Heathside Hampstead

[Robin54]

Any current parents from Heathside here? Or prospective ones considering a year 7 start? We are considering for our DC. Would love to hear how the upper school has been for those already at the school. I really like the sound of the ethos however, I am wavering as it seems tiny and although love the idea of a family atmosphere worry it may be a little too small and intense. I can see its had a wobbly time of it these past few years but now has some rave reviews from many. Any insight greatly appreciated.

We have received an 85% scholarship offer there last week, but turned it down as our DD received an offer at an excellent private secondary. While it was financially very very attractive, I was looking for a place to keep my daughter at least until GCSE and the school is only starting to offer than from September 2021. I felt I would need to see the track record and more reviews before joining the school. I will however consider it for my son in a few years as he is less academic and i think he could benefit from a smaller and more nurturing environment.

Yes I hear you, we are in a really similar position. We've also received a really great other school offer and needing to decide between the two. Was your scholarship an exploding offer, when did you tell them you weren't taking it?

Sounds like you have a great school going forward :)

Our scholarship was offered last week Thursday and we declined by Monday as the other offers came in Friday morning. It was not exploding offer and we had two weeks to accept it. We chose South Hampstead instead, which is a different league altogether.

But i have been hearing increasingly positive things about Heathside getting back on track after a few turbulent years.

It must feel like a wonderful relief to now have a school chosen and in place. I am hoping to be in the same position by the end of this week!

Hi @Robin54
I'm an existing Parent - incredibly happy with the school! Heathside is an amazing school - with a special blend of being academic but really personalized. My DD is in year 8 and is thriving. It now goes to GCSEs and has the backing of Dukes and a new building one route ! So relieved we found it!! :)
Good luck and perhaps see you next September.

Hi @Robin54
Heathside mum here.
So what can I say - it is utterly unique - a very special place. Strength based and personalized, friendly, fun and happy, academic yet nurturing and the Heath thrown in !
Teachers are really engaging and even my adolescent son (who currently doesn't enjoy anything) can not wait to return!

Dukes has pumped money in and are currently buying the secondary a new bigger building - rather than the campus site. The Head is superb and has guided the school to a position of strength.

I really couldn't recommend it enough!
Hope to see you next year :)

Can't say much about the upper school but our friends moved their DD to Y3 in September and couldn't be happier.
I think there was a few bad reports around the boarding provision which then gave it a horrible reputation. The academics were never in question though. It's lovely news really considering the plight of many great schools atm.

Thanks for all your feedback. Does anyone know where the new site is going to be?

Hi @Robin54
Will PM u.

@Robin54 hi! Wondering if you enrolled your DC at Heathside? Any feedback so far? How is it going? Thanks

Hello, wondering if anyone can share any further insight on Heathside? We are considering it for our son for Reception. School seemed like it had something special when we went to visit but concerned they haven’t filled their class sizes in some years and was wondering why that was. Also wondering what parents make of the outside facilities as the playground seemed tiny and quite narrow. How is the academic progress of the school generally?

It went through a fair few rough years which would explain some year groups being smaller. The last couple of years have had low births so that has also had an effect on reception years, especially in the non selective preps.
We have friends with kids there and they seem to love it. They go to the heath a lot, get bussed to swimming. We came to see one of the plays and it was brilliant. They really stretch the academic kids and offer a lot more support than most other independents, at no extra cost, for SEN.
I haven't go kids there but I've heard nothing but nice things about it.

Also, you might get more answers if you post in the primary section. I don't think many kids stay in the secondary bit, but I could be wrong.

Hi, my son joined Reception last year and he loves it.

Reception there is still very much play based, with I think is great at this young age. However they do focus on building their literacy and numeracy skills and it is very nice to see how much progress my son has done in the past 6 months.

The class is indeed a bit small, many kids from the previous year got placements at free Christian school. The good thing about it is the children get a lot of individual attention. Both teachers are very loving, and caring and I feel they make an effort to make sure kids take pleasure in going to school.

The lack of a good outdoor space was also a concern for us, but they indeed go to the Health quite often, 3 times a week if the weather allows. One of these days is forest school. And yes, there is swimming classes every Thursday.

I hope that helps, but feel free to reach out for more information.

good luck!

Hello! I work at Heathside and I was just looking at mumsnet and thought I’d give our school a search. It’s so nice to see these lovely comments! I will pass on to my colleagues in the early years. I know I am obviously biased and it’s a bit of a Mumsnet faux pas to comment about your own school, but I thought you might like to hear from a staff member!! We did have a really rough couple of years but since we have had new ownership and now a new Head, it’s returned to being a really lovely place to work and to go to school (at least that’s what the kids tell me!) It’s not for everyone but it’s a truly unique school, what we offer is special and you can’t get anywhere else in north London. We’ve got a new Head as I said who comes from a Montessori background which so far has been really suited to the school and the children and parents seem to have responded really well to her so far. Please come and see us!!! I promise you will love it :)