Hampton Court House- views please!

[KindergartenKop]

My child is looking at a variety of schools in the area including KGS and Ewell Castle. Hampton Court House is convenient for us transport wise but it doesn't seem to be included in peoples' lists along with the other schools I've mentioned. Is this because it's more/less selective? Does it aim at a different demographic? It seems a bit 'odd' but I can't put my finger on why! Does anyone have their kid's at HCH? How hard is it to get into? What is it like?

Thanks

Sorry should read last set of exams of kids before new owners… the current Y5, 6, 7 are like the Wild West

As others have said, some teachers are unqualified and while they are incredibly intelligent, they are unable to control classes and their ability to explain concepts to children in a structured way is lacking. I think the results in external exams (GCSE/ A Levels) are still reflecting previous good years of teaching under the old head. I was referring to end of year exams lower down the school where whole classes are scoring around 50% where previously they were scoring 80% plus. I agree that the new Principal appears to be grabbing the school by the scruff of the neck and dragging it back to some form of order and accountability. However, the fact that they now appear to be taking any child, even when they don't fit the (slightly quirky, geeky, quiet) HCH mould, has been the cause of increased bullying of the previous students by new and boisterous ones.

That's interesting. Are you a current parent at HCH?

@MrsSeeGreen I just went to visit the school and would love to know if you still feel that way today after a term adn a half. It has been difficult to get a feel for how the changes have now settled and what the results have been since the whole upheaval.
I am also unclear as to the academic take at this school. I could not get a feel of how the children get challenged to push themselves whilst knowning their limitations. All the children were having assessments , so we also didn't get to see the teachers in action (so to speak) and see the student- teacher interactions.
We forgot to ask about "where is the parent" in all of this. Is there a PTA? Do the kids do school outings/trips etc . There is a lot of talk about the teachers being specialists in their fields - but yes are they trained to teach? The Art teacher was the one that stood out (the one with media background).

Any insight would be gratefully received. Especially as our DS would be entering with your child in to Y4 next year if we went ahead.

Also how is the French coming along - is it already a second language in your home?

Hi@HappyLily
Just chipping in before @MrsSeeGreen
I'm a current HCH parent and both my children are happy, thriving academically and absolutely love going to school. The teachers are great and really know my children. Your right about the Head of Art, she is just wonderful. I also love the Head of Drama. We saw the Upper school play yesterday and it was hugely ambitious and an incredibly powerful performanace. The new Principal who joined last year is superb too and the school feels in such a better place than 18 months ago.

Yes - there is a PTA. They are called the Freinds of HCH and are very active and welcoming. They organsie the winter and summer fetes and a whole range of things for parents and children over the year. The regular Cheese and Wine evenings for parents are really good :). The Friends raised huge ammount of money too for Charity through the Saphire Ball.

Yes - the children do go on trips. There are excusions throughout the year and some really quite exciting experinces further up the school. This year my oldest in Year 9 is off to the Artic at Easter!

I hope this has helped to answer some of your questions - I'm sure @MrsSeeGreen will be able to talk more. Good luck in finding the right school for your DS :)

Good morning @HappyLily
HCH parent here - I completely agree with @Springhassprung123
The school is unique, incredibly special and academically rigorous, but its not the right choice for every child. My DD is really bright (top quartile) and got in to far more selective schools locally, but we preferred a small school with a family feel. Both my children are doing really well socially and academically, and we are very pleased that we chose HCH for our family. It really depends what you want from a school.

Hi @HappyLily I’m so pleased that @Springhassprung123 & @Mumscabs have already responded and I can only agree with them both. My children have absolutely flourished since joining HCH- in fact I spoke to the Principal (Kate- she is so warm & experienced - wonderful to see strong female leadership) just yesterday and my youngest’s latest reading assessment show that he has jumped forward more than 8 levels since September. He’s reading at home which was always so difficult before. I love the ballet, all the clubs , the performances and I’ve been made to feel so welcome by the Friends of HCH. I’ve heard from parents that the Sixth Form will be 4 times the size this September which is great news for my eldest. I’m really happy with our choice- academically rigorous but such a loving atmosphere. Hope that helps & good luck with your choice!

I have a friend with dc at HCH and they are happy with it. It used to be very eccentric but that was years ago under a different head.

@PitParent who conducted this survey?

The parents of Y7 last term.

As a current HCH parent I never received this survey- I don’t believe this is true. Are you @PitParent a current parent at HCH? Looking at your lists I don’t think you are.
the ISI inspection was fantastic - I don’t know what motivation you have but I don’t think you know the school now.

Why would one year group of parents do their own weird survey?! Was this ISI/ Ofsted/ opened up to other parents? If not then it could just be a dinner party moan pretending to have credence- pathetic IMHO. Maybe parents can’t afford the fees anymore and are looking for reasons…

@Springhassprung123 @MrsSeeGreen @WinterFoxes @KindergartenKop @PitParent I can not thank you all enough for all yoru opinions and insights. We hope to meet with the headmistress and look around again to get a second feel for it. I saw that there preformed the production three nights in a row. May I ask what the play was ? And do the younger years get involved and play significant roles too? Our DS has a love of reading, drama, history and the arts. Also does LAMDA. We didn't get to meet any of these teachers except the ART teacher. Any more insight on these teachers would be incredible. I was slowly pulling away at the idea of this school with all the Year 7 and bulling rumours that have extended to general parent population even at our school.... and we are not close and certainly would not be competition in terms of location. The current English teacher reminds us of Dead Poets Robin Williams "Oh Captain my Captain" and we are so sad Mohave to leave him... and the music teacher is uber cool and makes even assembly hymn fun and upbeat. No disrespect to Hymns but he has a flare that I have not had the chance see in other teachers yet.

