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Secondary education

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

Berkhamsted v Hailebury starting in Year 7

9 replies

boysmuminherts · 29/12/2021 12:29

My DS has an offer to both schools. We like them both but they are very different schools. So hard to judge as we have only visited them once each due to Covid..
Any thoughts from current parents? Thanks.

OP posts:
Zodlebud · 29/12/2021 21:38

The big one for me would be are you happy with Saturday morning school or not? For us it was a deal breaker.

Also, H is coed (and does it very well) whereas B is single sex to 16, although they do a lot with the girls school. H also offers the IB as well as A levels so is also a consideration (B is just A levels).

I would say both are on a par academically so which one is your gut telling you is right? Is it the more full on boarding type experience at H (even if you’re a day student then it’s fairly full on), or a decent day school?

DishyDad2 · 02/01/2022 15:57

I have a daughter at Berkhamsted so I know it well. I don't know Haileybury well but my son is at a quite similar boarding school.

I know you already know this but the big difference is that H is a co-ed boarding school and B is a single sex day school (co-ed in sixth form). They do both offer day and boarding places but this is not what they really are, i.e. they are set up differently, with all that means for co-curricular activities, timetabling, bus routes, length of school day, etc. Do not under estimate how much of a difference this makes.

Academically I think B does a good job and co-curricular wise I would say B's strengths are sport and outdoor education. It is the only school I know that has a Deputy Head (Leadership), who is a former Royal Marine Colonel and is just brilliant at his job. The music offer is ok but maybe a bit weak by comparison to other senior schools I know. Family wise (if that matters to you) most B families have both parents working, H families will be a more monied set and on average live further away.

The other thing I will say about B is that it is one of the largest senior schools in the country, this means that both as a parent and child it can feel very "corporate". In one way that is good as they have everything; not only facilities, but a specialist in everything, the best IT systems, the most seamless remote teaching offer (not just Teams lessons), etc. But it also means you can feel like just a number, sometimes the school is criticised for lacking a heart and you'll rarely see the Principal.

underneaththeash · 02/01/2022 22:40

What interests and sports does your child have?

Academically, we've been impressed by Berko, but not with their extra-curricular provision.

DishyDad2 · 03/01/2022 18:20

Hi @underneaththeash, at various stages my daughter has done two musical instruments up to grade 5 level (one through school and one via a local teacher), played Netball for school (and in the earlier years Lacrosse), CCF, DofE and Climbing club.

As per the previous post I do think Berko's strengths are sport and outdoor education. Fortunately for us this has worked well for our DD.

underneaththeash · 03/01/2022 20:31

@DishyDad2 I've put this in another post recently, but compared to the other schools my children attend, the extra-curricular is narrow. No racket sports, hockey, golf, stem clubs, chess etc.
That's why I asked.

If we'd known that it was so narrow, we would have chosen another school which caters more to his interests.

boysmuminherts · 07/01/2022 18:53

@underneaththeash

atm he is interested in football, cricket, swimming and drama. Well those are clubs he currently does out of school.

OP posts:
boysmuminherts · 07/01/2022 18:57

@DishyDad2

I have a daughter at Berkhamsted so I know it well. I don't know Haileybury well but my son is at a quite similar boarding school.

I know you already know this but the big difference is that H is a co-ed boarding school and B is a single sex day school (co-ed in sixth form). They do both offer day and boarding places but this is not what they really are, i.e. they are set up differently, with all that means for co-curricular activities, timetabling, bus routes, length of school day, etc. Do not under estimate how much of a difference this makes.

Academically I think B does a good job and co-curricular wise I would say B's strengths are sport and outdoor education. It is the only school I know that has a Deputy Head (Leadership), who is a former Royal Marine Colonel and is just brilliant at his job. The music offer is ok but maybe a bit weak by comparison to other senior schools I know. Family wise (if that matters to you) most B families have both parents working, H families will be a more monied set and on average live further away.

The other thing I will say about B is that it is one of the largest senior schools in the country, this means that both as a parent and child it can feel very "corporate". In one way that is good as they have everything; not only facilities, but a specialist in everything, the best IT systems, the most seamless remote teaching offer (not just Teams lessons), etc. But it also means you can feel like just a number, sometimes the school is criticised for lacking a heart and you'll rarely see the Principal.

thanks so much for the comprehensive reply. It has kind of confirmed what I knew, ie B is a day boys school whereas H is a co-ed boarding school but that still doesn't help us decide!! We live in between both schools so he will be on a bus to either. I hope that the co-curricular offering at Haileybury with the extended day is an advantage rather than a drawback..... He wont mind attending school on a Saturday I don't think. I went to boarding school and Saturday school wasn't a problem at all. Decisions decisions!!
OP posts:
underneaththeash · 07/01/2022 21:52

[quote boysmuminherts]@underneaththeash

atm he is interested in football, cricket, swimming and drama. Well those are clubs he currently does out of school.[/quote]
They are all very supported. He'll enjoy his time there.

underneaththeash · 07/01/2022 22:07

[quote underneaththeash]@DishyDad2 I've put this in another post recently, but compared to the other schools my children attend, the extra-curricular is narrow. No racket sports, hockey, golf, stem clubs, chess etc.
That's why I asked.

If we'd known that it was so narrow, we would have chosen another school which caters more to his interests.[/quote]
They're all really well supported - he'll have a lovely time

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