I have 3 children at Hill House.
My impressions: Children extremely happy. By London Prep School standards very unsnob. They don't create little lord Fontleroys. Very international. A caring holistic relaxed environment where manners still matter.
Top class teachers with a light touch.
They are not a pushy hot housing sausage factory. In the early years they let the children just have a great time. They start to rev them a little more from age 9 +.
Their Common entrance results ( boys public school exams at 13) are more than OK allowing the widest possible choice. They perhaps dont get quite so many scholarships as pushy pushy schools but they do compare very well with the schools that make a big song and dance about pushing children and then just dont get the results.
The kids uniform is practical. They dont demand blazers/ capes/ caps/ boaters/hats indoor outdoor clothes and shoes and sports kits. They just have a fairly basic summer and winter outfit. This inturn saves massively on uniform costs.
The school is somewhat eccentric and quirky.
It is pushed on space but their management of the space is extraordinary. Yes on observation there do seem to be Hill House crocodile marching everywhere but it is a HUGE school 1000+ kids with tons of classes- about 12-14 children per class. One of my children adores the fact that they are always on the move, zipping to the park or the pool and on occasion having French classes in the bus- chatting away in French about what they can observe.
It might not be ideal and it is somewhat wierd- but Hill House certainly make a plus out of the negative.
It also seems somewhat obscene to say that it is not as expensive as many very ordinaire prep schools. However it IS several thousands of pounds per annum less expensive- than those schools that have expensive additional assets to maintain- which does allow for a wider potential social grouping.
If parents want to be hugely involved in the PTA/ fundraising and organising socials then this is not the school for them.
I suspect that from your querying, tenacity and interest involved in this thread that Hill House is not the school for you as a parent. Hill House doesnt look for much parental involvement feedback or input or indeed give as much or very regular feedback about how your child is doing.
I have found an Obit- (link below) of the late headmaster which does give an idea of the place- the family continue to own and run the school.
Peasoup- I hope that this helps. It is clear from Hathead's comments that there are parents who havent been happy with the school. There are so many schools in the immediate postcodes all which are different and all of which have their promotors and detractors that this is going to be inevitable.
It all comes down to the child you have and their personality. Can your child's nursery help you out or provide you with pointers as to which school think will be best for you all?
The major minus for me is that of logistics. If you have a number of children the multi venue pick up and or drop off can be too much to cope with. They stagger the times to allow for this but the stress of trying to find a parking space near to the school, and to get out with a perhaps sleeping younger child to then have to wait in a long queue to one at a time pick up the child before dashing to the next place IS horrendous. Cadogan Gardens -school is the worst for this.
Parents have moved from the school because of this.
www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/ltcol-stuart-townend-615298.html