Highgate School -- particularly woke or just my impression?

[TheHighgateEnquirer]

From various news stories and reading opinions on here, I am forming the impression that Highgate School is particularly woke. Is this the case? Does the school jump on the bandwagon of the latest US campus fashions (skirts for boys, stating your pronoun)?

If you have DC there, do they come home wanting to work in the fourth sector (which I don’t mind – but when everybody wants to do the same thing, you realise it’s drilled into them at school.) What sort of aspirations do your DC have and do they come from school or family?

Would love to have these impressions challenged as it's our local school and might be a good option (academics look fine -- but I want independent thinking too).

That's a great question, that is not properly reflected in previous posts.

We've been at the school for a while now, enough to see that it is very liberal in its ethos and environmentally activist. It is one of the few coeducational private schools in London, and the transgender community is made to feel welcome from the school's inclusive ethos.

This was a welcome surprise to us, given that previous posts had mentioned it was quite conservative, paternalistic, and orthodox. It might be that it was so in the past, but the current environment is a clean break from that.

It is not woke in the American sense, since the liberal values are in the end just a reflection of the student body and their parents, who are mostly white middle class professionals with liberal 21st century values. So it struggles in representing a wider multicultural environment. It is more WASP than woke from an American perspective. This is also reflected in the kids' educational and professional ambitions, which are very much about Oxbridge and then City careers.

In other ways, the school stays true to its legacy. Kids are expected to have Church attendance, especially around religious festivals (your kids will know what Michaelmas is, even if you don't particularly care for that). And sports are British heritage sports with associated gender segregation, such as Netball for girls. Uniform policy is not strict, there are never actions against socks or shoes or even sweaters, just a general comment about it.

Kids are fairly non-conformist. There is no typical Highgate kid. A liberal environment and a large student community will do that I suppose. There is such a wide choice of study, sports, music, and clubs that no two kids will experience it exactly alike.

It is a fairly nerdy school. Kids are bright and care about being perceived as such. And there is some associated pressure and anxiety related to doing well. Kids are devastated at having to go to Durham instead of Oxbridge, that is a bit of an inside joke with the students, but just goes to show that even second best for a Highgate kid is way up there. As such, it also means it's not very cliquey. Kids will relate around interests, not backgrounds. And they'll be way too busy with studies to have much time for that even, except in the context of sports and music.

Thank you for such a thoughtful and considered response, @HoverParent. You’ve given me a lot of great information. Refreshing to hear the school is not cliquey, though I think the liberal North Londoners with 21st century viewers you mention (and I probably count myself among them) are a clique of sorts:-) You only need to take a look at all the Dame Alice Owens threads around here from people who do not support private education but are happy to send their children to selective grammars outside the M25.

What I really wonder is this: does the school actively encourage difference of opinion if clear arguments are presented? Are there debating societies that encourage/respect free speech and ask pupils to question/challenge things (be it the status quo or the latest fashion in HR)? Or do they shut down debate if it could be considered offensive?

For example, you mention the school is environmentally active. Would people find it comfortable challenging any points they disagree with? I find it frustrating when children bunk off school to protest about global warming without possibly truly comprehending the wider picture. In our state primary, this initiative is widely supported by parents and 7- and 8-year-old children went on a day of protesting against climate change in Islington. I commend caring about the environment, but I dislike them missing school and not giving an iota of thought (probably because they are too young) to the many finer points that should be considered when making a case for and against.

The same applies to inclusivity. I totally support creating a welcoming school for all, but I wouldn’t want it to be manifested through the types of toilets people are suddenly forced to use or being required to specify that they are a she, a he or a they (I mention this because I have to do this where I work and I find it intrusive as I don’t think my sexual orientation has anything to do with how well I can do my job. Nor is it anybody else’s business).

I hope you see what I am getting at. More and more I am finding Petitt’s whole approach to be closer to that of a marketing/branding person than that of an inspiring teacher, and that bothers me a little.

