The Misbourne, Great Missenden

[Cottonblend]

What do current or recent parents think of The Misbourne in Great Missenden? My impression is that on the whole it's a good school, I know a few people whose children go there, but when speaking about it, I never hear more that 'it's alright' and several people have told me that the pupils aren't pushed at all. I'm fully aware of the impact the grammars have on other schools round here.
My ds is above average in English but needs support in maths which he finds hard.

I also hear it's very strict but I get the impression from these boards that lots of secondaries are described like that now.

We can afford private and are also considering Claires Court but it's a bit of a journey.
Would love to hear some anonymously honest opinions about either of these schools! Thanks.

Not a parent but have visited the school recently for my DD. We've also got a sense of 'alright' from our visit and from the parents we know there. Nobody seemed to have anything specifically bad to say but not enthusiastic either. People do chose it over other local secondary moderns but not sure that says much! Depending where you live you might not really have a choice, other than private.

Extra curriculars seem a bit lack lustre, if that's something you're interested in, students said things run 'if enough people are interested'.

Most parents I know have been very happy with Claires Court (although one hated it vehemently, they were very much in the minority). It's not particularly academic but equally it is perfectly possible to achieve well there. I do know it runs a lot of school coaches so that might make a difference to you journey-wise.

Have you looked at Holmer Green instead? Have heard great things about it.

Sounds like you have the same impression as me. I didn't hear that about the extra curriculars but I do think they're important. Is it your catchment school?

Thanks, that's good to hear about CC. We are on one of their bus routes and I know they'll be plenty of kids going there from this direction. I just can't decide whether it's worth it when we do have a school down the road. But there's a lot I like about CC.

We didn't look at Holmer Green and it would be too late to apply for that now. I probably should have then we'd have somewhere to at least compare the Misbourne too.

@Cottonblend You could ask Bucks if you can amend your preference and be a late applicant? I don’t know if this is possible though and I don’t know if HG takes from your location as you are presumably not catchment.

Historically the Misbourne has been a very popular school. I know a few who have been and parents were very happy. Bucks secondaries can yoyo a bit too. Wind back 10 years and HG was not flavour of the month either.

I do think these schools can get strict and make DC dislike them. My DC would have hated that atmosphere. The Misbourne was the first Bucks secondary to have a 6th form and DC can do well if they want to. Their results are still better than many comprehensive schools so not being pushed is somewhat subjective. I also think you do need to factor in that DC from that area can get to Berkhamsted and Pipers as well as CC. It’s an affluent area. This affects many of the secondaries in the largely middle class areas of Bucks.

Before mobile phones took over the world, DC were more engaged after school and The Misbourne provided well for them. The key to these schools is joining in and avoiding the cannot be bothered DC.

Although you would have to say they are not strict on the length of girls’ skirts!

The strictness thing is definitely horses for courses, though. You could make a pretty good argument for the HT at Amersham School turning it around by clamping down on the rules around uniform, about disruptive behaviour and encouraging the pupils to take.pride in their school and get involved in all aspects of school life.

And as Tizer says local schools in Bucks do fall in and out of favour. Amersham School used to be the one every parent tried to avoid; now its oversubscribed.

@thing47 There is strict and then there’s stifling! Uniform appears quite smart at The M but, as in common with many schools, skirts are beachwear length! I’m not qualified to say if dc are disruptive there but it’s not had a reputation for this.

Regarding fashion - HG, Chesham and PR parents used to be desperate for dc to go there. Appeal after appeal. No one wanted SWR at Hazlemere. These days TheM still holds its own and I do not think many catchment dc travel to HG or Chesham in great numbers. Progress 8 is similar and GCSE results are 5% in favour of HG over TheM but cohorts vary. I would guess dc still
prefer to transfer with their friends,

It’s 40 mins plus from GtM to Claire’s Court. Thats quite a journey each day. I think Berko is a better school if you are paying. Plus it’s nearer. I know quite a few near misses for 11 plus who went there.

how strict is too strict is a matter of opinion, I guess. All I know is that it appears to have worked at one particular school with which I am well acquainted. I can't get too worked up about skirt length tbh. I was rolling my skirt up 40 years ago. If that's a teenager's idea of rebellion against the authorities then I will take it all day long.

But yes, Berkhamsted is a more academic school than Claire's Court for sure, and as you say, nearer. Thety are both diamond schools so nothing to choose from there in terms of structure. There would be no reason to choose the latter from GM unless the Berko option wasn't available.

I do think schools that copy Michaela are not where I would send dc. Depends on definition of strict and how much time teaching staff spend chasing up dc and how petty the rules are. Sometimes this type of school feels oppressive and maybe leads to the less then enthusiastic comments?

The skirt comment was a bit of a throw away line but in my day, “strict” included not seeing knickers (or lack of obvious knickers). How definitions of strict change!

I was about to come on and say it's all right!
(I've got friends with a couple of children there).

If you can afford private then that's obviously going to be much better.

I would also say Berkhamsted over CC, there is a also a bus from Great Missenden.

