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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Kew House School?

10 replies

KewHouseOrNotKewHouse · 18/02/2021 03:25

Hello all - I'm looking for feedback on Kew House School! Very grateful to anyone who can tell me about it. I've never seen around it in person, thanks to Covid.

My daughter has been offered a place there. (She's very bright, loves coding, science, and maths, is musical, quite shy, and not very sporty.)

So far I've read that it's innovative; it's different; it has 2-hour lessons; it's in an industrial area; it's recommended for SEN; sports lessons are a coach journey away.

I've been through their entire website, but can't get a feeling for what's different or innovative about it.

If you know it and love it, can you tell me why? Thank you very much!

OP posts:
mimbleandlittlemy · 18/02/2021 16:53

It really isn't in an industrial area. It was in an area that was awaiting redevelopment but now Brentford Stadium is built and all the flats are going up round that, it's not industrial at all. It's at the foot of Kew Bridge with Kew Gardens less than 15 minutes walk on the other side and the whole area has been improved recently including Kew Bridge Station which had got very run down.

I am surprised to hear it is recommended for SEN as a friend's dc has had a shockingly awful time there with SEN and they have made the decision to pull her out at the end of this year, but I know several people with dc there without SEN who have been really pleased with the school.

mimbleandlittlemy · 18/02/2021 17:08

Just to add friend's dc who did their A levels in all STEM subjects in 2020 did outstandingly well with 4 A*s on results day so that would definitely suit your dd.

PatoPato · 18/02/2021 17:36

I toured it twice a couple of years ago and this is what made it special for me when I visited (caveat - this may well have all changed)...

The impressive HM at the time had been given carte blanche to develop the school to his own spec. I think he had a degree in engineering from Exeter or something but he relished the task and the building itself is wired & tubed up to the highest spec - air con, sound proof windows (it is very quiet inside given it's next to a main road), nice tech touches like thumbprint canteen passes. The classrooms and corridors were all spacious and carpeted which might not sound like a big deal but it made for a softer more serene experience at transition time! Most schools are hard flooring.

The DT room was a thing of wonder (again, down to the founding HM who built what he'd want himself).
There was a great parent's room with tea, coffee books etc.

The whole school was painted in fresh, block bright colours.

The sixth form centre looked like a Firmdale Soho boutique hotel. It was gorgeous & I did not want to leave.

The school does a three year GSCE course arguing that year 9 is otherwise a bit of a wasted year. They also have the 2 hour lessons so the pupils can really get their teeth into a subject in one session.

Class size was good at 22 max but most classes were 16-18 and far less in the A level classes (I saw 1:1 happening!)

They set in maths & english in yr 7 and science in year 8 (many schools I've had offers for this year for DD only set maths in year 8 and no other sets.

They had a policy at the time of never using supply teachers

The thing I liked the most was the fact that your child would be assigned a personal tutor who they would stay with for the duration of their school career - I thought that was amazing. The tutor groups were vertically integrated so you'd be in with a mix of 15 others from different year groups. Siblings would be assigned the same personal tutor. It means there was a contact at the school that really got to know your child. I really liked the idea of that (as long as it was a good teacher!!!)

Reports were 6 times a year with an annual meeting with the personal tutor in September and then by appointment. There were no scheduled parents evenings (trust me these are like unsatisfying sped dating events at other schools) which instead could be requested on demand

All of the above felt quite different from the more traditional approach and I loved it. It just felt well thought out from scratch rather than someone just replicating what has already been done for years

DS got waitlisted as did everyone else who applied from our school. Both feeder preps and siblings are given an automatic offer leaving hardly any places for 'external' offers so the waitlist is heavily used at Kew but we were sitting on an exploding offer at Radnor so snapped that up.
DS has the same interests/profile as your daughter minus the music. It sounds like a great fit for her!
Hope the above helps. I really liked the school

Absolutechaos · 18/02/2021 17:53

We have 2 STEM oriented DDs there (year 11 and 13). Both have mild SEN (processing) and support has been excellent. The new HM is even more impressive than the last one. We have loved the school and feels it gets the best from each child. Very mixed cohort so there seems to be a group for everyone. Not a lot of on-site sports facilities but my kids aren't overly sporty (and it's offered at other sites). Sixth form is becoming very full as more kids opt to stay rather than "trading up" to more selective schools.

I'm not sure I can say how they are innovative as I have nothing to compare to. However, I was more interested in finding a welcoming school with a diverse range of students and strong pastoral care and I feel we found it.

Happy to answer any specific questions by DM.

sw15sw15 · 18/02/2021 19:10

I know a few DCs there with fairly severe dyslexia and other processing skills and parents are very happy.

PatoPato · 18/02/2021 22:18

@KewHouseOrNotKewHouse - also do a google image search on Kew House School....you get a real feel for the 'innovative' classroom layouts. Look at the science labs with green kidney bean shaped work stations, the DT room, the wide carpeted corridors, the swoonsome 6th form centre (sigh )
Lovely place!!

Nathbiker · 18/02/2021 22:50

Are you all on commission from Gardener Schools? Grin

alldonenow2 · 19/02/2021 12:20

Not on commission - but do feel I want to shout out about the school as so much is written on Mumsnet about it that I think is wrong.

My DS was there until year 11. He moved to a bigger and more academic school for 6th form. He loved Kew and had 5 really happy years there. It is a genuinely caring and friendly school and the small community makes a difference. There is a mix of academic abilities - and the bright kids do get pushed and do get stellar results. I love the curriculum and the variety of practical subjects they can study and I also loved the fact that as a new school they had hand picked teachers and as a result they were all really good and really enthusiastic and had bought into the ethos of the school.

The downsides - there's lots of sport in the early years but further up the school it's more limited if you aren't in the A-team. But lots of other extra curriculars - especially drama and music and sciencey related clubs.

I liked the school the site - it's on a busy road but once you are inside it has quite a calm vibe with lots of planting and cheerful colours.

SM2021 · 21/06/2021 21:47

Great School, not perfect but encouraging my daughter has been there since year 7 still in 6th form, its quirky and kids and parents need to be also a little quirky not full of HNW families like some London Private Schools so good all rounded people. The families that it did not work for moved earlier in the school years, and so the 6th formers mix well. I mix on academics but they let kids explore their best skills. Good be a little more encouraging for Uni places but good all round. We did choose for SEN but needed to get top up Ed Phyc reports to get school to focus on having support where needed

vkr7590 · 07/02/2022 09:26

@SM2021, Would you mind letting me know some info about the 6th form? Do they seem to support the students well academically and get the best out of them? I am talking about students who might need a bit of nudging and support rather than high fliers. It's so difficult to judge on results as there have been no public exams since 2019.
Thanks

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