Yes, I see what you're saying. There is definitely room for both sides of the debate. It is that kind of place. The kids are definitely argumentative, I see half of them becoming lawyers, even though they might not admit it to themselves now.

You have to understand where the school is coming from, in order to understand why it needs these types of initiatives. It has had a legacy reputation from a century of being a stuffy, conservative, boys-only, whites-only colonial boarding school type of establishment. The kind of place that would just call up Oxbridge and say, here are the top boys we're sending you this year, end of discussion, thanks very much.

Up until maybe five years ago, an assessment would have the words stuffy or conservative in them. How people can think that when it is one of the few co-ed schools is beyond me. But anyways, that was the going view. So yes, some of the initiatives are cleverly placed hot issues to garner the type of attention that will break those stereotypes. But that does not make them insincere. They are actually part of the ethos of the school. There really are transgender students walking around feeling completely at home and friends with your kids, and you will learn to respect them as such, because they earned their place just like every other kid there. There really is a ban on straws because there is too much plastic pollution in the world as there is. There really is a teacher who wears the same clothes day in and day out as a statement against overly commercial fashion fads. And yes, some kids did take the day off to go and protest at Westminster, together with some teachers, because learning about social activism is a part of education. If you didn't want to do so, nobody would force you to. But if you did, you would have teachers to support you (and make it into school work if you will). That I think is a key precept of liberalism, the freedom to do exactly what your own reasoning brings you to do. And how I did enjoy the fact that parents were scared to take their cars to school for at least a few days in the aftermath (again, with room for the inveterate few that unfailingly showed up in unMOTable cars, one obviously newly divorced dude in an old Porsche that probably costs half a house, another in an old Citroen that probably costs less than a bus ride)! So yet again, all types! Very hard to pigeon hole North London in general, simply too many different types!

As such, the school is a splendid platform. I should also mention that all these initiatives were student-led, so the school is simply attuned to its most powerful resource: its really clever students. I would say that it is pretty good preparation for university life as well, where you will have more of this anyways, so better be in the swing of things. I cannot imagine the rude awakening that a person from a gender-segregated, traditional school would get when going to uni. Better be prepared from a young age, from the same formative atmosphere. In fact, that is how best to describe it: like a mini-university. (And I am sure there are some unis that are more than a little jealous for such an extensive and well-resourced campus).

Thank you again, HoverParent. This really clarifies things. So far the co-ed aspect is the reason I was considering it to be honest. Googling the school in the news throws lots of suspicious stories -- the school banning an author from its library and scrapping public prize-giving to save pupils' feelings?! I am coming round to the idea of single sex education, in the same way I came round to the idea of a church school:-)

Interestingly, Highgate doesn't appear to offer any real scholarships (what they do offer doesn't amount to any money off the fees and cannot be awarded on the basis of the entrance exam), which seems to exclude anybody below a certain level of income. I might be wrong here, but if this is the case, the school is surely only inclusive in some ways and not others. Specifically in ways that are more suitable and convenient to its middle-class contingent.

Please tell me Highgate offers scholarships for talented kids from poor families? I think I came across a story about a school it helps out in Tottenham. Do they take any kids from there?

@TheHighgateEnquirer it doesn't have scholarships precisely in the interests of widening access - money that was previously spent on scholarships is now used by the bursary fund, and around 10% of pupils receive a bursary. The school is aiming to increase this percentage over the next few years, as well as forging stronger links with the Tottenham academy.

That is, scholarships were previously going to clever kids even if their parents could afford the fees; bursaries go only to families who couldn't otherwise afford the school.

Most schools offer scholarships of only token amounts now ;some purely titular)

If you want to look at Support for those otherwise unable to afford the fees, you need to look at the bursary scheme.

www.highgateschool.org.uk/admissions/bursaries/applying-for-a-bursary

They don't say how many pupils they can afford to support at any one time. Interesting to note that theyngive priority to families with parents who are Key Workers

They don't say how many pupils they can afford to support at any one time.

