WHAT? WHERE?

Heath Mount is a non-selective, Co-ed with flexi boarding, and 515 children aged 2–13. It’s one of the oldest prep schools in the country: it was founded in 1796 in Hampstead and moved to it’s current site – a converted private home in Hertfordshire in 1934. There is a great sense of tradition and history here but at the same time the approach to education is forward thinking and constantly evolving.

The school is in the grounds of the rural Woodhall Estate: close to Hertford, with easy access to the A10 and most families live within an hour’s journey. The setting is idyllic: sweeping drive, picture-perfect playing fields, 40 acres of parkland and a Grade I listed Georgian house. In addition there are a number of modern, yet sensitively designed buildings, which blend in with the environment while boasting state-of-the-art facilities.

FACILITIES

The jawdroppingly ornate staircase – not too shabby

Arriving at the school reception, you could be forgiven for thinking you’d stepped onto the set of a period drama. There’s a feeling of faded grandeur thanks to the decorative frescoed walls and shabby chic furniture that’s been in the family for a century or so, complete with a smattering of designer dust. But fear not, it’s less Miss Havisham’s haunt and more like walking into the familiar home of an old friend – warm, bright and welcoming.

The grounds are extensive and impressive. With 40+ acres there’s more than enough space to spread out, with green space as far as the eye can see. From the Head’s office there are views right down to the River Beane (a tributary of the River Lee), and bypass lake, which has recently been dredged and redevloped for use by the kids for everything from pond dipping to model boat sailing. There’s also access to the charming walled garden – so pretty that it was used in the filming of the 2020 adaptation of The Secret Garden.

The purpose build Pre-Prep department has its own library and free-flow classrooms leading to a fabulous outdoor playground with built-in slides, sandpit and a covered area. This extends out to a expansive outdoor learning area with mud kitchens and wooden work stations packed with learning aids for maths, reading for interactive learning through play. The Forest School is an acre and a half and there’s a specialist teacher, while other specialist teaching at this age includes French from Nursery and pupils use the main school facilities for sport, swimming and pottery. In fact, the Early Years team have been awarded the Herts for Learning Early Years Gold Standard Award in recognition of their outstanding provision, so don’t just take our word for it that your little ones will be in good hands here.

Heath mount forest school — A re-enactment of Julia Donaldson’s The Scarecrows’ Wedding at Forest School

Heath mount forest school — Woodwork in progress!

Heath mount adventure playground — Pre-prep adventure playground

Years 3 and 4 are based in a modern wood-clad building which seamlessly blends into the background and feels light and airy when you step inside. There’s a Wow work board where pupils can pin up their own work that they’re proud of – a way to encourage self-confidence. English streaming starts from Year 3 and Spanish has now been introduced as an option from Year 3 too (previously it was only available to Year 6).

SPORT

The sports facilities are outstanding. Pretty much every sport you can think of is on offer here: golf, diving, and water polo, in addition to rugby, football, tennis, cricket, netball, hockey and cross country. Girls now do cricket and football too. There’s a spacious and recently refurbished sports hall, professional-standard dance studio, fitness suite with cardiovascular and strength training equipment and recovery apparatus, cricket nets and a cricket pavilion. The heated pool has retractable roof for all-weather swimming (but plans for a brand new 25m pool are currently being finalised), and there’s also an all-weather astroturf. There’s even a successful equestrian team for keen riders.

Heath mount girls rugby — The Senior girls’ rugby team

And it sure is a sporty school – Pupils in Year 5 do 6.5 hours of sport per week, increasing to 8 hours for sports scholars (6 sports scholarships and 1 netball scholarship were awarded to Year 8s in 2021). There’s 100% participation in team sports from Years 3-8, with a big emphasis on inculsivity and giving everyone a chance to represent the school at fixtures (of which there are around 250 per week!).

Heath mount swimming — A Year 1 swimming lesson

Plus there’s specialist teaching in PE (with a renewed focus on performance and wellbeing), Swimming and Games from Reception. The school is twinned with Saracens Rugby Club (there are two female ex Saracens players on the school staff!) and Mavericks Netball Club, and also works with Legends Tennis Club and Hertfordshire County Cricket Club. Serious sporting creds! Not to mention the multiple clubs available – curiously table tennis is the most popular and often over-subscribed, but with good reason as Heath Mount are IAPS finalists!

ART

The Art department is rambling and inspiring, with a pottery studio (which is used from Reception), dedicated textiles room (by Year 6 they’re using sewing machines and Year 7s make their own PJs!) plus well-equipped DT workshop. There’s a specialist Pottery and Print teacher and class sizes in these subjects are small with sometimes as few as nine, so the kids can really get into the creative zone without too much distraction. Plus Art scholars have their own dedicated work space, just like A-level students at Senior schools. What a privilege.

Heath mount animation art lesson — An animation lesson in Art

And the work displayed on the walls is seriously impressive – so much so that for the past four years, some has been featured in the Royal Academy of Arts Young Artists Summer Show, with one pupil winning the President’s Prize in 2019 for the most inspiring artwork for her age group in the country. Wowsers.