Yes, local school to us @Cottonblend. We've put it further down our list as originally we'd planned to move.

It's the avoiding the not engaged DC I would worry about @TizerorFizz , my DD has a tendency to be a follower so could easily fall into that.

My Dcs went there, current school website seems to show plenty of after-school activities.

Many of their co-hort have just graduated from top universities.

@BeretNice Unfortunately disengaged learners are everywhere. Unfortunately dc who are not discerning about friendships are everywhere too. It takes a lot of work to try and influence mature friendships. Don’t always assume paying changes that either. There’s just fewer of them. Certainly dc I know who went there did well and although not top unis attended, certainly have not been held back by going to TheM. However it’s true that HG currently has better progress 8 and stats. The best non grammar on offer is still Berko.

I should have said in the OP that we have applied to Berkhamsted but I just don't know if he'll get in, so this is about what we do as the back up to that.

I don't think ds will mind strict as long as it feels like it makes sense. It's hard to gauge how this plays out day to day. But I want him to go to a school which feels inspiring and the pupils want to be there not where everyone is scared to put a foot wrong! At the same time, I presume a school which takes a strict approach very much does so for a reason ie because that ethos and culture leads to better results and/or creates a calmer atmosphere overall.

Appreciate everyone's comments, thank you.

@Cottonblend It’s a huge shame if the Misbourne has gone down this route. It was always such a happy school when I knew it better. Easily the best school in the area that parents were desperate to get into. As I said earlier, they pioneered secondary school 6th forms in Bucks. If DC are badly behaved it’s a poor reflection on modern DC. The school always had a few behaviour issues but overall it was a calm school with great staff and well supported by parents.

It doesn’t sound like many posters have much up to date knowledge of The Misbourne? I’ve a son there, he’s doing really well academically (GCSE years), got some great friends, seems really happy. It’s fairly strict I guess although he’s only had 1 behaviour point I think in 4 years and it doesn’t feel too strict ! Any minor issues or bullying they’ve got on top of v quickly managed by senior teachers. The teachers seem generally good or excellent for most subjects - the headteacher is an amazing English teacher apparently (he does a GCSE lesson) or two each week. Apparently the school are very good at supporting autistic type kids but I’ve no direct experience of that. Being one of the brighter kids I feel my son has been really encouraged, within his friendship group/class it’s always been fine to get great marks too. A handful of teachers have been truly inspiring and my son is so positive about almost all his teachers

Continued!
My son has done extracurricular clubs(sports related) plus DofE at school which he’s got a lot out of. The choice of things like music is less than at the Bucks grammars schools eg they have orchestras etc at grammars. But grammar schools have a concentration of kids from wealthier families who’ve paid for lessons etc and orchestras must be easier to have there?
Perhaps if your child hasn’t passed a test like the 11 and you wanted them too, it’s hard to feel that inspired by a school that might feel ‘second best’ to some people? But I’m pleased how my son is getting on there

I guess the vast majority of The Misbourne parents are not on MN @SunandStars15 so we tried our best! The OP has friends with dc there and had concerns. Most “strict” schools go down this route to control low level, but annoying, behaviour. Most private schools don’t operate like this so if you have enough money, they seem a better proposition.

Thanks @SunandStars15 that's really good to know and what I was hoping to find out from a current parent, as I've only got a bit of hearsay from a small pool of people to go on. I did really like the head teacher from the open day, it was hard to get a good sense of the other teachers but from what you say they sound good.

I just looked at the Progress 8 scores for The Misbourne and Holmer Green on the dept for education website , both are in the good zone of ‘above average’, Holmer Greens is higher but both scores are good if that helps anyone. And boys do better than girls at The Misbourne including for English/maths but it’s the other way round at HG!
I think private schools may ‘spoon feed’ more?
And I think in Bucks it’s hard for some parents to feel positive about a school that you go to if you ‘failed’ a test (11 plus)? But once at the Upper schools hopefully people realise how great some of these schools are.

Sorry the above posting was still me, ‘Sunand Stars15’! My phone stopped remembering my password so I reset it and it used an old username. I was put off Mumsnet before when there was a data leak or something of that nature? But I rejoined yesterday

@swanriver30 Ive been around many parents who really dislike the secondaries because they have unrealistic expectations of dc and have paid shed loads for tuition. I’ve seen dc made unhappy by parents refusing to accept a secondary. However I’ve seen others do amazingly well. Some of these dc are better at some subjects than others but can really get good results at the secondaries. Several dc near me have gone to very solid RG unis to study Stem subjects. Just as good as many of the grammar dc but these dc didn’t have disappointed parents! Interestingly several were teachers and a head teacher.

Hi @Cottonblend,

We’re in the same situation -based in GM and also attended the Claires Court open day. We really liked it, but the distance is a challenge. Berko is our other private option, though it’s also not ideal logistically.

I’ve heard very mixed reviews about The Misbourne, and like you, I’m concerned about whether high-achieving students get enough academic push. Please do share if you come across any more feedback!