They don't, but if you have a look at the accounts they file with the Charities Commission, it states on page 10 that:

"During 2017-18, 85 Senior School pupils received means-tested fee remission, of whom 50 received 100% fee remission. In addition, 19 pupils were given grants towards the cost of school uniform and £5,000 was allocated to enable bursary holders to participate in school trips for which there is a charge....

".... Our Governors' policy continues to be to concentrate bursary awards amongst children whose parents or carers are able to pay very little or none of our fees.

"Our School invests considerable time, thought and resources in the advertising and awarding of our bursaries. In 2017- 18, there were 123 bursary applicants of whom 102 were visited at their homes, attended a meeting at our School or, in exceptional circumstances, undertook a financial assessment over the telephone...."

OP: it sounds like you are approaching your research from a rather negative stance. Like many independent schools, Highgate has decided to allocate its funds to bursaries rather than to scholarships (based on academic merit alone) as often the recipients of the latter ended up being children who could afford the fees in the first place. In order to be awarded a bursary, a child needs to perform well at the exam and meet the entrance criteria and many bursaries are for the full fees. The aim of this is to make the school as inclusive as possible. Indeed the partnership work which the school does with its sister school in Tottenham is fantastic; real links between the pupils at Sixth Form and the staff are formed. Of course, an independent school charging 20k per year is by its very nature less inclusive than other non-fee paying schools, but Highgate has tried to redress some of this imbalance. I have children at the School and am a massive fan!

Hello, thank you all for your responses. I admit I don't know enough about bursaries vs scholarships, and need lots more research in this area. It simply stood out at a glance. But I stand corrected and did not mean to direct the discussion in this area.

I titled the thread with a question I am still trying to get an answer to. Only HoverParent has attempted to address this. But even in her lovely posts I am hearing lots of indications of a school trying to be fashionably right on. The stopping of school-wide awards (a la medals for all at sports days) smacks of snowflakery. I don't think it's the school's place to teach children about social activism either unless in a historic sense. And the guy coming in, in the same clothes to protest shouldn't bring his opinions to work I don't disagree with his views but think a workplace is an inappropriate place to express them. It's simply not factual enough and too opinion-based for my liking. It's easy to influence children's ideas.

I am definitely going to take a look at the school but cannot shake the impression of a school trying so hard to appeal to the "right-thinking parent".

The Highgate Enquirer: in terms of school awards, these are still very much a thing. Annual prize giving takes place for each year group with prizes awarded to individuals based on academic and extracurricular achievement. The news report saying that Highgate had stopped giving out awards in the Telegraph was a case of lazy reporting; yes, it had stopped WHOLE school prize giving because the growing size of the school meant it made more sense to do it in sections - lower/middle/sixth form prizes on different nights.

The teacher coming in wearing the same outfit for a month wasn't just expressing her views; she was highlighting the problem of fast fashion and the need to think more sustainably when buying clothes. This led to a whole school clothes swapping event. How can this be a contentious thing or in the OP's words 'opinion based'?

The school isn't trying to be right on; it genuinely has a progressive ideology at its core. And that might not appeal to everyone - including the OP.

I see why you want to find out as it’s good to know if it’s a fit for your dc and and having a local school is great IMO. But at the end of the day, the school have around 1000 sit the exam for around 90 places so may be more whether the school thinks you are right for it, than the other way around. That whole element of selection is actually a big part of the school and it’s ethos.

@underprepared, thank you, this is the kind of information I am after. If that is the reason for changing the awards system, that makes perfect sense. It is indeed a huge school. And I was basing my comments about the teacher coming in the same clothes on the message upthread. I still think it's the wrong place to show this, but at least it's not an ongoing mission "day in, day out". Personally, I think there are more important issues to handle than sustainability of throwaway clothing (such as the human cost of making them, for example) but this is an opinion and not relevant to the conversation.

@momnamia, thank you. But in this case, I am a buyer of a service, and I want the best for my money and children. (As we all do of course.) I know the school is not short of customers (I have even come across something called explosive offers on here!) but it would still need to sell itself to me no matter how high the demand is.

