Holland Park School

[MN164]

Not likely we would get a place here but I was very interested in what an £80m new comprehensive intake academy with an 'elite-head' was like, compared to the many other London schools I've seen, so I went to the Open day last week.

I must say I was impressed and also happy that state schools can be of such quality, but also saddened that this isn't anything like to norm for state schools.

The one thing that rang alarm bells was just how committed the head and his senior team were. He was so committed he could be "committed". When he mentioned that his deputy only sees his twin baby daughters fleetingly at weekend because they all work so hard, I wondered if such a unbalanced work life was a bad thing.

Anyone else go and have different views or indeed actual experience with their children there?

This article written by a former teacher describes the atmosphere quite accurately I think - written a few years ago though

www.theguardian.com/education/2009/jun/11/holland-park-school-teaching-education

Thanks- I agree its a good/balanced article and still seems to accurately reflect the atmosphere I experienced on open days . The former teacher also wishes there could be a happy medium of the current and old regime but as mentioned the problem is how to achieve this with a wide mix of kids. Ironically I suspect the school will become less strict eventually due to parent pressure if its allowed to continue the new admissions policy which IMO will eventually produce a middle class school unrepresentative of the borough as a whole (like some of the local state primaries). In its first year I already know a few kids who have ended up in lower bands than expected which means that the standard of those accepting places must have risen significantly.

I have just noticed that the A*/A percentage for 2015 A levels has been revised upwards on the website from 25.9% to 39.6% (presumably after re-marks) so my previous comment about a big fall this year at HP is incorrect. AS results also suggest that next year could be the best ever for A levels.

DS is applying for Holland Park sixth form and this thread has certainly worried me!

I know it is an old thread, so any updates from the last year? Is this school still as bleak? If it is an exam factory, how have they coped with the recent changes to GCSE and A levels?

Where should DS go instead?!