by Scientist » Wed Feb 05, 2014 1:36 pm
If you plonked Honeywell School lock, stock and barrel into a rundown area of London surrounded by social housing and lacking the trappings of wealth typical of its current affluent location, would it still make the Tatler list ? I doubt it, partly because Tatler wouldn't tend to feature locations in which it has no obvious readership.
Parents in the know appreciate that it is in large part the local community, the children's relatively aspirational and comfortable backgrounds and their parents' wish to send many on to selective secondary schools which help drive the results and ethos of Honeywell. The majority of children in years 4 upwards have private tutoring, which is the only way that most of them could catch up with their peers in the private sector and be able to impress the selection panels of the selective schools their parents are aiming for at the next stage. It is also the case that Honeywell parents raise huge amounts of money through endless PTFA organised events, which in turn feeds into the school budget for enhancements, repairs, new equipment etc. All of these benefits would not be evident in such quantity were the school in a deprived area.
In conclusion, it is very hard to judge Honeywell purely on the basis of its teachers and governors, so one would have to guess that the parents play a very large part in its desirability.
If you plonked Honeywell School lock, stock and barrel into a rundown area of London surrounded by social housing and lacking the trappings of wealth typical of its current affluent location, would it still make the Tatler list ? I doubt it, partly because Tatler wouldn't tend to feature locations in which it has no obvious readership.
Parents in the know appreciate that it is in large part the local community, the children's relatively aspirational and comfortable backgrounds and their parents' wish to send many on to selective secondary schools which help drive the results and ethos of Honeywell. The majority of children in years 4 upwards have private tutoring, which is the only way that most of them could catch up with their peers in the private sector and be able to impress the selection panels of the selective schools their parents are aiming for at the next stage. It is also the case that Honeywell parents raise huge amounts of money through endless PTFA organised events, which in turn feeds into the school budget for enhancements, repairs, new equipment etc. All of these benefits would not be evident in such quantity were the school in a deprived area.
In conclusion, it is very hard to judge Honeywell purely on the basis of its teachers and governors, so one would have to guess that the parents play a very large part in its desirability.