North Bridge House School Hampstead

[1212vidi]

Anyone currently there and could give feedback? I have heard it is not great with the headteacher leaving and the school transitioning into Alleyns? A couple of parents said it was not great. However, as we move this summer for y8 back to England we don't have too many options. Grateful for any feedback.

Anyone?

My daughter taught there, until last July.
She, admittedly, was becoming disillusioned with teaching, and has now left the profession. Her main concern was the level of SEND pupils and the lack of time and resources to address their needs adequately.
But she did say the SLT was good. However, with a change in Head and structure, that may not be the case now.
Sorry, can't comment on how the school experience was for pupils or parents.

Thank you so much. With us arriving in y8 it is hard to find a place. I have heard from a current parent that it is awful at the moment and that they have a lot of cover teachers. Additionally, due to their inability to support with sen needs behaviour is not great. It is difficult as it is currently our only school where all my children would be accepted. Hoping some other parents will share… we will try other schools too, but not many are taking in y8 while y7 will be easier for us to get into.

We know London families with a few kids and they attend different schools, not ideal but don’t go for 1 school just because they would all accept kids.
Also, DC can travel in secondary schools so you have more options. Check London schools and their website with different transport options. Some schools have their own bus routes covering a wide range.
Check Londonpreprep website and good schools guide.co.uk

My perception was that it was a school for sensitive children who had struggled to fit in elsewhere. I don't know how this will work along side the competitive Alleyns ethos of excellence in all things. A time of transition for the school.
Remember that you don't have to stay at any one school forever. There will be opportunities to change in future if it doesn't work out.

Do you have to move to a fee-paying school? I would imagine there will be a fair chance of Year 8 places coming up in various London comprehensives, many of which are excellent. A lot of families are moving out of London due to the expense of living here.

I can imagine if you are moving from abroad that you want the certainty of knowing where your child is going - which, if you choose the state route, you won't get until you are actually living here - but it could work out well.

"Additionally, due to their inability to support with sen needs behaviour is not great."
OP, I didnt want to say this explicitly, but this was a big part of the reason for my DD's departure from teaching there, but since you said it.... In fact, she found behaviour to be better at her previous state school.

Thank-you. It is a worry for me, the school has changed a lot since my old friends son attended some years ago. The old head is leaving, new one coming but it may take years for the school to sort itself out. I had high hopes for the school as it fitted perfectly for us whilst the children get used to living here. Thank you I appreciate your feedback and if you can pm me any more information confidentially I would be very grateful.

We don't need to go to a fee-paying absolutely not, but fuento the VAT increase it is impossible to find any places (but one) in the state sector. One that had place was awful and really had terrible bullying issues… we might just have to do what we can for the time being.

Thank you I will check it out.

I'll ask my daughter and will pm you, if there is anything helpful, for sure. X

I did message my daughter, OP, have PM'd you. X

I know two families with children who currently attend NBH Hampstead and who are very happy there. Do you have girl or boy? If there are other schools you are interested in, give them a call and see if they have occasional places. My daughter’s school is closing at the end of this academic year and we’ve needed to find a school for her for next year and there were several desirable schools that had occasional places available. For example, if you have a girl and are looking at co-ed schools, I know that Mill Hill definitely has spaces for girls.

My DS is in year 4 at the prep school and if we lived in South London Alleyn’s would be our choice of school.
Do you know what kind of changes are they making once it becomes Alleyn’s? Will it be more selective? More academic?
We were impressed by the head teacher of Alleyn’s when we went to the taster day last May. I have to say she talked the talk!
Wou you have any insight on it becoming more selective? How is the kids’ behaviour? How do they deal with bullying?

A couple of parents have reached out to me and said that their current Year 7 kids have no trips, no days out, and nothing. Many supply teachers are unfamiliar with the subject, so they often ask the children to complete their homework during those lessons or have them work on their computers. The majority of children in those years are sen with no proper support and teachers can't control the classroom. Apparently there are some good teachers but not many.

I looked into cog*ita as a company and they are either preparing the schools for sale or will make it highly academic thus increasing the value of their assets. This may mean instability in the school as they phase out high number of sen children and attract more academic children, also they may have to replace a high number of teachers and make many changes. This is all for the better of those who are academic and survive the journey...the worry is that this school is PE and it's about the profit

Oh dear it doesn’t look good for the current students does it? They must do a big shake up if they want to attract more academic kids! Especially if they want this school anywhere near the level of Alleyn’s (which was nu 10 based on last year’s gcse and A level results)!
My DS goes to an ex-cognita school, 12 smaller schools were sold to blenheim schools. The handover was smooth and nothing changed on the day-to-day level.
Thank you for your reply and it looks like Alleyn’s Hampstead how it’s currently isn’t for us and we won’t have time to see major changes as my DS is in year 4 already.