Hill House International School

Both of my daughters enjoyed their time at Hill House and were very well prepared for all aspects of senior school life. My youngest daughter left last year. Coincidently the state school ( X) which I attended and enjoyed, although not at exactly comparable ages, was assessed on the same dates and received a 2 (Good) on all measures. However the data from the Parents View section of the Ofsted website paints a completely different picture of both schools. The percentage of parents of pupils at X, when asked if their child was happy and separately, if they felt safe, strongly agreed 54% and 61% respectively, compared to 92% and 84% at Hill House. On the questions of whether they were well taught, had homework appropriate to their age and were making good progress the comparable numbers were 22%,19% and 31% against 71%,74% and 75% at Hill House. On whether the children were well looked after and well behaved (which Ofsted does mention about Hill House) the comparable percentages strongly agreeing were 43% and 19% at X against 80% and 95% at Hill House. Clearly Ofsted does not listen to the views of parents, or if they do listen ,they ignore them. Ofsted's moto is "Raising standards, improving lives ", clearly the vast majority of parents on the Parents View section of the Ofsted website and in the comments here believe this to be true of Hill House. Ofsted should question its own assessment criteria where a school that can be graded 2 has only 22% of parents strongly believing that their children are well taught compared to one which is graded a 4, where 71% strongly agreed that they are well taught and 96% agree strongly or agree that they are well taught.

The world's greatest school uniform and a real family business. Don't let the nanny state kill this one off.

Reports are subjective however 'objective' they (the inspectors) think they would like them to be. I have a son on this planet that has good manners, morals and ethics. That's because of HH. He has passion and enthusiasm for getting up and going to school to learn each day. That's because of HH. He sleeps at night and sleeps well. That's because of HH. He thinks about life, mixes with other cultures and nationalities, and speaks to me about his mates at school. That's because of HH. He plays music and strives for sport. Because of HH. He and all his classmates feel part of a family - The Hill House Family! He has been there from small school and has never had a problem with school, never had a problem with a teacher and always had the support of the Hill House structure. I have an only son that is growing into an incredible young man because of HH. I have a young man that looks up to many a teacher and shocks me with what he knows somedays. I have son, most importantly that is happy at school, isn't bullied or in any danger and comes home happy each day. Let's stick together HH as we have a great school!

I chose to have both my children at Hill House having attended the School myself. Fortunately, neither my Parents or I consulted OFSTED when making such an important decision about my Children's education and ultimately their future. I could not have made a better decision. Hill House has not only provided my Children with an excellent education and happy memories but instilled manners and values which seems to have by large disappeared in the Britain of today. As with all Hill House boys and girls, my children are strikingly confident, independent, cultured and well mannered. The Government gives far too much discretion to regulatory bodies, social workers and family judges who are generally vindictive and have their own agenda. It is a shame they do not spend more time and money raising the appaulling standards at our state schools rather than publishing flawed and vindictive reports about an oversubscribed School with proven results since 1912.

I chose to have both my children at Hill House having attended the School myself. Fortunately, neither my Parents or I consulted OFSTED when making such an important decision about our Children's education and ultimately their future. I could not have made a better decision. Hill House has not only provided my Children with an excellent education and happy memories but instilled manners and values which seem to have by large disappeared in the Britain of today. As with all Hill House boys and girls, my children are strikingly confident, independent, cultured and well mannered. The Government gives far too much discretion to regulatory bodies, social workers and family judges who are generally vindictive and have their own agenda. It is a shame they do not spend more time and money raising the appaulling standards at our state schools rather than publishing flawed and vindictive reports about an oversubscribed School with proven results since 1912.

It is with great pleasure that I add my support to this petition as I passionately disagree with the findings in the OFSTED report. Aside from it's dreary structure, uninspiring narrative and odious connotations, I can see no resemblance to the bright, creative, happy and charming children who attend Hill House. Our daughter has developed exponentially since joining HH not just in sport and music, (as the report indicates these are the only positive criteria that the school can boast!), but also academically across all subjects and most importantly in her confidence, energy and moral compass. It is fair to say she attends school with steam in her stride and returns home happy and inspired. I have no doubt the Health and safety areas will be rectified forthwith along with any other managerial issues but to have the school labelled as inadequate is more than an insult and only illustrates a dramatic error of judgement.

