Tiffin versus Hampton

[bferkoff]

We received a waitlist offer for Tiffin, having accepted a place at Hampton and now I am torn.

DS doesn't have very strong feelings either way and would be happy with either, although has said he prefers the facilities and sports at Hampton. Fees and distance aren't a problem and aren't being factored into the equation, so we're left with the merits of each school and I just don't know what would suit him best!

Tiffin feels slightly risky because if he doesn't cope with the fast-paced teaching, there isn't a lot of support (I don't think), and I don't know how he'll find it. He's coming from a sweet but sleepy state primary so it would be very different. Hampton feels safer with the class sizes and the scope for support but I don't know if I'm doing him a disservice by planning for the worst.

We've been flip-flopping on an almost hourly basis and any insights would be hugely appreciated!

I went to Hampton a long time ago (80s). I am intelligent but was lazy and didn't apply myself. At that time, Hampton (and probably all other schools of that type) had many gifted children and focused on them. I found it very easy to slip through the net (for example, as soon as my voice broke, I would call up saying I was my dad, and that I was ill and wouldn't be coming in - I look back and cannot believe I got away with this).

The facilities there are excellent, and if I'm honest, the few qualifications I did get were the result of them having teachers who were able to motivate me. I wasted a golden opportunity.

My point though is that I feel I would have been better off in a state school who would have needed the results more and would have pushed me harder.

I think if your son is motivated and works hard he would do well at either. I have friends who went to Tiffin and have all done well.

Of course, I would expect that it is all different now, but this may give you thought for some additional questions to ask both schools.

Thank you, that's useful to know!

I went to LEH in the 2000s and although I didn't call up pretending to be a parent (genius move!), I did delete voicemails on the answerphone from teachers before my parents got home and tear out pages of my report that I thought my parents wouldn't be pleased with

DS always does his best and is conscientious but I wouldn't say is one of these super driven, focused children, so my worry is that he might find it overwhelming. I hadn't considered that the flip side is that he might not be as challenged at Hampton, but the sense I got from attending all the open events etc was that they really tried to get the best out of each boy.

I would expect that it is different now. At least, I would hope so.

I think my other issue was that only one of my friends from primary school went there, and I wanted to go where my main group of friends went.

My other trick was that the school never had my dad's signature on record, only my mum's. Anything that needed a proper signature got brought home to mum, and anything I didn't want them to know about (Saturday detention etc), I signed in my dad's name. I can't believe I got away with this either. Can you imagine an 11 year old scrawling a signature? I also wonder how my parents didn't ever question me going to watch football on a Saturday morning when I have zero interest in football. It was a different era.

Funny thing is, I only really became interested in learning when I could choose the subject and have gone on to gain qualifications at night school.

If the fees and travel are no issue definitely go for Hampton. I have two sons at Hampton and it’s an amazing school. The teachers are mostly excellent and there’s great support. My sons went from state schools and settled fine. They’ve both been happy there but there’s lots of competition for sports team places so be prepared for disappointment. Tiffin is also an excellent school (and free!) but I have heard some struggle with the pace and tutoring continues to keep some up to speed. PM me if you have any questions re Hampton.

Difficult choice. One thing to consider is that if you went with Tiffin and your son didn’t like it would probably be possible to move to Hampton in year 8 etc.

Also Tiffin has a lot to prove as it was downgraded to good from outstanding, so imagine it will be pushing everything to improve. I understand they are introducing football this year and improving the sports provision.

Good luck with the decision

Fees and distance aren't a problem

@bferkoff If the fees are not a major sacrifice, I would not hesitate and in a blink of an eye would send him to Hampton Boys. The school has a very positive energy and the boys are very well balanced. The mental health is very important in that school. Teaching is superb. If it was co-ed school and I could afford I would send my kid there.

At Tiffin is also an amazing cohort but the school is underfunded and the latest OFSTED report downgraded it to Good due to teaching- find it online

and btw, I would not think about Hampton School basing on the knowledge of LEH. I know people working in both schools. LEH is a nice school but past its glory. See the latest A level results as compared to previous years.
Hampton Boys still shines. My neighbour told me that last year they were building a car there in association with some car maker. They have many initiatives like that.
I have completely opposite impression about Tiffin schools. Girls school surpasses boys school

Ah this is interesting regarding sports. Maybe that is why they decided to incluse a Sports aptitude opportunity for the admissions for 2025 entry.

Having known someone in Tiffin girls school the the pastoral care is not that great. It’s very competitive and unfortunately lots of girls with MH concerns who feel unsupported by the school.

I’ve also know people who work at Hampton and they are not always as qualified as state school teachers as they have their own rules etc. Would also add that many experienced teachers are moving away from private schools, as they all slowly opt out of the pension scheme - but that’s a whole other issue and thread.

