gardener123 as I was almost completely put off by the recent Ofsted, however, my husband and I are both in education ourselves and decided to take a chance and visit Deepdene anyway. We loved the School and have actually registered our little girl for the Reception Class 2017. The Ofsted is not a true reflection of the School .... you do need to visit.

I understand that emotions are running high at Deepdene at this very difficult time for the school. Hopefully, with the support they are receiving from Ofsted, the school will begin to make the improvements required in all aspects of the school, including management, teaching, behaviour and safeguarding. Obviously I respect your personal decision but I cannot believe that many parents will choose an 'inadequate' school when there are so many schools in the area rated 'good' or 'outstanding'. I know the new head teacher has children at the Deepdene and so do many of her friends, some of whom have now become teachers there. I am sure they will be happy to come on Mumsnet and say the school is great but it is a fact that lots of parents are removing their children from Deepdene School because they are not happy with how the school has changed.

Gosh, gardener321 for someone whose children left the school a few years ago you certainly seem to follow the progress of Deepdene very closely! I wonder if perhaps originally you were personally involved as a member of staff there, as I note that you are Oxbridge educated. I did indeed meet some staff children during my tour and was impressed by their behaviour and also reassured that they attended Deepdene and not a competitor. You are right, it is interesting that parents would choose to put their children in a school deemed 'inadequate' by Ofsted but I know of some parents who send their daughters to The Towers (a less known independent school, just outside Brighton) where numbers are low and years 1 and 2, I believe, are taught as one class, which is not ideal, but still these friends of mine are happy to pay for this. Everyone has different expectations of what they would like for their children.

Yes I do know that the Headteacher has two delightful children at the school and I don’t know if you are aware but the previous Headteacher had her two grandchildren there and employed her daughter as a member of staff. You obviously do have a grudge to bear by the sound of it, this sounds like its getting personal with you gardner321. All I can say in response is that Osted have come under a lot of criticism with the press recently and I guess that not everybody takes Ofsted’s word as gospel, and even more so as time goes on .... The proof is at Deepdene where my children continue to thrive and achieve, and many people obviously believe that change is a good thing. Both my children are showing lots of talent in art and the Art Teacher is absolutely amazing, she encourages them both in every aspect of art. The art that is displayed around the school shows how good she is and is always commented on when prospective parents visit.

Everyone makes their own decisions about schools based on what they personally are looking for. I think most parents would agree that Ofsted inspection reports are helpful if you are looking for a school just for younger children. If you are looking for a school which also has a senior department then I think it's good to look as well at GCSE comparison charts. The Daily Telegraph has just published a GCSE league table showing the results of most of the independent schools in Sussex. The top three places went to Brighton College, The Towers Convent School and Brighton and Hove High School. Their pupils all had brilliant average point scores. Shoreham College wasn't far behind and their pupils had higher average scores than Lancing, Roedean or Hurstpierpoint. Shoreham College is a co-ed school with a great atmosphere and fantastic facilities. They treat all children as individuals and help them to succeed and I really recommend it.

Further to my previous comment about Deepdene - just wanted to flag up that I have received an invitation to an Open Day this Saturday, 14th May - 10 am - 12 midday - apparently they have a bouncy castle and face painting and parents will have the opportunity to look around the nursery and the school - it sounds like it could be fun!

Hey Brighton parents! I've just stumbled upon this thread and not sure if this is still relevant because it seems quite old! But my little boy has just started at Deepdene and I honestly couldn't recommend it enough :) according to a recent Ofsted visit "year 6 pupils at Deepdene perform at a considerably higher level than pupils of the same age in other schools" - can't argue with that! Hope this helps if anyone is still interested! Xx