Hawkesdown House Nursery

[EugenieM]

Hi,

Has anyone enrolled their child here? I'm at sea with the UK system (am from NZ). I went to see the headmistress and she was wonderful but the nursery seemed very small - space wise - although I think (according to Good Schools Guide) its supposed to be a terrific school - which is why we're hoping to send our child there. They use the parks nearby a lot so this may help a bit.

Any thoughts would be most appreciated.

EuM.

Hi -
I visited y'day and agree with you about the head - she absolutely knows her stuff. My impression of the nursery was that it's on the extreme end of the 'structured vs unstructured' scale - single sex at 3+, boys in uniform incl. Ties, etc. I'm not by any means saying that's a bad thing, but i feel it would need to be a conscious choice. I'd love to hear views of anyone whose ds's have attended.

Hi there, yes I have a son at HAwkesdown Nursery and I can't recommend it enough. He loves it, the teachers and headmistress are simply the best, so open, communicative and the nursery teacher is a goddess. The boys simply adore her. I have to also say, the best thing about the school is that they recognise that these are boys, and boys are all the things girls are often not, and with this the headmistress knows what's important to focus on and what isn't ie. things they will probably grow out of. It's very structured which works brilliantly for my son who gets bored with free play.
My daughter has a playground in her school but to be honest, I think my son gets WAY more physical exercise, plus they have a lovely outdoor courtyard area now for the nursery where they do sand, water play etc. They go to pirate park in Hyde Park, Holland Park, they have a lovely big hall to run around for gym.
The older boys are impreccably behaved and happy.
Lastly, the other day I took my son into the toilets and an older boy, maybe 6 years old, said he was sorry but girls aren't allowed in these toilets so he took my son in and I overheard him asking him if he knew how to do it by himself or did he need his help....
Says everything...