The Hall Senior School Wimbledon - Any current parents? Shocking Ofsted report!

[Icallthemboni]

I cannot believe a school went from Outstanding to Inadequate in consecutive Ofted inspections! We were considering the school for our DD but having read the Ofsted report I am shocked. We used to have friends with children there years ago and they were very happy. Is there anyone with recent experience that can give me some perspective? Thanks a million.

There were some suspected safeguarding issues (you can google the press coverage). It’s recently been sold and is under ownership by some sort of educational consortium who I believe are aiming to quickly build up a portfolio of schools. The school was very much the vision of the previous owner so it might be worth visiting to see if you like the ethos of the new owners.

Thank you Jimjam68. I will visit them. I have tried to search for more details on this consortium, called Chatham schools, and it is very sketchy... If you do know any more, I would appreciate any info.

Headmaster was recently completely cleared of all charges and a new Ofsted was done a couple of weeks ago.

New ofsted report out. It went from outstanding to unsatisfactory and then back to good. Read into that what you will about the state of ofsted

Headmaster was cleared of all charges.

Ofsted have hopefully not ruined a school which had found its niche. I hope it can survive the vitriol.

The ‘only found out on first day of school’ is tittle tattle

Is there any truth in the rumour that it has sold the junior school to St Thomas's and the juniors will be moving to the senior school premises?

I think that's right. Thomas's schools (not St.) plans to have its new 13+ senior school on that site (behind ASDA?)

I thought it might have fallen through as no mention of it by Thomas's and there is a Hall Junior school open day at the site in September. So I thought it might have just been a rumour.

Thomas’s are taking over in 2020 and The Hall junior school moving to join the senior school in Wimbledon then, so it’ll all be on the same site.

My son has just finished Year 8 and is very happy there. The change in ownership didn't seem to have any negative impact on him. The school now feels more confident and ready for the future. A new sixth form is apparently in the pipeline.

My friends send their children to Hall school Wimbledon. They told me that many families and teachers have left since the new owners started in September 2018. They still like the school, but ended up putting their children on the waiting list for other schools because there are only 3 students left in her son's class at Hall school Wimbledon ... I was actually considering this school for my younger son, but it sounds like the school is losing too many families... regardless of the new owners 'doing better' in the eyes of Ofsted? The new owners were inspectors, according to their profile on the school website!? Does anyone know why so many children are leaving??

That wasn’t tittle tattle. In fact it was worse than turning up on the first day, they waited until we were 2 weeks into the term, fees all paid up, then sent an email saying that they’d sold the school that morning and the head, deputy head, principal and burser had all gone. It was disgraceful, and amazing that after all the support the family had got from the school community that they left everyone in the lurch like that. Many people had to stay because there was nowhere else to go at that stage, but there was an exodus at Christmas. You’re right, the school had a niche, and people chose it because of the Head who always said he was different and put the children first. Turns out that wasn’t the case, to everyone’s dismay.

Momsteriv i know this is a slightly old thread but in your opinion do you think the Hall would be worth looking at now or not?

In all honesty, no. The junior school was great, and quite unique in its approach - pigs and chickens in the city, and being right on Wimbledon common was lovely, but imo the senior school never lived up to expectations. I know it has new ownership, but honestly, like lots of others, they weren’t for us (despite saying they were an independent group, it appears they may be part of a bigger organisation in disguise, and it’s a bit out of the frying pan into the fire!) and we left. My kids now really happy elsewhere, and we honestly wish we’d taken them out at the end of the junior school.

Thanks Momsteriv i was afraid that was the case.
Such a shame as the local area really really needs an alternative to Kings.

Very true @KaliforniaDreamz. Good luck with your search.

@KaliforniaDreamz I so agree. Wimbledon in desperate need of an alternative senior school option that's not super-selective academic.

I wish someone would buy the Hall senior school, like Surbiton High or similar sort of school and turn it into a Wimbledon High for boys (obvs with no association to WHS for girls). Surbiton brand is a great brand and I'm sure a senior school over here would do so well run by them Or otherwise the likes of Donhead or Willington to buy it and stretch up to 16 and allow kids to by-pass 11+.

It would be so popular. Some schools now doing that like Fulham Prep and Thomas' Battersea or is it Balham. The demand is there...

I know people are going to have different opinions and experiences, and the school went through a tough time a couple of years ago, but I really do think the senior school is a good option for those who don't want a super selective secondary. We have always been impressed with the teachers, who give a lot of time and individual care to the students. My son has made a lot of progress and has become so much more confident. His own skills and abilities have really come through, and I don't think this would have been the case at a bigger, or more pressurised, school. I don't think Chatsworth (the owners) are part of a larger group, but they do have other schools. They are putting a lot of work into a new performing arts and sports facility at the school Pavilion, which should be a real benefit. A number of new teachers joined in September, who are all really positive and enthusiastic for the future, which is helping the school get over its past difficulties. I know I'm only speaking from my experience and I totally respect the fact that others' experiences are different. The school is evolving all the time though. Best wishes for your school search.

Thank you Backberry i am glad to hear of your good experience.

Atomic a surbiton high for boys is exactly what is needed.
A mixed ish ability secondary.

Our DD attends and I’d echo the positive comments above about the influx of enthusiastic teachers. I also love the vast majority of staff who remained after the new management took over.

Our DD is academic and certainly stretched appropriately, along with the other pupils who are also at the higher levels (by way of a minor external benchmark she was part of a maths team last year that won competitions against other schools, all of whom have the “more academic” tag).

But we like the school because the girls in her year are great, the teachers seem to “get”, like and care for the kids and she’s very happy - with a good blend of creativity, sports and academics.

(Not strong on sport due to size I should say. If your DC wants a high standard of sport, it’s not ideal)