Ide Hill Primary School
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Ide Hill Primary School
Ide Hill C of E Primary School (near Sevenoaks) - did /does any one of you Kent people use this school? What did you think of it?
Thanks.
Thanks.
IDE HILL SCHOOL
Yes, My Kids Go there,
It's a great school. Not the usual pushy "Hot house"school which is so prevalent in the area. Very small classes led by excellent teachers, very happy and friendly children, all the children are on first name terms with all the others and they all support each other. Despite this or almost certainly because of it, IDE HILL SCHOOL gets great results.
Only 74 kids on the rolls means class sizes that are comparable with the popular private schools in the area, so to my mind my kids are getting a great education, they are not being taught to be self centred, arrogant sociopaths and I am saving 15 to 30 grand a year.
KS1 and 2 are well above national and local averages and last year 9 out of 10 of the final year leavers got their first or second choice secondary school.
I would highly reccomend
It's a great school. Not the usual pushy "Hot house"school which is so prevalent in the area. Very small classes led by excellent teachers, very happy and friendly children, all the children are on first name terms with all the others and they all support each other. Despite this or almost certainly because of it, IDE HILL SCHOOL gets great results.
Only 74 kids on the rolls means class sizes that are comparable with the popular private schools in the area, so to my mind my kids are getting a great education, they are not being taught to be self centred, arrogant sociopaths and I am saving 15 to 30 grand a year.
KS1 and 2 are well above national and local averages and last year 9 out of 10 of the final year leavers got their first or second choice secondary school.
I would highly reccomend
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Westkentmum
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2008 1:09 pm
To StuB
How very little you know about independent schools! My daughter is at the independent school near you and most certainly has not been taught to be a 'self centred, arrogant sociopath'!
She is a sweet, polite considerate little girl who is at this school simply because the state school offered to her at the age of 5, was probably the most undesirable in the area and being so quiet, she would not have coped with the huge classes of mixed ages.
I do not believe we have any more 'self centred, arrogant, sociopaths' at our school than at any other school. We have a lovely bunch of girls whose parents work hard and make sacrifices to enable their children to have the wonderful education only available FOC to people lucky enough to live near a good primary school!
For you information, the fees are less than half your 'educated ' guess!
To Perplexed
Firstly sorry about the above rant!
Secondly, I know friends or friends who go to this school and speak very highly of it. It also has a good reputation locally.
How very little you know about independent schools! My daughter is at the independent school near you and most certainly has not been taught to be a 'self centred, arrogant sociopath'!
She is a sweet, polite considerate little girl who is at this school simply because the state school offered to her at the age of 5, was probably the most undesirable in the area and being so quiet, she would not have coped with the huge classes of mixed ages.
I do not believe we have any more 'self centred, arrogant, sociopaths' at our school than at any other school. We have a lovely bunch of girls whose parents work hard and make sacrifices to enable their children to have the wonderful education only available FOC to people lucky enough to live near a good primary school!
For you information, the fees are less than half your 'educated ' guess!
To Perplexed
Firstly sorry about the above rant!
Secondly, I know friends or friends who go to this school and speak very highly of it. It also has a good reputation locally.
Thank you both for replying in such an interesting way!
I think I know the senior department of the school to the school to which you refer quite well, and my opinion would fall somewhere midway between the two of you. Also I guess the annual fees depend on the age and numbers of children you send there. Annual costs per child in the senior school are well in excess of £12K now if you take everything into account.
I put Ide Hill third on my Kent CAF and will hear the outcome two weeks today. The schools I put in first and second place will not have any space for me as they have a high sibling intake this September, and we live too far away.
Ide Hill does look extremely good. I was attracted to it on paper in the first place by its strong results at KS2 compared with many schools locally. However, I think our chances of getting into it this year from central Edenbridge are probably lower than in past years. As the sibling counts are very high at many of the village schools surrounding Edenbridge I think Ide Hill may have received many more applications than normal from people who live further north and west in Edenbridge than us.
Thank you again for responding.
I think I know the senior department of the school to the school to which you refer quite well, and my opinion would fall somewhere midway between the two of you. Also I guess the annual fees depend on the age and numbers of children you send there. Annual costs per child in the senior school are well in excess of £12K now if you take everything into account.
I put Ide Hill third on my Kent CAF and will hear the outcome two weeks today. The schools I put in first and second place will not have any space for me as they have a high sibling intake this September, and we live too far away.
Ide Hill does look extremely good. I was attracted to it on paper in the first place by its strong results at KS2 compared with many schools locally. However, I think our chances of getting into it this year from central Edenbridge are probably lower than in past years. As the sibling counts are very high at many of the village schools surrounding Edenbridge I think Ide Hill may have received many more applications than normal from people who live further north and west in Edenbridge than us.
Thank you again for responding.
Ide Hill
To be honest most of the primary schools and most of the private schools in the Sevenoaks area do a very good job and will get your child into a good secondary school if they are capable whilst giving your child and enjoyable time.
I personally think that most of the difference is cultural and things like extra-curricular, class size and so on. By the way, the notion that privately educated children are taught to look down on everyone else is just plain silly. Our children go to a large primary school in the area and lot of our friends have children in private schools. To be honest, the primary school has more parents with a 'questionable' attitude than the private schools.
The best school depends very much on the child. Some children need a smaller closer knit feel of a small village school. Some children are very happy in the rough and tumble of a big school. Some little girls prefer a single sex school. Some are able to deal with little boys and their 'ways'. Some boys want lots and lots of football other like having girls around.
