Hayes or Langley Park schools

[TwinDad10]

Niche question but here goes… we have boy/girl twins and are preparing to move to Bromley to send our kids to either Hayes School (for both kids) or Langley Park Boys (him) / Langley Park Girls (her).

Keen to hear from parents with kids at these schools about their recent experiences. Eg, Hayes has recently changed head teacher - has this had an effect? What is the pastoral care like? How do they handle disruptive kids? Thoughts on the smartphone policy?

And any insight to living in Hayes (Bromley), West Wickham, south Beckenham would be great. Feels like a huge decision for us so trying to get all the insight we can!

Thanks.

Hello, I have a boy and a girl at the Langleys and am friends with Hayes parents too. They are both good schools but have different feels to them. My son has absolutely loved Langley Boys - he is a big rugby player and the facilities are fab. I feel like they really know how to cater to boys but unless your child is very self-motivated, I felt the academic side was a bit wishy-washy. He did GCSEs two summers ago and they only pushed the boys towards the very end which was too late in my opinion. Langley Girls is much less modern and well-equipped. So if you have a boy and a girl, your daughter can see their brother is at a much better-equipped school (one playing field versus about five, the girls school is also very cramped). I think the girls school is better academically and they have been pushing my daughter for years (sometimes too much). But it is a bit joyless - loads of rules, not much fun stuff and the sport isn’t great. It’s known for being quite arty and lots of the girls love textiles GCSE. They do a musical play every year too. So it just depends what your daughter is in to. Personally my daughter hasn’t enjoyed it as she’s found it dull and strict but she has done well and has good friends. Hayes is obviously mixed which can be great when you have a boy and a girl. The building is older than Langley Boys (more like the Langley Girls set up) but they do have a nice big field. They have got better at rugby recently. Hayes feels much more provincial to me - and a bit more Love Island. Think more Range Rovers and Botox. While West Wickham/Beckenham (Langley catchment) feels more like a small town with more London types. Put it this way, Hayes is covered with flags on every lamp post at the moment while West Wickham isn’t (yet, thank goodness). On balance, I would prefer to live in West Wickham but can see the advantage to sending my children to a mixed school, especially if you have boys and girls. I don’t regret sending mine to the Langleys though. Have you been to any open days?

@Holdonforsummer thanks for your thoughtful response. Yes, we went to open days at all three and agree with your observations.

We’re moving from an SE postcode and one of the big challenges for us is moving to a more right-leaning, flags-on-lamposts area. But we see that as a compromise for giving our kids a happy teenage life - and hopefully an area with slightly less crime and more community spirit than our current area.

There’s a school of thought that girls do better in single-sex schools while boys come out more rounded in co-eds. But I guess that depends on the schools and children!

We moved from Sydenham and had exactly the same concerns! However we have loved West Wickham and it has been brilliant for our now-teenagers, loads to do and generally safe (touch wood). Good luck!