New Hall School - is it as good as it seems to be?

[Bansalg]

We are expats and currently looking for a reception place at an independent school. We are fairly flexible in terms of area as long as it not too far off from London (easy commute and fairly diverse with ethnic mix). Anyway, visited New Hall school today and left being very impressed. We only toured the Preparatory division. Looking at other threads, there are mixed reviews but no thread is recent as such. So wanted to invite views on experiences, local rapport, how it is evolving, etc.
Thanks in advance.

Anyone ...?

Sorry you’ve had no replies.

I know plenty about prep schools in other areas, but nothing about New Hall and its environs I’m afraid.

Thanks surpisesparday. We are not too bound on the area as long as its within a reasonable distance from London / M25. Generally looking at through schools as dont want the stress of 11+ really. Thoughts welcome !!

@Bansalg what did you decide? Also considering New Hall...

@MrsMummyBx We will be going ahead with them starting Sept. What year is your child in?

@bansalg He’s about to start reception in September at a prep school in west Essex which he’s been at for the last year for nursery, he’s v happy there but we are considering moving out to the Chelmsford environs over the next few years so that we can be in the main grammar catchment as not sure we can afford private fees x 2 for their whole school lives, but of course if they don’t get in we want to be somewhere where we can continue them in private education and will have to find a way to pay for it!! We considered Felsted which is meant to be a nice school but doesn’t seem so academic and frankly I wasn’t impressed by their leavers destinations. Do you know if New Hall release their leavers destinations? I couldn’t find the info. I was actually trying to do some research to find a really good state primary so we could come out of the private school sector altogether which would enable us to consider baby no 3 but I haven’t managed to find one. Did you consider any other schools other than New Hall? Do you live near the school?

@MrsMummyBx I do recall seeing a summary on leavers destination. It might have been inside the prospectus pack we got from them. Its inpressibe but it was not thr deciding factor for us. We liked the feel of the school and options on offer. We are starting reception too. Not local and need to move closer to the school before Sept - easy said than done given covid situation. We didnt visit Felsted as would mean some extra miles to travel eveyday. We like New hall and would be moving out of the current nursery school. So very similar to your situation.

Hi I live a few miles from the school and know people that go there and people that work there and I've heard its amazing.

Thanks @Bansalg I hope you manage to get your home situation sorted - it’s a tricky one isn’t it. My hubby is not keen to move as he works in London and works quite long hours and feels he will never see the kids by having a longer commute (we are looking at Danbury area specifically). I also work part time in London and on the days where we are both travelling, I imagine it will be tricky but so many people do it, I’m sure we would get used to it - I just long for more countryside than we have now and want to get the kids options for secondary sorted as we don’t have many decent options where we are now. Good luck with your move. Not an easy time with everything going on!
@RedSoloCup thank you, I think we really need to visit when this coronavirus situation is over and they’ve got their next open day!

Hi, interested to read these posts on New Hall School, Essex as we thought it was terrible! The school is so big that it loses the personal, nurturing aspects that many parents look for. The relationships between teachers and students are very formal and distant and students are not encouraged to progress through the ranks. Indeed, from the outset my children were put into the bottom sets which was a first as they have always been top to middle sets. The children told me that the behaviour was so poor and disrespectful in the bottom sets that it hindered their learning so I requested that their setting was looked at. I was told that it was all too difficult to change them at this stage even though the classroom teachers were saying directly to them that they were both in the wrong sets.

The whole religious aspect of the school, seems to be more of a glossy veneer if you are into that kind of thing with highly devout and somewhat strange newsletters every month from the head. Over the COVID crisis, these became panic stricken newsletters outlining just how many staff they were laying off and just how many projects they have put on hold. They seemed in an absolute tail spin!

My feeling is that this is a very expensive school that caters to the wealthy Essex types where money is important - the whole behaviour and demeanour of the students did not impress me.

Dear all

We are currently in the process of moving the the area and have placed my sons on the waiting list for New Hall with September starting in Fester for the intermediate future.

Can I ask, as it’s been a few years since this post, whether you can give me your honest opinion of the school thus far? It’s soo tricky finding the right school that will cater to your child accordingly, so any advise will be greatly welcomed.

thank you
julie

Hi
I don't have children there but live locally and have only heard good things