BURNING
Residents’ Journal
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lutarch said: ‘The mind is not a vessel that needs filling, but wood that needs igniting.’ This is a maxim that Guy Holloway and the teachers at Hampton Court House have taken to heart. Arriving at the school (a sprawling 18th century manor) I am struck with the sense that there must be more going on here than at your average educational establishment. Not two seconds after I walk through the door my theory is proved correct as I am greeted by a group of teenage students singing tunefully (and fluently) in French. In many schools this is a feat achieved by only the top language pupils, but at HCH all students are bilingual by the time they reach the senior school, having been taught their key subjects (including maths and humanities) in French until they are in Year four. Latin is also a compulsory subject throughout pupils’ formative years, and Mandarin classes begin twice weekly from Year five. Many pupils also opt to take up further languages as they progress towards GCSE level. As I embark upon a tour with headmaster Guy Holloway, he explains why. ‘Almost all the staff here are bilingual and have lived abroad at one time or another,’ he tells me. ‘We wanted to create a cultured learning environment with a global outlook, and our students are influenced by their relationships with teachers who are passionate about their subjects – and their languages.’ Set against the backdrop of beautiful Bushy Park, HCH has a feel of barelycontained excitement. As we pass through the school, shouts of ‘Hi Guy!’ ring out across courtyards and classrooms as pupils greet their evidently popular headmaster. ‘I’m Guy to everybody,’ he tells me. ‘All our staff go by their first names, it’s an essential part of creating the relaxed atmosphere we believe in.’ The school’s creed, ‘fortiter in re, suaviter in modo’ (firmly in action, gently in manner) accurately represents the attitude of both pupils and staff here.
BURNING
Bright
Jennifer Mason meets Guy Holloway, headmaster at inspirational school Hampton Court House in leafy south west London
There are no school bells, no ‘herding’ of children from class to class – and no uniform either. ‘Learning to dress appropriately for life situations begins at school,’ Guy explains. ‘As with everything here, it’s about life learning, not just school study.’ I’m beginning to understand Guy’s summary of the school as ‘intellectual not academic’ – the term ‘education’ here is all-encompassing. ‘There has to be something of the magician about an adult to stir a child,’ Guy muses. Whether there are wizards on his staff or not, the school certainly has something magical about it. Exploring its upper reaches is akin to toppling headfirst into the pages of a CS Lewis novel. I hardly know what to expect as I turn each corner, with classrooms and tutorial spots hewn from the walls of the house like a burrow of secret spaces. Everything about this school has charm to it, from the science labs in the old 18th century kitchens to the Year three indoor hockey class in the vaulted space that once housed a private art collection. I half expect that the next door Guy opens for me will lead to some studious version of Narnia. ‘All of our students, from age three right the way up to age 16, are under this one roof,’ Guy says. ‘It’s a wonderful opportunity for all of our students. Our Year nines read stories to Year two at lunchtimes, and recently our Year 10 students have also run dance groups for the little ones. Part of being at HCH is enjoying the presence of the younger children, which is rare in most secondary schools in this country.’ From September 2015, the HCH building will also house students aged 17 and 18 when its new sixth form opens. In keeping with the school’s unorthodox (yet undeniably effective) methods, the AS and A-Level curriculum will concentrate on the core Russell Group facilitating subjects, but with lessons starting later at 1.30pm and
running until 7pm. ‘Research has shown that older teenagers are physiologically better suited to a later start,’ Guy informs me. ‘This way, students will not only be more alert for classes, but they’ll have the opportunity to make the most of 168 hours each week. It will also teach them about the responsibilities of time management – a crucial skill for students in the run-up to less regimented university study.’ Aside from offering the standard subjects in small, tutorial-type classes, HCH will also run a compulsory Communication Skills programme, including modules on selfawareness, presentation skills and voice and media training. ‘The aim is that our students will be intellectually sophisticated, emotionally resilient and self-aware; imbued with the kind of self-confidence that will take them through life,’ Guy declares, ‘with the emphasis on top grades coupled with employability. Our job is to help students grow into adults who will influence the world.’ With ‘outstandings’ featuring liberally within its last Ofsted report, it’s clear that HCH is achieving its goal to reward free-thinking rather than just follow the standard mark scheme. ‘We are a school of vocational teachers,’ Guy explains, ‘and because of that we encourage the very nature of intellectual enquiry. If there were one correct way to educate children, we would have worked it out a long time ago and everybody would be doing it the same way. What we’ve created here at HCH is an environment that allows children to start taking a certain amount of responsibility for their own study; an environment that praises free-thinking, that recognises the lessons learned from mistakes, that teaches students to be proud of their knowledge and consistently strive to achieve more.’ Whatever they’re up to here at HCH, I’m positive they should keep doing it. In fact, it makes me wish (for the first time since I left school) that I could join in the fun next term. n Follow Guy on Twitter @GuyHolloway_HCH for school updates. Hampton Court House Hampton
Court Road, East Molesey Surrey, KT8 9BS main reception: 020 8943 0889, admissions 020 8614 0857 (hamptoncourthouse.co.uk)
All images courtesy of Hampton Court House