Food Tech also starts in Year 3, with a basic understanding of healthy eating, while Years 7 and 8 learn to follow basic recipes for dishes such as curry and spag bol. By the time they leave school they’ll be able to cook a three-course meal and have a basic understanding of everything from dietary requirements to budgeting.

MUSIC AND DRAMA

There’s an impressive musical tradition here and a number of parents have musical backgrounds, too. More than 70% of Prep pupils play an instrument – everything from French horn to guitar. There 338 intrumental/singing lessons a week and around 12 musical groups, including two orchestras (with 40+ members in Juniors, while the Senior one is for Grade 5 and above), wind, string and brass ensembles, a concert band and a guitar group. Years 1 and 2 learn violin in group lessons and perform for parents. It continues to be a popular choice for private lessons as they go up the schoool, along with piano and singing.

And it shows as there are five choirs, starting from Year 1 – one of which was named Children’s Choir of the World at the prestigious Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in 2019 – a competition for under 18s, making the win even more impressive when Heath Mount’s oldest member is only 13!

Heath Mount brass group — Pre-prep Brass Club

Dance and drama are popular, too, and all pupils from Nursery upwards participate – either performing on stage or working behind the scenes on set design, lighting or costumes in the state-of-the-art Performing Arts Centre. Year 7 performed The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe recently, and there are plenty of annual performances including Year 3’s Christmas Cracker for grandparents, followed by a festive tea, which sounds really lovely.

Heath mount drama — The Year 4 production of Dragon Days

WHAT ELSE?

The majority of pupils start their Heath Mount journey in Nursery or Reception and places are offered on a first come, first served basis. Average class sizes range from a perfect 10 to a reasonable 18. At Year 3 classes are split into four of 15-16 pupils, and at Year 7 the average class size is 12. This staff to pupil ratio means that each pupil gets the support needed to achieve the best of their ability.

Heath mount scholarship — The Heath Mount scholars

Talking of which, those who show a particular strength in Sport, Art, Music, Drama or Academia are supported on the school’s scholarship programme from Year 7, which accelerates their progress to GCSE level by Year 8. An impressive 50% of 2023’s Year 8s were awarded Senior school scholarships contributing to a total of 67 scholarships awarded to Heath Mount pupils in the past three years.

Heath Mount feeds into about 45 Senior schools on a rotational basis. Haileybury and Bishop’s Stortford College are always popular, and St Albans, Bedford and Rugby are current favourites, with a few plumping for Eton, Harrow and Rugby, as well as Uppingham and Oundle. Some even go as far as Gordonstoun, Brighton College and Millfield. It’s usually around a 60/40% split between day and boarding schools.

There are more than 50 break time and after-school clubs to get involved with. Animation Club is hugely popular and has a specialist teacher taking them through key techniques – some work is even entered into competions. Sketching, Mindfulness, Fijian Rugby and Judo are also popular and there’s been a recent addition of the Heath Mount Equestrian Team, with plans for a Triathlon Club too. It’s no wonder you’ll see kids racing around school to get from lessons to clubs and back again with such a tempting offering.

In terms of physical developments, I’ve mentioned the pool – this will become part of a new complex, with a science block and dance and drama studio, and new cricket nets will go up on the old pool site. Recent developments include a new Year 4 classroom, a new Pre-Prep computer suite and a strength and conditioning suite for Senior pupils.

PASTORAL CARE

As you’d expect from any school worth its salt these days there’s a dedicated wellbeing programme, which includes peer-on-peer support through a buddy system, workshops and talks from external specialists, such as The Self Esteem Team for both pupils and parents. Plus there’s a Head of Well-being, full time School Counsellor, ARTiculate facilitator, external Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Practitioners, Art Therapists and Play Therapists who can be called upon when needed. Eric and Luna the nurture dogs, are particularly cuddly additions to the team!

Children are tracked with specially designed questionnaires, based on OFSTED’s Happiness Scale model, which quickly identifies those who are falling short of expected happiness levels or who may be struggling, as well as finding patterns across year groups.

There’s a new new RSE curriculum which has enabled staff to speak honestly with pupils about positive cultures and empowering individuals and conflicts are always dealt with using restorative practice, where children are encouraged to talk to their friends about their feelings to help each other understand the consequences of actions.

So good are they at this stuff that the school actually won a wellbeing award from the Boarding Schools’ Association. The Head tells me they don’t get behavioural problems here. It does seem that the kids genuinely look out for each other and there’s a palpably caring ethos in the air.

BOARDING

Super flexible, with the option to board from one to four nights per week, making it a dream for working parents. The boarding capacity is 52 across two boarding houses and it’s a gentle preparation for those going to a Senior boarding school. About a third of Year 3-8 pupils take it up for at least one night per week.

QUIRKS

Most independent schools have the odd tradition here and there, but Heath Mount has quirks in spades, and we love it for that.