@PitParent When was that survey conducted please? And were the findings shared with the Kate? I am interested to know what her response to this has been and hence her leadership style being new to the school.

It was conducted by y7 parents only and not by the school. Was submitted to Kate and poorly received. Y7 may well be an anomaly but there are significant issues that aren’t being addressed.

@PitParent if you are a year 7 parent I think it’s weird that parents would conduct their own survey- who moderated the questions? Who ensured they weren’t leading? What if only a minority answered? My understanding from the Friends of HCH is that Kate sends whole school parent questionnaires every half term as does ISI when they inspect?
I would have liked to have been invited to give my views as a parent if other parents had taken it upon themselves to “represent” our voice.

There are significant issues in Y7 plus this was first class year group they increased to 2 form entry. The survey was created out of frustration by a group of y7 parents for y7 parents only and was filled out by 23 of 26 parents. So a fairly high return.

As I say it may well be a Y7 anomaly but there are still major issues and a teaching staff not qualified to deal with an almost 80% makeup or SEN children in Y7 which is not what the school is sold as. It is not a selective school at all despite the pretence that it is.

Y7 disruption is high, significant behaviour issues and a huge turnover of staff. Teaching hours were significantly reduced in September to make way for a much longer lunch and a poor array of clubs (that are an additional cost) to fill that time.

I can only say what we have experienced in this year group and it’s not a pathetic group of parents looking for an excuse to leave - it’s a genuine attempt to make things better.

My children are not in Year 7 so I cannot comment - but the rest of the school from my experience in both lower and upper years seem very happy with the stability and direction.

I understand from the parent community, that year 7 has a very strange intake, a legacy from the last Head - who took anyone.

The new Principal became full time from January - so I don’t doubt that she will soon have control over year 7 if there are any issues.

Thank you all so much again.
I am sorry to hear the challenges being faced by the year 7 children, their parents and the teachers. We had a similar situation for a very challenging cohort of children at our last school. I hope that you all manage to find resolution and solutions. Really helpful to know that Kate has seen the survey. Helps us hopefully to have a frack and open discussion.

This is all very tricky!
Are any of you able to post a picture perhaps of a time table? Worrying to see if too many hours of the day is used for clubs! @MrsSeeGreen or any other year 3/4/5 parents at HCH!

Just to say we are very happy too. Have been at HCH for four years, lots of ups and downs but now stability, clear vision and happy children (and parents!).

Hear that Year 7 has an intake that is out of kilter with the usual HCH profile. HCH was an academic, enriching and nurturing school. I know the majority of parents in our year chose HCH because of this. Parents who don’t want this, should look elsewhere.

We are parents higher up the school and like the Year 7 parents, our Year Group has had untold issues with bullying, poor teaching, lack of discipline, timetabling issues, poor organisation and generally poor communication both among staff and between staff and parents. Many issues have led to numerous meetings between groups of parents and senior staff. Ways forward are agreed but not carried out. For a very small school, communication is very poor. Kate the new Principal started strongly, but she hasn't had an immediate impact. Five heads / acting heads in five years has taken its toll. Contrary to other comments, it appears that now the school is owned by a group (Dukes) they are accepting any student for the money they bring, whether or not they fit the school. This was never the case under Guy Holloway. We also opposed the reduced teaching hours. Unfortunately, the result is that GCSE courses haven't been completed in expected timescales, and children are now staying until 5pm several times a week to make up the lost teaching hours. Staff and children are stressed. We love the school, but it is still in a state of flux.

I'm a staff member at HCH and very rarely comment on mumsnet views, but feel I must here. The HCH staff work incredibly hard to make HCH the special place it is for our children and families. I have seen and been a part of the journey at HCH and over the last 6 months huge progress has been made across all areas of our school, to ensure the quality of teaching and learning, enrich our sports and clubs offering and breathe life into every area of the school. The recent staff survey showed huge progress being made, the most significant for me was that last year only 8% of staff were happy within 6 months of the new leadership 81% of staff are happy.
The whole school feels stable and much more positive, of course we are still on a journey, but the staff (and all the parents I speak to) are fully behind Kate and feel positive about HCH's future.
Perhaps instead of posting unhelpful comments on mumsnet, you should get behind the staff and the whole community at HCH to ensure our school continues to be the best it can possibly be for our children.

We are very supportive of the school, and have been unfailingly hopeful for improvement throughout the constant changes of Headteacher, fast staff turnover and continual broken promises. We have always been positive and polite in our dealings with staff, but some of the treatment our child has endured at the hands of others has been unacceptable. If, as you say, last year 92% of staff were unhappy, you can see how that will have affected the children and parents. We felt it on a daily basis. Even 9% of unhappy staff will take a toll on the atmosphere of a school. If parents are potentially spending over £100,000 and asking for honest opinions, I think it would be dishonest not to respond in that manner. If you read to the end, you will see that I did say that we love the school, despite the time, money and at times anguish it has cost our family.

*19% of unhappy staff