Anyone got up-to-date info on Holland Park School 2024?

[Beakford]

Hi there, I visited Holland Park recently and did a tour during the day. Kids all looked focused, art was amazing, grounds attractive and the students who showed me around were honest, bright and extremely likeable. So, I know that the school has had a number of heads and a slightly tumultuous past but when my daughter did the art aptitude test recently, all the parents were massively friendly and it felt like there was a camaraderie. Based upon my own impressions, I’m keen but wondering if any current parents could shed light on the new head and how happy their kids are?

Bumping

Hi
My 2 children are current students of HPS. They are in Year 7 and 9. We are really happy with the school. Both my children are doing extremely well both socially and academically. The new head is fine and has lots of great plans for the school.

i believe it depends on the performance of your kid, it they do well classes are ok, but if they are put in bottom sets classes are very disruptive and teachers can’t teach. If he struggles with school. Their detention system is ridiculous, and lots of teachers from caribbean- without offense .
i would look for something smaller. Not all that shines is gold…

Oh no, we can’t have too many of those African Caribbeans now, can we? What a terrifying thought—teachers who might actually bring diverse experiences and perspectives into the classroom! Shocking.

lots of teachers from caribbean- without offense

What??

New teachers without being in the Uk schools, this is what i meant. I would prefer to have teachers with experience in Uk schools, the more experienced the better- as far as my experience as parent

It’s not about what we’d personally prefer—it’s about filling the gaps where there are teacher shortages!!! For generations, the UK has relied on trained, competent, English-speaking teaching staff from British Overseas Territories and Commonwealth nations to plug these gaps.
Take, for example, ER Braithwaite from British Guyana, who wrote To Sir, With Love in 1959, based on his time teaching at St. George’s Secondary School in London’s East End. The book was later adapted into a classic 1967 film starring the late Sidney Poitier. Similarly, the Windrush generation played a vital role after the war, helping to staff public services like the NHS when there was a desperate need.
At the end of the day, it shouldn’t matter whether a teacher is from Georgetown in Barbados or Barnsley in the UK. I think what matters is that they’re competent, experienced, and ready to educate our children. No one tends to complain about the number of teaching staff from Australia or New Zealand, do they, or am I missing something? Given the overall shortage of teachers in the UK—and particularly the lack of Black teachers—if some happen to come from anglophile Caribbean nations, surely that’s a good thing?