I guess everyone has their own biases and opinions, hope it works out for you and your son.

I know it’s a “good dilemma” but it just feels really overwhelming trying to make this decision!

He loves cricket and I think would be sad if he couldn’t play on a team.

I wouldn’t base the decision on my experience at LEH especially because I preferred hanging out with the boys from kings. I think one problem is that we’ve had so many opportunities to go into Hampton and get a feel for it whereas we had one open evening that was incredibly cramped and stuffed with people that we don’t really have a sense of tiffin at all.

Is your boy really sporty? That might help sway your decision. My dd went from state school where they don't do much sports to thriving at her secondary and loving all the sports they have to offer (she also does the sports out of school, but loves that she can do it in school as well with friends).

@12345change
Having known someone in Tiffin girls school the the pastoral care is not that great. It’s very competitive and unfortunately lots of girls with MH concerns who feel unsupported by the school.

I know that, but it is still a much better school than Tiffin Boys in many aspects. Superselective state schools are for strong resilient kids and unfortunately, they don't do interview and admission is only based on academic results - test.

I live on the street that touches Hanworth Road where Hampton boys and LEH are located. 4 ( yes, four!) of my neighbours work there, one as a teacher. They speak very highly about the school. And I also know 2 people working at LEH and two recent graduates and here the opinions are maybe not negative but not as enthusiastic as about Hampton Boys.

It’s interesting and I don’t envy the op’s decision at all. One thing I would say is the teachers rarely criticise establishments they currently work at publicly..obviously some do but it’s more common that they are supportive while they work there.

And for what it’s worth I agree that Tiffin girls is much better than the boys and the boys school needs to and should improve especially in the light of Ofsted report.. it will be interesting to watch what happens when it is Ofsted again - as they are doing the rounds in Kingston/ Richmond at the moment with Greycourt secondary school and TKA both being inspected in the last four months..

@12345change only one of them is a teacher. The rest of them are in operational roles. Interestingly, I have met through work a Hampton Boys graduate, an older gentleman. He was one of the last years when the school wasn't a public school but a state grammar. I was very surprised - how interesting!

Hampton is wonderful- so many opportunities, fabulous teachers, pastoral and resources. Tiffin is a state school, same funding issues. If you can afford the fees stick with Hampton 100%

Also, @bferkoff, if your child is of Indian origin, they may feel at home at Tiffin, as most of the kids there are Indian. I'm not exaggerating; it's a hard-working ethnic group, very ambitious when it comes to education, and the dominant ethnic group at Tiffin is Indian.
He will also meet many bright Indian boys at Hampton, but since it is private, they are seeking a more balanced cohort. I wouldn't say any ethnic group is dominant there; it's more of a mix.

How do you know this? I don’t believe schools publish the details of students like this? Also I know you don’t mean any offence here but your comment could cause some.

why would it offend? That there are not as many e.g. Sri Lankans second generation, Polish or English? Do you mean that it may be offending to e.g. Romanians that their kids are not adequately represented? The Tiffin admission process is fundamentally fair, solely based on exam performance. Nothing else matters. South Asian families demonstrate strong ambition, diligently preparing their children for these exams from an early age. Just look at the doctors who studied in UK. This topic has been discussed extensively here before and many has observed it. Go to Open Day and observe the composition of the cohort firsthand. Btw, Chinese kids are also strongly represented there- Hong Kong

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/628f39518fa8f5039a1bd625/Ethnicity_Schools_Note.pdf

Interesting study

He is half English, half Sri Lankan (but third generation) and I don’t think he would feel more at home at tiffin because there may be brown children there!

The state school does publish a student breakdown by ethnicity group, but I don’t think private schools publish this.

Information is available in the link below under the school underlying data.

https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics

:))) You have a good sense of humor @bferkoff
I believe the issue isn't necessarily about the politics of skin pigmentation, but perhaps more about a shared second language. For instance, it's quite common for Catholic schools to offer GCSE preparation courses in Polish and Portuguese. This is simply because there's a significant number of students studying these languages at GCSE level, prompting these schools to provide preparatory courses for them.

@bferkoff , you have already committed to pay the Hampton Autumn term fees and you are no doubt planning when to buy the uniform. If finance isn't an issue then take the Hampton place, it's a really great school with all sorts of personalities and so many opportunities if your ds is into music or sport as well as all the lunchtime clubs. The funding of state schools is not going to improve despite a future change of govt.

Sadly none of us speak anything other than English but I take your point.

It’s the suggesting certain ethnic groups would feel more “at home” in a particular school that is boardline racist and offensive..