Haslemere Prep or Amesbury?

[itsabingthing]

We're relocating, thinking of Haslemere (had been looking very seriously at Guildford but finding a house within walking distance of the station is a mare.) Any views on Haslemere Prep v Amesbury? We have two ds, 7 and 6, and one dd, 3 - trying to get ds sorted first, and while A is co-ed, HP has link (and sibling discounts!) with St Ives girls prep. Also, please reassure me that Haslemere is a great family town!

First yes haslemere is a great family town, fantastic countryside and good choice of schools activities etc (and lots of nice people too!). My boys have been or are at state primaries (all three in the town are excellent) but know and mix with kids from H Prep and Amesbury through friends and sport. If I had to choose it would be Amesbury partly because I favour co education but mainly because I find the boys from the Heights to often be cocky, arrogant and rude. Harsh, I know, and I anticipate a storm of outrage but over and over again I have seen nice 6/7 yr olds transform in the space of a couple of years and can only assume the culture of the school encourages this.

I am astonished at the posting by Tizzjacko. Since taking over as Head of Haslemere Prep in September 2008, I have consistently found the boys to be delightful, polite and unpretentious, an observation that parents at the school would strongly endorse. This year, we have regularly involved boys and girls from local primary schools in school activities. Parents of those involved have commented on how welcoming our boys have been.

I am happy to invite whoever has posted this comment to come and see for themselves, or indeed to talk to any of our parents. I would likewise encourage whoever asked the question about prep schools provision in Haslemere to come and visit the school in order to draw their own conclusion. I have many years of experience in leadership in state and private schools and regularly visit a range of schools as a schools? inspector and can genuinely say that everyone involved is fiercely proud of this gem of a school and its wonderful community.
Patrick Wenham (Head)

Reference the message from Head/PW about Haslemere Prep. We live in the Haslemere area and can say that Haslemere is a great place to live in. It has a real community feel. My son plays for a football team locally that has a majority of state school boys but a couple of the boys come from Haslemere Prep. I can only say that the boys have only ever been polite and well behaved and a credit to their school. Choosing a school is really a personal thing and you need to choose what is right for your own child. I think the ideal would be to visit all schools in the Haslemere area and see what you think. It's interesting to note that today in the news they were saying that single sex education is the best thing for both boys and girls!