Hill House is an outstanding school which produces happy, confident, intelligent and well mannered children. I am delighted with the way my son has developed during his 7 years there. He has excelled academically under the tutelage of wonderful teachers and has developed a passion for all sports due to the school's exceptional ethos.

Comments: This merely confirms the impression one has got from a number of Ofsted "reports" over the years, but also raises the question of why the report was leaked. Strangely, Maths is one of the strongest areas at the school. In old buildings, there may always be, to an untutored observer, lurking fire dangers, but the security of the children there has been, since the founding of the school the PRIME consideration of the teaching staff. If you would like to get an idea of how Ofsted compiles its reports, go here: http://tinyurl.com/kwpwala And if you would like to see the hilarious Fascinating Aida 'take' on Ofsted, look at the YouTube video here: https://youtu.be/d13gX-1HJg4

The years I spent at Hill House were the best in my life, years I wouldn't change for the world.

It would be a complete travesty if this wonderful school with its rich history should face any difficulties because of such issues as fire safety and child safety (personally I can't see what the problem with child safeguarding might be). My daughter is making great progress into becoming a rounded and happy individual rather than an exam passing machine and I am totally satisfied with the education she is receiving. This report says far more about how OFSTED provides superficial and ill informed reports than it does about Hill House.

As parents, we are very pleased with Hill House. While it certainly has it's quirks, we chose the school precisely because it differed from the other schools. It succeeds in being traditional yet unpretentious, high-achieving without being a pressure cooker, very English while encouraging multiculturalism and acceptance. My son actually runs to the school door each morning, and is smiling each afternoon upon pick-up. In the early years, they have allowed my son the time to be a child, without the pressures of heavy testing and streaming. We have always had reasonable communication with the teachers and they have tailored their approach to our child's needs and capabilities. Our younger son is set to start in a years time, and we have no plans to look any further. The Ofstead report is simply not representative of our experiences with the school and, while there is always room for improvement, my husband and I both stand with the school in the face of this reductive, bureaucratic report.

As a former pupil of the school, I was immensely proud of being able to send both my daughters to the school the Colonel and his family have created. Hill House has never been and I hope will never be a 'tick the box' school ,it is Independent and has it own values and ethos. Every former pupil and current pupil knows the responsibility of attending a school with such a great tradition and history. I still remember being told that when you wear the uniform you represent the school, and whilst I no longer where the uniform the sentiment still applies and I contest every aspect of the recent Ofsted report which is simply at odds with the experience of the pupils, teachers, owners and everyone connected to the school. We acknowledge there are always ways to improve and the school is already implementing these practices. As a parent / former pupil though there is no way this school is inadequate. Safety of the pupils is one of the key facets of the values of this school and every custodian of the children from top to bottom takes this responsibility seriously and the well being of the pupils has always been paramount whether today or in 1951 when the school opened with one pupil. The academic results of the school in terms of common entrance results and ratio of scholarships awarded is totally ignored in the report. Indeed the school is one of the most complete providers of non academic activities of any school I am aware of , excelling in its historic focus on music , drama and sports. However the real test is the pupils who attend the school every day, they are without doubt happy, safe, challenged and motivated by the schools' approach , I will never forget the words inscribed in the schools entrance which act to inspire the entire school even today , a child mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled. I am immensely proud that my children have that same fire, and go to school which they are learn more than academics. Indeed the small things

It is absolutely shocking that so many parents can actually be in denial. I believe it is somewhat thoughtless to judge a school’s quality by the leavers' destination schools. I am not sure if any of the parents writing on this blog have any understanding of elementary statistics, but i will throw it out there for whoever wants to consider it: the quality of the schools, like may other questions in life are determined by multiple explanatory variables rather than ONE, or TWO to which most of you are referring to: 'Look at their results' and 'my child is happy there' seem to be the only factors of the school quality according to your extensive analytical assessment. How many of you actually thought that the children's results are already biased considering that the children going there are a biased sample of children, who come from: - well to do families - intellectual families - accomplished families - families with stable environments - attention given to the child inside the family That is one factor that contributes to good results. Compare these backgrounds to state schools, which have 30% EAL children, 40% divorced / fathers in jail / domestic violence situations and not particularly stable or caring family environments (I am comparing to state schools to demonstrate the extreme case, there are other independent schools in between on the background / family setup spectrum and the leavers’ results spectrum). Second factor that contributes to good results: Small class sizes. State school sector average, is more like 30 rather than 15. I think that this doesn’t need further explanation. Third factor – outside tutoring. Why do so many of us get external tutors if the school is doing its job well? My impression is that HH is a traditional school that: - hasn’t kept up with increasing educational standards and demands - is family run without accountability, performance measurement and performance related compensation - is too large to