Smaller schools seem to have fewer 'problem' children than big schools so if your child could be a bully-magnet then a small school is probably better.
On the other hand a very bright child may, emphasis may, benefit from the increased competition that often comes from larger classes. The larger schools often have more children going to the local grammar schools and public schools so, if your child could get into one of those schools, having similar children around and other parents to share information with could be very useful.
The big schools offer lots of extra-curricular activities like hockey, rugby, chess, after school orchestra, Saturday football and so on. On the other hand some of the smaller primary schools (Weald for example) have excellent music and sports and a child in a large school can want to take on so much that they get exhausted.
Some parents like some of the private schools like Walthamstow Hall because the child can go from 4 all the way through to 18 so the girls have a lot of stability.
Bottom line: the Sevenoaks area has lots and lots of good schools, it's just a matter of fitting the school to the child's character and capabilities. I am sure that Ide Hill is a smashing school.
I personally think that most of the difference is cultural and things like extra-curricular, class size and so on. By the way, the notion that privately educated children are taught to look down on everyone else is just plain silly. Our children go to a large primary school in the area and lot of our friends have children in private schools. To be honest, the primary school has more parents with a 'questionable' attitude than the private schools.
The best school depends very much on the child. Some children need a smaller closer knit feel of a small village school. Some children are very happy in the rough and tumble of a big school. Some little girls prefer a single sex school. Some are able to deal with little boys and their 'ways'. Some boys want lots and lots of football other like having girls around.
Smaller schools seem to have fewer 'problem' children than big schools so if your child could be a bully-magnet then a small school is probably better.
On the other hand a very bright child may, emphasis may, benefit from the increased competition that often comes from larger classes. The larger schools often have more children going to the local grammar schools and public schools so, if your child could get into one of those schools, having similar children around and other parents to share information with could be very useful.
The big schools offer lots of extra-curricular activities like hockey, rugby, chess, after school orchestra, Saturday football and so on. On the other hand some of the smaller primary schools (Weald for example) have excellent music and sports and a child in a large school can want to take on so much that they get exhausted.
Some parents like some of the private schools like Walthamstow Hall because the child can go from 4 all the way through to 18 so the girls have a lot of stability.
Bottom line: the Sevenoaks area has lots and lots of good schools, it's just a matter of fitting the school to the child's character and capabilities. I am sure that Ide Hill is a smashing school.
Ide Hill school
I don't normally do "Forums" I don't think they are suited to my sense of humour.
Still, it got "Perplexed" a few points of view at least.
First let me apologise about the "sociopath" comment. It is wrong to generalise and I am sorry. I know a lot of kids who go to Private Schools and only a handful of them pull legs of spiders and set fire to old ladies at bus stops.
Secondly, As someone who failed the 11plus I must declare the presence of a substantial chip on my shoulder. It is there despite the fact that the state system gave me a great education and prepared me to be very successful in life. Still, being segregated from my friends and having the stigma of failiure at 11 makes for a certain bitterness against the system.
Thirdly to Paddy's point, dead right! We are comparing schools in the area and getting picky about schools that are all well above average. It just so happens that Ide Hill School is a bit more above averge than the rest. (I'M JOKING- DONT SHOOT ME!)
Now, to the point. At Ide Hill School my kids are getting virtually one on one teaching in a school whose Stats are better than some of the nearby Private schools. Irrespective of the pro and cons of "competitive" education (which we Sevenoaks parents seem to revel in), with schools like Ide Hill, why pay more?
Numbers at Ide Hill school are good, classes are small, and although I am happy to keep it that way I do know there is space at the moment. They have had a couple of parents go off on international placements, one with twins, so there are spaces. For more info check out their website at www.212m.co.uk
Westkentmum, I do hope you accept my apology and I wish you and your daughter well, every child deserves to be happy.
Still, it got "Perplexed" a few points of view at least.
First let me apologise about the "sociopath" comment. It is wrong to generalise and I am sorry. I know a lot of kids who go to Private Schools and only a handful of them pull legs of spiders and set fire to old ladies at bus stops.
Secondly, As someone who failed the 11plus I must declare the presence of a substantial chip on my shoulder. It is there despite the fact that the state system gave me a great education and prepared me to be very successful in life. Still, being segregated from my friends and having the stigma of failiure at 11 makes for a certain bitterness against the system.
Thirdly to Paddy's point, dead right! We are comparing schools in the area and getting picky about schools that are all well above average. It just so happens that Ide Hill School is a bit more above averge than the rest. (I'M JOKING- DONT SHOOT ME!)
Now, to the point. At Ide Hill School my kids are getting virtually one on one teaching in a school whose Stats are better than some of the nearby Private schools. Irrespective of the pro and cons of "competitive" education (which we Sevenoaks parents seem to revel in), with schools like Ide Hill, why pay more?
Numbers at Ide Hill school are good, classes are small, and although I am happy to keep it that way I do know there is space at the moment. They have had a couple of parents go off on international placements, one with twins, so there are spaces. For more info check out their website at www.212m.co.uk
Westkentmum, I do hope you accept my apology and I wish you and your daughter well, every child deserves to be happy.
IDE HILL SCHOOL RECEPTION 2008
From the usual playground chatter I think the numbers are good but there are less siblings than usual this year (I hope it isn't something in the water).
So, thanks to a freak of demographics you might get a result. We'd be happy to see you.
Good luck, like I said its a great school and bit of a well kept secret.
So, thanks to a freak of demographics you might get a result. We'd be happy to see you.
Good luck, like I said its a great school and bit of a well kept secret.
