Hurst, Ardingly, Worth?

[farfallarocks]

Very keen on the collective wisdom! We are looking for Year 7 and Year 4 entry for our DC to be timed with a move out of London.We have been to see both schools and liked them both. We are looking at either day or some flexi as they get older. Both DC are bright but have mild dyslexia and suspected ADHD. Both coping well (middle of the cohort) in a very academic prep school with accommodations made for them (extra time, some typing). Their school are excellent with SEN despite being fairly turbo generally (!)We are looking for a good all round, non-stressful education, decent academics and strong performing arts (dance, drama and music). Excellent pastoral care and down to earth, nice kids.Sports secondary although they both have a go . One is fairly shy, the other extremely gregarious so ideally need something that suits both but we would consider different schools if it came to it. Given the year 7 move we haven’t looked at the preps like Cumnor as we thought we may as well get them both into an all through school. However, would look at that combined with maybe Worth for the elder one? I’ve read the various reviews and visited but what I lack in local knowledge so keen to hear from anyone with kids at these schools. I hear vague rumblings about Ardingly being more academic and pushy than Hurst. Is that true? Thanks in advance!

Little bump

Hurst and Brighton College are by far the most academic schools in Sussex these days. Ardingly by all accounts has gone off the boil in recent years and I have friends who have taken them out after Y11 as they didn't feel like they were getting value, but that's only anecdotal so do more research!
We have a son at Hurst and the learning support is excellent there, catering for SEN. Hurst admissions are highly academically selective so they'll need to be bright and fully up to speed on VR NVR and English for admission into Y7 - my understanding is that only a quarter of candidates get accepted. Our son finds it academically pretty challenging, despite GCSE "challenge" grades of 8 in all subjects.
We looked around Ardingly a few years ago, were very impressed by the prep Head, but thought in general the school was a bit tatty. The new theatre at Hurst blew us away, and they're currently building a new swimming pool. Lots of investment there. Hope that helps.

@csfulham what is the workload like at Hurst for years 7 and 8? How many hours of homework per week, would you estimate?

Y7-8 maybe 2-3 of hours a week. At least half an hour a day, and at weekends. If they get the minibus, which leaves school around 6, then there’s prep time built into the prep school timetable.

Y9+ it really steps up and there’s a lot more prep which needs to be done in the evenings.

They work them hard at Hurst. It’s not for slouches. Some parents think it’s too much. I’m on the fence still. I can see my teenager developing a work ethic!

Thanks @csfulham that's really helpful! Was your child always at Hurst or did they move from state primary in year 7? We're considering it but they don't seem to have the extensive transitional support from state to private that Brighton College seems to offer.

I would probably be in the "homework is too much" camp! I love the sports, music and drama opportunities that come with private but don't want DS to burn out. I wish there was something in between state and the nearby private options to be honest.

It’s not just the homework at Hurst, it’s a full schedule, which is more akin to a boarding school schedule to keep teens occupied and to get the best possible out of them. Lots of sports, weekend fixtures, things like compulsory cadet service from y10. The school does have an amazing reputation and excellent pastoral care plus incredible facilities. There has been a significant management change at the school and there’s a lot of new marketing too - not a bad thing of course, but a change. We seriously considered it as have lots of friends there but in the end, decided it wasn’t for our more creative / gentle children.

Moved from a tiny rural village state primary into year 7.
Transition was fine after the culture shock. There’s a big intake at Y7 so they’re mostly in the same boat.
Son is very creative, music drama art etc and Hurst has incredible facilities.
but yes the timetable is absolutely packed and he’s now flexi boarding in the senior school to give him more time for prep (we’re 35 mins away).
I do have frustrations about lack of time in the week for more downtime or extra curricular music because there’s also a huge focus on sport (and he’s not very sporty). His housemaster is always boring on about rugby which he hates!

DD just started in 'Shell' (Year 9 - they have lots of weird names for stuff at Hurst😆)

She is absolutely LOVING it, but God it's full on. She too is flexi-boarding and they get nailed to their desks for 60-90 mins each night to do prep, but if she was coming home I really don't know when it would happen. On the nights that she comes home, the minibus leaves at 6.15 and she arrives just before 7 (absolutely knackered) and there's barely time for more than dinner and a shower and half an hour flop before she's in bed. No way any homework is getting done. At the moment she's thriving on it, but I agree that in the long run, they could probably do with a little bit more down time.