My personal fave is the Golden Pinecone award for building the best den, which is handed out at termly ceremonies (and is much anticipated!) I think this also sums up the value that the school puts in kids being kids – adventurous, happy and free – and the thrill of that continues well into Years 3 & 4, it’s not just for the littlies. They take a real pride in giving the Head a tour of their dens apparently!

Remember the rather grand sweeping staircase (see earlier pic)? Using it is a special privilege reserved for Year 8 Prefects and the Head Boy and Girl – you’ve got to earn your red carpet treatment here! Year 8 also get to wear a blue school jumper instead of a green one so everyone knows they’re top of the school.

Then there’s the Du Maurier Society (named after Heath Mount alumnus, actor and theatre impressario Sir Gerald du Maurier, and father of author Daphne du Maurier) – a positive force to be reckoned with. It’s the parents’ association and it has a the reputation for putting the fun into fundraising, organising numerous events from the Annual Ball to the children’s Christmas Disco. If you’re any good at fundraising and organising events you could be snapped up!

And talking of former pupils – the alumni includes John Spedan Lewis, the founder of that department store; designer and photographer Cecil Beaton and writer Evelyn Waugh. More recent former pupils at Heath Mount include the sprinter Jodie Williams, England hockey player James Albery, and racing driver, Callum Ilott.

The school’s chocolate puddle pudding has a reputation that precedes it, and I love the converted horsebox on the field, which is used to serve match teas.

THE HEAD

On meeting Chris Gillam, I instantly liked him. He didn’t throw facts and figures at me about how brilliant his school is, but instead had an air of calm and and innately humble demeanor, allowing the school and pupils speak for themselves. He’s been at the helm for nearly a decade (previously Deputy Head at Bishopsgate School in Windsor) and both of his children attend/ed the school. His daughter is in Year 8 while his son has moved on to Haileybury.

He clearly enjoys a bit of banter with the kids – he shared a joke with some of the Year 8s who were about to head into an exam, to keep things light. There’s clearly a good balance of fun and mutual respect there.

Gillam’s modus operandi is grounded in his belief in keeping kids young, which is obviously important as a Head of a Prep that goes up to age 13. Of this he says around 80% stay on to Year 8, and feels strongly that it’s in these years that children go through the biggest changes in life, make their strongest friendships and really develop their learning habits.

What Heath Mount can offer in the additional two years are leadership opportunities at a younger age – more chances to be top dog than if they go straight to Senior school from Year 6. This could be anything from playing for the first sports teams, leading assemblies, going on camps, and the chance to be looked up to by the younger kids. These are the kinds of privileges that they wouldn’t get until A level if they left in Year 6.

Gillam has also invested heavily in Professor Guy Claxton’s Building Learning Power approach, which he brought in four years ago. He descibes it as a way of life that everyone has to buy into (that’s pupils, staff and parents), and it’s a means of encouraging more independent thought, resilience and critical thinking, by inviting children to challenge everything they hear and read. So important in this generation of media overload and fake news.

One example he shows me is ‘3 before me’ – which invites pupils to try three other ways to solve a problem before asking the teacher. In this instance it’s ‘brain, board, buddy’. Try to work it out themselves, then look at the cues on the board, then collaborate with their learning buddy.

Next on the agenda will be expanding the outdoor learning provision for the older kids, from kayaking on the lake to wellbeing walks – something that’s proven popular since lockdown.

ISI REPORT

The most recent inspection was in January 2022 and highlighted the pupils’ self-esteem, self-confidence and social development – one verbal comment was that the kids actually asked the inspectors how their days were going, without prompting, showing how naturally well-mannered and empathetic they are. Y ou can find the full report here.

FEES

Fees per term range from £2,850 in Nursery, to £7,355 in Years 7 and 8.

WRAP AROUND CARE

As with so many schools in Hertfordshire, parents often work in London, so the extended hours are essential. They can drop off at 7.30am for breakfast club and pick up from crèche at 6pm for Pre-Prep and 6.30pm for Prep. Plus, of course there are tonnes of after-school clubs and activities to get involved with, too.

WORD ON THE GROUND

There’s an innate feeling of warmth, inclusivity and friendliness – something that can’t be faked – and there’s no ego here. The kids want to do well at school, feel part of the community, and overall be kind and caring to one another. It genuinely feels like a lovely place to be.

THE MUDDY VERDICT

Good for: Anyone looking for a school that values self-esteem, building stong friendships while fuelling creativity, as well as the chance for their child to spend their formative years in a rural idyll with a hint of tradition, backed up with modern thinking.

Not for: Anyone who thinks children should walk to school or wants the convenience of a town location – the school’s entrance is off the A602, surrounded by green parkland and almost everyone travels in by car. So if you’re not looking for a countryside school, this might not be for you.

Dare to disagree? Don’t take my word for it! The Head is available for private 1:1 tours of the school and there’s a Whole School Open Morning on Saturday 28 September 2024, 9.30 – Midday. Click here to find out more and arrange a visit.

Heath Mount School Woodhall Park, Watton-at-Stone, Hertford, SG14 3NG 01920 830 230

Heath Mount School, Watton-at-Stone

You may also like