Hampden Gurney Primary School in Westminster - any experiences mums can share?

[greenunicorn]

Hi mums,
We're looking at all the local primary schools in our area (Westminster) and Hampden Gurney seems to top the league tables.

And seems to be extremely hard to get a place at

But....I know exam results are only a small part of the school experience.
So does anyone have any first hand experience of the school?
What are the teachers like? The other students? Is it a friendly place? A caring school?
What sort of child do you think would fit in there...

Also, did anyone miss out on Hampden and find that another local primary school really met the needs of their LOs as well?

Thank you! :)

P.S. I have missed the annual open day which may have helped

We looked at it several years ago but ultimately passed (decided to move area instead). It seems like a good school, although obviously very hard to get in to. Our reservations were: (1) the headmistress seemed more focused in her comments at the open day on the school doing well (as opposed to the pupils), (2) the lack of outdoor space (although they do have somewhere to play) and (3) we weren't over-whelmed by the leavers' destinations (although part of that may have been a function of parental budgets than pupil ability). We have friends who have a child in year 1 and seem very happy with it and don't find it too intense (at this stage anyway).

In terms of other schools in the area, St George's Hanover Square seems good. We have a friend with a child at St. Mary's Bryanston Square (again year 1) - she likes it but the reservation there is the large number of kids who don't have English as a first language, which may restrict the learning experience of native English speakers.

Thanks MLP, that's really useful information about Hampden and the other local schools (and actually I was thinking the same thing about the leavers...good point about the parental budgets).
Funnily enough, we too are starting to think that a move out of central London may be on the cards :(

Sorry to come late to this party, found the thread when I was showing someone what sort of stuff there is on MN. I have two DC at HG and know loads of others. Please PM me if you want to hear about what we think - some good points, some not so good....

Hi Mummyinthedark, I tried to send you a message but it didn't work. I'm new to the forum, so maybe there is something I'm not doing right. Do you mind sharing some of opinions with me? My email address is [email protected].

Mummyinthedark, I too tried to message you, but I am not sure that you got my message. Would you mind sending me your thoughts on Hampden Gurney as well? Thanks! [email protected]

greenunicorn, I too am in the process of applying for a reception spot for next year, but made it to the open day at HG. The headmistress was not able to make it due to some emergency, but there was an informative powerpoint presentation by staff, there were some tables set up with the work of each class, and after the ppt we got a tour of the school. I actually found the presentation by the staff comforting because the teachers seemed very personable, caring, and real (unlike my visit to another school)and they actually talked about the school and kids (I went to one open day where they mainly discussed the criteria of getting in!) With the outdoor space, I was surprised at the number of outdoor areas they hadall outside, but sheltered because of the structure of their building. I was more put off by the stairs and all the floors they have! haha. They have a nice library and computer lab, etc. Facilities are nice. My only hesitation with this school is the distance from our home. :(

We are in Maida Vale and attend an Anglican church, so we are also considering St Saviours --and a new school, Ark Academy...

Would love to hear more about people's experience with any of these schools! Thanks for posting!

Hampden Gurney is a good school, it brings out good grades and thats all that really matters. Well, sort of. My daughter went there last year for 8 whole years, and the reason it gives out good grades is because they are very tough. My daughter also came out with a serious case of bullying. Most of the children had ganged up against her and were seriously teasing her. She'd come home crying. Also, she came with a lot, and i mean a lot of homework (this was in year 6) and she'd stay up all night trying to complete it. The teachers were very strict and unsensitive. She told me that they would scold you for not 'reaching your potential' and would blame others without knowing for sure what would happen, often going with probability.
Overall, i would give it a thumbs up for getting the children ready for secondary school and later life, also for grades, but a thumbs down for the rest.
The best kind of child that would go there (this next part is written in the words of my own daughter) is someone who is resilient and doesn't give up easily, also being positive and honest.

Scary.

My DS has a place to start in September 2014

Don't be scared Osmiumphazer.
My dd currently attends and has had a great experience. The school is high achieving which means as parents you can make home a more relaxed environment.
Hopefully your ds will be happy there.

Greatgoogleymoogleys

Phew!