What a strange thread. I am going to go with the assumption the poster genuinely is liking at schools for a child.

The school is incredibly selective and if you have to limit yourself to a reasonable geographic area there are only so many to choose from. I venture that once you get into the swing of things - testing, interviews, waiting to hear- whether the school is more of less 'woke' than any other place won't be a top three or even a top five concern. In any case - get the offer(s) and then split the hairs.

But it would be in the top 3 priorities for me because I want my DC to be free thinkers and to be armed with information to learn to make their own choices -- and not base them on the opinions of their teachers. For example, philosophy and debating are very important to me. Many schools offer a high quality academic education; Highgate is clearly one of them. But it's the added value that I am after.

Highgate is a wonderful school. It really broadens children's minds. It's not a follower of "intellectual fast fashion". Skirt for boys and the likes are simply adapting to the times, I don't think they do it for publicity.

The children debate, volunteer, are nurtured etc. There's no "fourth sector", my child wants to be either a doctor or an engineer not an "instagram developer".

What I would suggest is, get your child in first and then you see. When my child got the offer, there was a mum who asked the HM to sell the school to her (she asked, in front of everyone, why her child would be better off at Highgate rather than at another top school in the area). Mr Petitt told her to do what she deemed appropriate.

As I said, get your child in and then you can ask them to sell it to you.

Exactly what helpbuyingahouse says -and only a v small chance that you will be in a position to make a choice, so many bright kids this year didn’t even get through to the interview stage.

And just to add, there are the mega wealthy and celebrities (of course) but also lots of middle class families who make sacrifices to send their child to Highgate (I'm in the camp of the struggling to pay, but still paying because we can kind of afford it).

I'm talking about the senior school, I have no idea if the junior school is different as far as social make up is concerned.

And discipline is taken very seriously. Just recently, they've started a crackdown on uniforms.

Strange how people's impressions can vary so much. I loved Highgate in many ways and am sure that any child is lucky to go there, but I had negatives that were the opposite of yours. There were elements of it I found stuffy - the Anglicanism, the 'formal attire' in sixth form, Eton Fives.

I think it's a great option for boys, but I'm not convinced that it's entirely co-ed yet. There were elements of the sports provision that didn't sit well with me, primarily the fact that it's a proud footballing school with fantastic facilities yet it's not played by girls (when girls' football is the world's fasted growing sport). I kept asking about this and was rather dismissed with 'oh yes we let girls play football' but I couldn't find any evidence of fixtures. I wondered whether this was reflective of a deeper sense that it's still a boys' school that lets in girls.

Having said that, I'd have been very happy if dd had wanted to go there, but she strongly preferred another school.

I also agree with other posters - it's very competitive and unless there are other schools you prefer in commutable distance I'd worry about getting a place before worrying about wokeness.

I'm not sure the school you'd really like exists, OP

So Highgate it may have to be, IF - as many others have said - they'll have your dc.

I'm not sure the school you'd really like exists, OP

This is the sort of post you make when your DC is 18 months or less. Sorry to sound so cynical.

I am also wondering if the OP might be American (I am.)

I think if the OP is also open to boarding school, moving etc, has no other constraints on the day to day and can prioritise schooling over all things obviously she will have more choice and may be be able to find a school on paper that looks like perfect fit. Whether it is or not is another story.

I am adding this because one of my DCs is attending a school I had been a bit 'meh' about prior and one will be in September. I had formed lots of conclusions about the mindset and approach of the schools and the community there. You can't predict what you're going to get. A lot depends on the school year mix and the teachers and so many factors you simply won't be able to pin down. My DCs experience is completely different from another child in a different house, with different interests. It's almost like they are not attending the same school.

The important things are the number of options they can choose, commute to the school/overall geographic distribution of the families, access to the activities they want to do (and what another post said up thread is really vital - these schools put a lot of things on their website, what is the reality. I am also thinking of sports.) How does it deal with bullying/general problem solving is also something to watch but a bit harder to pin down too.

