Heatherton School (Girls School)

I was really sad to read one of the previous reviews. My daughter started a Heatherton earlier this year after we removed her from our local state school. Heatherton have been SO supportive & my daughter is like a different child after only a few months, she is engaged with school now and is loving learning, which is such a pleasure to see. As a parent, I see Heatherton is a school that likes to develop all aspects of the children & really help them grow in confidence, if they are struggling with things (as my daughter has with a couple of subjects), the door has been open & there has been lots of chat & support to work out the best way forward for my girlie. We are so pleased we moved her to Heatherton.

I have to say, I am really surprised by the review above. I have one daughter who recently left Heatherton and one currently still attending and we have always been extremely happy with the school. My eldest daughter started her education in the state system and we moved her to Heatherton as I felt the teaching was at a much higher level and the pastoral care was second to none. Both girls really enjoy(ed) their time there and have excelled both academically and socially, and we have never felt the need to employ further tutors. Perhaps the above parent felt they had a bad experience, but from the Heatherton parents I know, this is an extremely minority view. I would definitely recommend having a look around the school and judging for yourself. We felt we couldn’t have given our daughters a better start than Heatherton.

My initial impression of Heatherton was very positive, they seemed very friendly, but as the years passed we came to realise that while their public face was mostly impressive the substance was sadly lacking.
We had expected that the quality of teaching would be better than at a local state school. It wasn't. We realised too late that the maths teaching in particular was appalling. As most of the parents realised, the only hope your child has of getting to grips with basic arithmetic is to pay for an external tutor. Many of the Heatherton parents are fine with that.
Perhaps we were exceptionally unlucky but in my daughter's year group, over 6 parents out of a class of 20 eventually took their daughters out and sent them to a different private school in the area having lost patience with the headmaster's lack of response to legitimate and constructive criticism.
The school doesn't seem to know what it is for. There is an impressive sounding range of extra curricular activities but mostly so superficial that too many girls fail get to grips with the basics.
If you want a fluffy environment to park your daughter, great.
If you want her to be well prepared for secondary school expect to use a lot of private tutors. Or look elsewhere.

Do go and visit the school. Although I used to work at Heatherton I consider this an unbiased review. I have two grown girls myself so have been through various stages of education as a parent. Heatherton is a little gem and I can't say strongly enough how each child is nurtured independently, caring for their individual characters and talents. During my time at Heatherton (I am not a teacher) I came to understand how important it is for each child to feel cherished and able to fell a sense of achievement within the school environment. It made me realise that if you find just one thing that the child is good at then they will flourish and it help to bring out the best in them across the board. The school offers a very wide syllabus, do delve beneath the surface if you go for a visit.