Hill House School

[Moni5]

Hello all. I am considering Hill House for my son who is now in Year 6, and moving from another area in the city. I read other posts and it does sound like a good school. I would also like to ask if somebody can tell me what is a normal day at the school, when the school starts, how long are the subjects, how often do the kids do Maths and English during a week in year 6; when does the school end, clubs etc. Also, how does the school prepare the kids for the 11+ exams? Any other piece of information you could share will be valuable. Thanks much. Moni

Why do you not ask the school? Prospecting parents can usually get this info.

If he’s in Y6 then he’s too late for 11+ but could stay there for 13+

I used to work there but absolutely years ago

You know that the 11+ has already happened for the current year 6? If he wants to do the 13+ then he'd be doing the pre-test around now, you may be too late for that as well. You need to talk to the school and find out if they would even take him or if you'd be better starting with state and then looking for an occasional place. What type of school is he in now?

Correction: my son is in year 5, not 6, I don’t know what I was thinking :-).
I will eventually set up a tour with the school, but was looking for a view on the school before I go on the tour. Thanks to those who replied. x

If your ds is in year 5, now is a good time to start preparing him yourself. Most people start at the beginning of year 5 or from Jan year 5. But it is possible to start later if your dc retains information well. My dd started end of May in year 5 (bc we did not know we were doing 11+). Anyway, best advice I was given - sign up for atom learning and get them to do mocks so you can see where they are at, then do learning journey's and practices to bring up the scores. My dd is at a state school so they do not do any prep. We also got a tutor to make sure we were covering everything as her school is a year behind private. She passed all the exams for all the schools she applied to and now we are going through interview stage (hopping we will be successful!). Good luck.

Phew! But still you're late to move and some preps won't take in year 5 unless you've already started with 11+ preparation. but sounds like you're well on your way. TBH you're unlikely to have a large choice of schools at this stage so if you have an offer at Hill House and it's local then probably take it.

Thank you. Yes, we started prep for 11+ by doing extra work at home. i will request a visit at school and see how we like it. Thanks again

Hi @Moni5 did you get any more advice on this? I'm also considering HH for my son (currently in Yr 4) and looking for guidance and (hopefully free) resources so I can start tutoring him from September.

I am just here to tell you that Hill house school is quite dangerous. There is a hotel (Ramada encore) which is currently housing over 100 Afghans, one recently got into the school with ease and sat in the school playground and talked to some older children.

Where did that happen?

There's more than one Hill House school in England, and I think the OP is talking about the London one.

Which can't be the one near the Ramada Encore hotel, as there doesn't appear to be a hotel with that name in London at all.

But if I've missed something - when did this happen, and which of their sites was it where a stranger was able to gain access?

www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk/news/doncaster-school-increases-security-after-parents-concerns-over-asylum-seekers-in-nearby-hotel-4559035

It would appear to be a school in Doncaster.

Here it says on the same new article about this. I am just saying as my daughter in year 8 was talking about how she didn’t feel safe in that environment with the hotel.