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P
lutarch said: ‘The mind is not a vessel that needs filling, but wood that needs igniting.’ This is a maxim that Guy Holloway and the teachers at Hampton Court House have taken to heart. Arriving at the school (a sprawling 18th century manor) I am struck with the sense that there must be more going on here than at your average educational establishment. Not two seconds after I walk through the door my theory is proved correct as I am greeted by a group of teenage students singing tunefully (and fluently) in French. In many schools this is a feat achieved by only the top language pupils, but at HCH all students are bilingual by the time they reach the senior school, having been taught their key subjects (including maths and humanities) in French until they are in Year four. Latin is also a compulsory subject throughout pupils’ formative years, and Mandarin classes begin twice weekly from Year five. Many pupils also opt to take up further languages as they progress towards GCSE level. As I embark upon a tour with headmaster Guy Holloway, he explains why. ‘Almost all the staff here are bilingual and have lived abroad at one time or another,’ he tells me. ‘We wanted to create a cultured learning environment with a global outlook, and our students are influenced by their relationships with teachers who are passionate about their subjects – and their languages.’ Set against the backdrop of beautiful Bushy Park, HCH has a feel of barelycontained excitement. As we pass through the school, shouts of ‘Hi Guy!’ ring out across courtyards and classrooms as pupils greet their evidently popular headmaster. ‘I’m Guy to everybody,’ he tells me. ‘All our staff go by their first names, it’s an essential part of creating the relaxed atmosphere we believe in.’ The school’s creed, ‘fortiter in re, suaviter in modo’ (firmly in action, gently in manner) accurately represents the attitude of both pupils and staff here.
BURNING
Bright
Jennifer Mason meets Guy Holloway, headmaster at inspirational school Hampton Court House in leafy south west London
There are no school bells, no ‘herding’ of children from class to class – and no uniform either. ‘Learning to dress appropriately for life situations begins at school,’ Guy explains. ‘As with everything here, it’s about life learning, not just school study.’ I’m beginning to understand Guy’s summary of the school as ‘intellectual not academic’ – the term ‘education’ here is all-encompassing. ‘There has to be something of the magician about an adult to stir a child,’ Guy muses. Whether there are wizards on his staff or not, the school certainly has something magical about it. Exploring its upper reaches is akin to toppling headfirst into the pages of a CS Lewis novel. I hardly know what to expect as I turn each corner, with classrooms and tutorial spots hewn from the walls of the house like a burrow of secret spaces. Everything about this school has charm to it, from the science labs in the old 18th century kitchens to the Year three indoor hockey class in the vaulted space that once housed a private art collection. I half expect that the next door Guy opens for me will lead to some studious version of Narnia. ‘All of our students, from age three right the way up to age 16, are under this one roof,’ Guy says. ‘It’s a wonderful opportunity for all of our students. Our Year nines read stories to Year two at lunchtimes, and recently our Year 10 students have also run dance groups for the little ones. Part of being at HCH is enjoying the presence of the younger children, which is rare in most secondary schools in this country.’ From September 2015, the HCH building will also house students aged 17 and 18 when its new sixth form opens. In keeping with the school’s unorthodox (yet undeniably effective) methods, the AS and A-Level curriculum will concentrate on the core Russell Group facilitating subjects, but with lessons starting later at 1.30pm and
running until 7pm. ‘Research has shown that older teenagers are physiologically better suited to a later start,’ Guy informs me. ‘This way, students will not only be more alert for classes, but they’ll have the opportunity to make the most of 168 hours each week. It will also teach them about the responsibilities of time management – a crucial skill for students in the run-up to less regimented university study.’ Aside from offering the standard subjects in small, tutorial-type classes, HCH will also run a compulsory Communication Skills programme, including modules on selfawareness, presentation skills and voice and media training. ‘The aim is that our students will be intellectually sophisticated, emotionally resilient and self-aware; imbued with the kind of self-confidence that will take them through life,’ Guy declares, ‘with the emphasis on top grades coupled with employability. Our job is to help students grow into adults who will influence the world.’ With ‘outstandings’ featuring liberally within its last Ofsted report, it’s clear that HCH is achieving its goal to reward free-thinking rather than just follow the standard mark scheme. ‘We are a school of vocational teachers,’ Guy explains, ‘and because of that we encourage the very nature of intellectual enquiry. If there were one correct way to educate children, we would have worked it out a long time ago and everybody would be doing it the same way. What we’ve created here at HCH is an environment that allows children to start taking a certain amount of responsibility for their own study; an environment that praises free-thinking, that recognises the lessons learned from mistakes, that teaches students to be proud of their knowledge and consistently strive to achieve more.’ Whatever they’re up to here at HCH, I’m positive they should keep doing it. In fact, it makes me wish (for the first time since I left school) that I could join in the fun next term. n Follow Guy on Twitter @GuyHolloway_HCH for school updates. Hampton Court House Hampton
Court Road, East Molesey Surrey, KT8 9BS main reception: 020 8943 0889, admissions 020 8614 0857 (hamptoncourthouse.co.uk)
All images courtesy of Hampton Court House
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