North Bridge House Senior in Hampstead

[unexpecteditem1]

Have been reading quite mixed commentary on NBH Senior (Hampstead site) - granted, most dating to a year or two ago. Any more current views on NBH?
Opinions about the (newish) Head? After school clubs? Sports? Is it worth the money?
Why choose NBH over UCL Academy?

Hi unexpecteditem, have you been to visit NBH Hampstead? It was one of the options for my ds. My dh and I went to 2 open mornings (one without & one with ds).

Definite pros and cons. One of the pro's is the new Head. We thought she was fantastic. Down to earth, engaging, passionate, approachable. We also thought the interview process was very personable - a postcard of encouragement from an existing student, an email after the interview with specific references to what had been discussed. DS was treated with respect and gratitude for his effort. Considering what I have seen on MN re other schools, I appreciate it. He is only 10, ffs.

The lack of sports facilities is a challenge. Kids go to Regents Park I think. The site just feels really small when compared to other North London schools.

It would be good to hear from existing parents here.

Sorry - didnt look at UCL so dont have any detail.

Yes, have been to Open day and was also very impressed with the way the interview and assessment were handled - everyone very nice indeed, and they went to great pains to put the kids at ease. BUT the lack of facilities as you say is a huge put-off, and I'm not sure why exactly the fees are so high and where the money is going. And whether it is worth it. Did you get an offer, and will you take it? Seems not that much choice around here for boys...

Good to hear our impressions validated by another parent!

Yes, we got an offer. Still deciding. We are on wait list for another school with fingers crossed and have another offer to consider ... so not sure yet. Hoping to make the decision this weekend or Monday latest.

Agree - if ds is not in the very top set, options are shockingly limited.

what did you think of UCL? ds goes to football training there and it seems like a good facility.

Personally I wouldn't recommend any school run by Cognita. There is a mass exodus from the pre prep this year at NBH Junior school (including us) as things got so bad there. There is a new head in place who seems ok so far, but the general feeling is that she doesn't have a huge amount of power and can't make proper financial decisions which would benefit the school/ pupils without going through a whole rigmarole with Cognita. In my opinion, adding a profit-making company into the mix just adds an extra layer of management to cream off the profits and leave less to invest in the school. Just my opinion.

Hi pieceofcake, is Cogita really out to make profit? or are they re-investing money into their other schools? things seem rather opaque about their motifs...

Their owners (including KKR, a famous US private equity fund) are absolutely 100% for profit. The wikipedia entry is interesting.

Not sure how this manifests itself day to day, though - it would be counterproductive to alienate parents (customers) - and I am not one of them, so have no comment on that.

Hi everyone, I am looking at North Bridge House senior school? seem to be mixing views, any particular opinion about the academic side of it and an overall rating of the school? My son is 13 years old, average academic and love sports... thanks....

Hi Heba, did you choose Northbridge? what did you find out? im interested, we are returning from a long time abroad and felt that it would be very nurturing given the transition ...our son would be entering Year 10, which will be hard for him, given he has been in a different education system.