Something I'd add is also if the school has a prep what is the mix of children coming up to the entry point to the senior school - if its a four or five class entry at year 7 , for example, with the vast majority of kids coming up from the prep that will have a very different atmosphere than if most of the year is starting fresh.

I can see why you're asking the question but the reality is in the UK so many other factors predominate (timing and style of exams (even the exam boards aren't that different) I don't think the schools' ability to differentiate is going to be what it might be elsewhere. My friends in the US seem to have the sort of choices/distinctions to make the OP is talking about.

Sorry @Forever. I meant the opening post. I agree with your comment.

The problem is that a selective private school (even with a few bursary kids) will have very narrow segment of society so views while liberal will be quite selective. There's lots a private co Ed schools, and they will have different ethos's, the cheaper ones will have a wider range of student backgrounds as they start to pull in families like mine as opposed to just the mega wealthy. In addition schools change so unless you are looking at the next two years I would not count on policies remaining the same, a change of head or even government policy can alter schools especially regarding bathrooms which seems to be the topic people getting upset over

Thank you again, I am grateful for all your posts.

No offence taken @ovienna – I appreciate your honesty. You are right in that I am not English (though very far from the US) and in that I have not been through the schooling system here. I came to the UK with terrible English on my own in my early teens, attended a local FE education and walked into Cambridge with no prep. At least one of my DCs has inherited my aptitude to academics and will have no problem getting into a selective school. I do not want to brag about my DCs’ achievements, let’s assume they are good enough. Highgate for us would be a backup – if we choose it.

@ovienna, do you find that the opinions you had formed before your DC started the current school were at least vaguely right or were they proved wrong and/or irrelevant? (I completely agree with your point about different circumstances creating a very different experience for each child – I have seen happen at primary.)

To me education is important enough to move for (we moved for primary; then moved primaries and are now happy). I work flexible hours and can juggle a lot, so the choice is pretty wide. Like all normal human beings, I hate the idea of a long commute, but will do this if it means my children get the education I would like them to have. So it does rather seem like getting in first and then making a decision would be the wrong way round for us. I prefer to zero in on a target and then work on a way of getting there (obviously, with sufficient acceptable backups, should things go awry.)

Discipline is important to me and this is something @helpselling singled out – thank you.

This is the article that should have inspired my post, but I hadn’t seen it at the time. It makes my point more succinctly but uses a different example to illustrate the “right-thinking” beliefs.
www.spectator.co.uk/2019/06/the-fanatical-thinking-thats-on-its-way-to-british-schools/

Careful of the Spectator. As you will know, it is a very particular mindset and with an agenda (you've seen the other end of the spectrum too.)

I think you're question is - is it safe to trust your instinct?

The school was what I expected in many ways. Other things I hadn't anticipated also became important or a noteworthy feature of the school too. I don't think it's possible to predict all of the ways this might occur and the best you can do is really trust your instinct. There will be compromises and unexpected opportunities along the way. You have to get your read around the fact that just because you're paying doesn't mean you have more 'choice' than not. This can take a while to sink in!

You're not wrong that schools can be very different in outlook. City of London Girls (I know less about the Boys) is a case in point. The part of East London I live in is, I would say, very conformist in a lot of ways. We have impenetrable grammar schools (there is a current thread on one) and they, like, some of the independent schools suffer from parents with quite fixed ideas about 'suitable' outcomes for their kids. This definitely has an impact on the atmosphere of the schools. CL Schools are very desirable too but very different in character - much more liberal, tolerant of letting their kids be anywhere in London at a particular time, independent thinkers. THe update following offers isn't what you'd necessarily expect. Also, no gaurantee of good behaviour. It's almost like - the super intelligent ones are more confident, think of the naughty things to do earlier, and have the mental and financial wherewithal to execute them!!!! Having said that I have two friends there with daughters having a seemingly similar experience (like what I just described) and another whose day to day couldn't be more different.

Good luck OP!