St. James boys or HCH

[Dreams29]

St James secondary boys or Hampton Court House? Can someone please advise me which school to choose for year 7.

These are two very different schools. What are you looking for in a school and then perhaps people can advise/help?

What makes it so different? That will help me to understand it better

Have you visited either? I haven't been to St James, but HCH has a very unusual and consciously quirky vibe. You really need to buy into their ethos.

Today I went to HCH and wanted to get in touch with any parent whose kids are currently going there. Or some expert advice about how parents think about it.

@Dreams29 , subscribe to the Good Schools Guide, apparently it has a good description of HCH.

Between the 2 they are different, is your ds sporty?

I'm surprised st James has space for a year 7 in Sept, have you got an offer?

With such hefty fee how worth is to send child there? Will it be better option to choose over a state school. With limited kids in class, will kids get good exposure and experience in such small environments?

Thread here, most recent comments from March of this year: www.mumsnet.com/talk/secondary/4482578-Hampton-Court-House-views-please

You might want to bump that thread and see if anyone can comment further.

@Dreams29 , if you are looking for a year 7 state place for Sept 24 your options will be limited as you will get given a state school that has been unable to fill its places. Do you already have a state place or an offer from St James's as it makes a difference to how you compare them to HCH.

I have got place in a state school which is not outstanding. Also have got offer from HCH and St. James. My son didn't clear Kingston, Hampton and rest highly selective schools, and missed Grammar by 2 marks.

You could start at the state school and move to HCH or St James's at a later date if it doesn't feel like the right fit, HCH is unlikely to be full.

Thanks for your reply, I wanted to understand academically which school is better.

Hi GM, thanks for your reply. Academically if have to compare between St. James and HCH which school is better?

@Dreams29 , it depends on the dc because there are parents who would never consider HCH because they don't buy into the ethos but there are other academic dc who thrive at HCH because it is the right environment for them as reflected in the A level results. This area has a lot of private schools that cater for all levels and you have to find the 1 that is best for your dc, sometimes the state schools are a better fit too. Is your state place in the borough of Richmond or in Surrey?

I have a son who went to SJ if you want to PM me. He was very happy there

Fully agree with this comment. A child will do best in a school environment that is suited to them and it might not necessarily be the school that’s the ‘most academic.’ It’s why I asked what you were looking for - is it a sporty school, a school with strong pastoral care, somewhere that offers a wide range of clubs, is it a school that has a wide range of orchestras/bands or good drama facilities, is your preference for mixed or single sex, is there a preference for a hot house environment etc etc? If you’re simply going by which school has the best results then this is obtained from the school websites but remember that the ‘most academic’ schools are selective and take the top students so will get better results. Results can also vary from cohort to cohort. HCH does have a different ethos to other schools in the area but children still thrive and do very well. I’m a firm believer in finding the right school for your child where they will thrive, not necessarily sending them to the most academic school. What else are you looking for other than ‘academic results’ and then perhaps readers can help. Does your child have a particular interest for example or a style of how they like to learn at school?

To be clear my comment was for the OP not tennissquare! Tennissquare makes very good points. The state school provision in Richmond is also excellent and children do extremely well at those schools too.

My son has got Heston community school, it's not a outstanding school and highly known in area. But certainly haven't heard anything bad about it too. So not sure how is it.

First of all thanks for your detailed feedback it really means a lot.
So my case is- my son got "Heston community centre school" in Hounslow which is a state school. He missed grammar and super selective by very little margins. He is an academic child and loves sports too.
I am little concerned to send him to a state school which is not outstanding as in that every kind of child will be coming. He is very disciplined and well behaved child. I don't want him to get any bad company, as being a boy secondary schools is going to be a new challenge. So I want a school which can nurture him well, he can focus on his study and get enough exposure of sports and rest things to know his area of interest. His only concern is he doesn't want to go to any school which will give him a feeling of tution centre rather than a school, what I mean is he wants to have a felling of proper school with so many kids around. As in few independent school class size is only 10. Hope I made it a little specific now.
I was not able to reply on same thread so replying here.

Hi thanks for your reply, can you please PM me. I am not able to find any option of PM here. Will connect you on that thread then.

@Dreams29 , Tiffin Boys is graded Good which is the same as Heston Community College. There is movement in the private sector for year 9 esp if VAT on fees has arrived so you could look to move him again then.

May be worth considering journey times too. Assuming that you live close to Heston school, it’s a long journey to HCH and St James’ each day?

@Dreams29 I can't find a pm option either

Hi, can you give me some feedback about the school based on education system, extracurricular options and rest. Did your child ever faced and major issues.

I am late to the chat, but anyone considering Hampton Court House should be very careful. We withdrew our child a year ago and it was the best decision we made. There is a lot of chat about HCH's ethos - it once had a strong creative/French ethos, but a few years ago it was bought by a company that is promising a turnaround. We had no faith in the so-called turnaround despite giving them a long time to prove that things were improving.
In my opinion, HCH fails to deliver the absolute basics of an academic education - nothing rigorous or advanced - just the basics.
You will get a slick marketing sell when you look around, but it is common for 50% of a year group to leave because they are fed up with consistent problems, and HCH gets in swaths of international students to fill seats.
I can honestly say that my kid would have had a better education at the local state school (which they are now getting thankfully).

Thank you so much for your reply👍