We, parents of Hill House , find unacceptable the bureaucratic outrage unleashed upon Hill House Shool, much loved by its pupils, their parents and teachers. The OFSTED report in question distorts the state of things in Hill House with kafkaesque absurdity. This report is so flawed and biast that it raises certain questions, like who are these inspectors and what is the level of their competence? Apparently, although a government body, OFSTED , employs external companies to carry out inspections, and the inspectors are not qualified to teach. ( see Exley, Stephen, 27 July 2012, "Inspectors unqualified to teach sit in judgment", TES connect, online magazine, https://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6263276 ) "Ofsted contractor employs staff without QTS to run inspections. Senior Ofsted inspectors have been allowed to pass judgement on schools despite lacking even basic teaching qualifications, TES has learned." "Russell Hobby, general secretary of the NAHT heads’ union, described the situation as “quite scary stuff”. “I don’t know how anyone who isn’t qualified could provide a meaningful assessment of the quality of teaching,” he said. “Schools’ reputations and teachers’ careers are made and broken on the basis of these reports. Parents think they are authoritative.” What is the real reason for this unfair report? Is there some hidden conflict of interest somewhere? Who wants to close Hill House and why?

I walked into Hans Place a couple of weeks ago at around 9:30 and the door was wide open. There was no one in the little office which is just around the corner to the left. I called out for about 5 minutes, no one came, and I left. Safety of the children? Don't make me laugh.

What is the point of this petition if legitimate comments made about a parent's concern with their child's safety at the school, such as the one made by Alison Moore, get deleted by the administrator?

Why was my comment deleted? I am a Hill House parent, like everybody else.

Hmmm. 'M. Poole' has one view, and nearly 800 people (and counting) share another view. I think it is obvious who is in denial, here. 'M.Poole' is either an Ofsted stooge, or a fool. Are they the same thing ? My son is very happy at HH. So I have experience of the school. Perhaps 'M.Poole' does not.

M Poole and Alison Moore are not alone. It is rather harder to stand up as a parent and state that the OFSTED report rings true to you, than it is to stand up in defence of the school, so the figures of those in support of the school vs those who aren't are necessarily skewed. Added to this the fact that any negative comments are being deleted here. There are a large number of dissatisfied parents who are not being vocal about it for fear of repercussions for their children. There is no complaints procedure at the school (that is adhered to), which demonstrates how unwilling the leadership are to take on board parents' criticisms /concerns. I agree that "your adamant support of the school without serious consideration of the OFSTED findings is counterproductive and would prevent the school from improving"

A reply to "b c" (who commented on March 18, 2015 at 9:58 AM) The trouble about what passes for discussion on forums like this is the immoderation. You assert confidently that "any negative comments are being deleted here". I don't know what has been deleted and by whom, but the contributions from "M. Poole" and "Alison Moore" which you endorse are plainly on display for all to see. Has your own comment been deleted, for that matter? The fact that I am replying to it strongly suggests otherwise! I suspect that it is also the perceived lack of moderation on the part of Ofsted that has riled so many, including those parents who in other circumstances would be first in line to level constructive criticism at the school over one issue or another. Here is just one quote from the Ofsted report: "The specialist teachers for music and sport have good subject knowledge, as do a small minority of other teachers." The claim that a "small minority" of tutors other than music and sports teachers know their subjects well - made on the basis of two inspectors' sitting in on barely more than a dozen lessons over a period of three days - is a glib, poorly-evidenced generalization about an academic staff that numbers about 90 (not including music and sports). It is not surprising then that the term "vindictiveness" has crept into the discussion. When a sweeping conclusion is proclaimed without reference to strong empirical evidence, it is legitimate to question the motives of the authors in presenting a hypothesis as if it were observable fact. Patently, there is more to this report than meets the eye, and the real reason why the two inspectors decided to adopt what can only be described as guerrilla tactics against the school is, for the time being at least, anybody's guess. The truth may yet be told. There are a number of factors at play in the current furore - people's instinctive and understandable loyalty to a cherished and unfairly put-upon institution, a mismatch b