I agree about the academic level. DD is a clever clogs (predicted all 9s) and was bored to (actual) tears at her previous school. She is now enjoying all of her lessons and is being really stretched at Hurst. They know their way around a clever kid for sure.

We're about 30 minutes away 😳 Flexi boarding wasn't even on my radar! Not sure I'm cut out to be a private school parent, I quite enjoy having downtime with the kids in the evening. The state schools seem to have too little on offer, and the private schools a bit too much! Feeling very uncertain at the moment.

Did you make a decision @farfallarocks and @PaperDoves?

A little update on Hurst which speaks to some of the concerns in this thread.

There was an ISI inspection in December. The report was absolutely glowing, in the main, and really reflected the school as I see it.

However, they made a suggestion for improvement, which was that they give the kids a bit more downtime, as it's all just a bit much at times. The school have fully accepted this and have said that they are making changes to the timetable to give kids a bit more time in the day to do prep, and a bit more choice over activities. They could just ditch the two chapel services a week that they all hate

There was also a point about ramping up the sex and relationships education for Year 10 and up (in response, I suspect, to the Everyone's Invited revelations), and school have also taken this on board.

Six months in and my daughter is absolutely living her best life! Feel very lucky to have her there.

@LucillesLooseWheel yes, I wanted Brighton College but DS balked at the workload and the commute and insisted on state. We're very fortunate to be surrounded by great state schools, and we got our first choice. It's a very small school with fantastic results and DS can walk (which was his primary concern).

I'm pleased to hear Hurst is scaling back -- I was astounded by their timetable and know DS would have buckled under the weight.

As a current Hurst parent I fear the school has changed for the worse over the last few years. We chose the school as we felt if offered balance, allowing children to have personalities and not trying to produce robots. I now feel with the new head it is more of a hot house, a huge amount of pressure academically, relentless timetable and doling out Friday night detentions (they then miss their bus home and parents need to collect) for minor things imo such as forgetting to sign in somewhere or taking in class or having the wrong socks for sport.

im not alone in my thinking. Other parents feel the same and those with older children said it was not like this only a few short years ago.

we are rethinking if this is the school for our child who loved their previous school and is very unhappy. Our next child will not come here. It’s a shame as in many ways the school has a lot going for it. Really nice parents and kids. Lots of nice teachers although lots left at the end of last year as apparently being a teacher at Hurst is exhausting and can induce burn out as the days are so long for them.

Update. They have changed the timetable this year following the ISI feedback to give the kids a bit of time back, and finish earlier on Fridays.

My jury is still out on the new headmaster. A lot of teachers left last year, but a change in leadership always results in staff churn so I’m prepared to give Mr Mott the benefit of the doubt for now. He seems ambitious and pretty progressive so I’m sure some staff left because their comfort zones were being stretched after so many years of Mr Manly.

What I CAN say though is the Y7 leadership this year is fantastic - and night and day vs 3 years ago when my son joined. Mr Lilley and Ms Crichton seem to make a brilliant team and my daughter loves them, having just joined Y7 (son already in year 10).

She is loving it; but is often to be found still doing prep at 9pm because she fills her prep periods with activities (eg choir / music / dance / swim squad).

The extra curricular offering is amazing but there don’t seem to be enough hours in the day, so it is definitely not a school where you can cruise. This is the reason we went private though: our son is smart enough to get away with doing the bare minimum and fly under most radars - but there’s no chance of getting away with that at Hurst! I’m convinced that Hurst will get him an extra grade point or two vs other schools - apparently it’s in the top 5 UK schools for “added value”.

I don’t feel they’re being hot-housed though - there is a rich offering at hurst and you get out what you put in.

but I also know a few kids who are pretty unhappy there, so it’s definitely not for everyone and is certainly one of the more demanding and polarising schools. It really depends on the type of child you have.

I know this is an old post but thought I’d share our experience. Current year 8 - joined in year 7. So far so good. Senior Prep has been excellent. Leadership seems solid and consistent. I have appreciated how well they are handling an extremely challenging situation that one of the children is going through. I think that has been exemplary. They have explained appropriately to all children and set expectations on behaviour perfectly. They do push all kids hard but this is what my kid needs. I think the challenge grade system is effective. Lot’s of variety in co-curricular activities. They have even managed to get my kid more experimental with their diet. My child has made friends, is trying lots of new things, and I see them blossoming. As a parent I am happy. Caveat - my child is a neurotypical bright allrounder. I can’t speak for what it might be like if you are ND etc.