16 Tatler Schools Guide 2020 tatler.com30 choirs and music ensembles,
which often perform in the all-
singing, all-dancing Hammond
Theatre, and this is, proudly, an ‘all
Steinway school’. The compound
of academic excellence, pastoral
care, sporting prowess and creativ-
ity is meshed together by the stu-
dents’ gentle charm. These are
kind children, explains Assistant
Head Nick Woods. ‘Hampton is
about all-round excellence and a
balanced education, which enables
boys to develop into well-rounded,
happy individuals, who are in-
spired not only to make sense of
the world but also to want to go
out and improve it.’ At the helm of
it all is Mr Knibbs. ‘One of my fa-
vourite people at Hampton,’ one
pupil gushes. ‘Mr Knibbs honestly
makes you feel like you can achieve
anything and I only wish that I
had him for one of my subjects as
well as my Headmaster.’HARROW SCHOOL
5 High Street, Harrow on the
Hill, HA1 3HP
Website harrowschool.org.uk Head
Alastair Land, MA, PGCE, since April;
previously Head of Repton Pupils
830 boys, all boarding Ages 13–18
Term Fees £13,350 Oxbridge 7%
Registration By end of Year 5;
£325 fee Admission ISEB pre-test,
school’s own assessment, CE,
previous school’s report or academic
scholarship. Alumni Sir Winston
Churchill, Richard Curtis,
Benedict Cumberbatchfood from local restaurants to take
to food banks. The sparkling new
Hampton Sports and Fitness Cen-
tre houses a groaning trophy cabinet- the Dolphins are Middlesex
Hockey Champions at U12, U13,
U16 and U18 (the acres of on-site
Astro pitches might go some way
to explaining this), and their row-
ers won gold at the National
School’s Regatta with two girls
then being invited to GB trials.
Art, drama and music are housed
in the stunning Bishop Centre,
where they recently hosted Grayson
Perry. Applications at 11+ are eye-
wateringly high with 900 applying
for 120 places. However Dr Ramsey
says that the new 11+ consortium
testing is a big success and it
was wonderful to see applicants so
‘visibly relaxed’.
HAMPTON SCHOOL
Hanworth Road, TW12 3HD
Website hamptonschool.org.uk
Head Kevin Knibbs, MA, since
2013; previously Deputy Head
Pupils 1,309 day boys Ages 11–18
Term Fees £6,915 Oxbridge 10%
Registration By September of year
before entry; £100 fee Admission
School’s own exams, interviews, and
previous school’s report Alumni
Brian May, CEO of Fullers Brewery
Simon Emeny, golfer Paul Casey
PREP Head Tim Smith Pupils
227 day (including 3 girls in pre-prep)
Ages 3–11 Term Fees £4,820
The only facility that isn’t on site at
Hampton is the boathouse, mean-
ing troops of boys regularly make a
10-minute pilgrimage to the
Thames. Here, rowing is the
school religion: a large photograph
of rowers adorns the wall in the re-
ception area. Other sports (there
are over 15 on offer) flourish too.
A major score was the U18 foot-
ballers’ triumph in the 2019 English
Schools Football Association na-
tional cup. But parents shouldn’t
worry about a jock culture: there is
a healthy mix at Hampton, which
was one of the first schools to
introduce mindfulness to its cur-
riculum. GCSE results are on the
up: 75 per cent of all grades were
awarded at 8–9/A*. There are overrugby and QPR football club en-
sure sporting excellence; last year’s
head boy Carlo won an incredible
soccer scholarship to Stanford
University in the US.HIGHGATE
SCHOOL
North Road, N6 4AY
Website highgateschool.org.uk
Head Adam Pettitt, MA, since
2006; previously Second Master at
Norwich School Pupils 1,224 day:
622 boys, 602 girls Ages 11–18
Term Fees £7,200 Oxbridge 15%
Registration By Autumn of year
before entry; £150 fee Admission
School’s own exam, interview, and
previous school’s report Alumni Sir
John Betjeman, Michael Mansfield
QC, John Rutter
PREP Head Mark James Pupils
408: 216 boys, 192 girls Ages 7–11
Term Fees £6,600
Highgate is a prodigious school
with over 1,700 pupils spanning
from three to 18 years of age. Oc-
casional conversations are had if
the senior school is not deemed
the right fit, but most children
soar straight on through to the top.
Sports facilities are extensive and
all pupils are taught by sports spe-
cialists. Academics are strong and
on the up, with last year’s Year 11s
and sixth form achieving record-
breaking results (32 took up Ox-
bridge places, for example). Learn-
ing is not simply focused on results,
though. In 2018, the English de-
partment staff went out on a limb‘Did you get an A1 List offer?’
every prep school boy whispers. It’s
the ultimate accolade – meaning
you’ve done so well in the specially
devised Harrow test that you’ve se-
cured a confirmed offer from a
specific house. A popular choice is
the gorgeous Park boarding house,
as not only is the House Master
Ben Shaw delightful, but the views
over London, and the school’s im-
pressive 324 acres of grounds (in-
cluding an athletics track, golf
course and fully working farm),
are truly spellbinding. Harrow is
going from strength to strength
and new Head Alastair Land is
committed to ‘giving the boys the
best academic education that is
enriched with non-classroom
academic opportunities and an all-
encompassing character education
including our values of courage,
honour, humility and fellowship’.
Founded in 1572 under a Royal
Charter granted by Elizabeth I,
Harrow has educated seven past
British prime minsters including
Sir Winston Churchill (whose
name you can see carved into the
panelling of the historic Fourth
Form Room), and while the school
relishes its history it’s certainly not
stuck in the past, but is a modern
and innovative hub of learning.
The Astronomical Society has the
Rayleigh Observatory with state-
of-the-art equipment to observe
and photograph the moon, while
partnerships with professional
sporting bodies such as SaracensHAMPTON
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