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Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School

School rating 3 / 5 by

Butterfly Lane Elstree Hertfordshire WD6 3AF United Kingdom
Day
K to 12th
Gender
Boys only

Academic

Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School review by .

As in most schools, teaching quality can vary wildly between teachers, with teaching at both ends of the spectrum. Class sizes are average between competing schools, as is grading. The average workload is standard for secondary schools, with a guideline of one hour of homework per school day, increasing by ten minutes for each year up to the year 10. In later years, it can vary considerably depending on the subjects taken at GCSE and A and AS levels. Whilst the school is very examination focused, it doesn't always "teach to the test" - some teachers in particular like to focus on topical issues, and other subjects that they find interesting. Occasionally, some teachers may take this too far, leaving too little time to review the exam material. There are few additional tutoring services for extra help. One that comes to mind were the Mathematics drop in sessions, twice a week at lunchtimes.

College Counseling

The school retains files on past alumni interviews for their colleges, which helped me to....

Sample insights on college counseling

  • They have contacts at most of the major universities and feel perfectly comfortable picking up the phone and advocating for a student to get accepted somewhere they feel is a good fit for that student. However, these counselors are certainly not magic bullets. They cannot guarantee that a student will get into an Ivy League university...
  • For those wishing to move on to Oxford or Cambridge, the provision is second-to-none. In the months running up to application and interview, every subject faculty offers classes (often run by former Oxbridge tutors) exploring further areas of their subject as well as offering advice on personal statements, interview technique and more...

Admissions - Getting Accepted

An English, mathematics, and non-verbal reasoning test are taken before the interview. If an applicant....

Sample insights on admissions

  • For the interview, dress conservatively. Try to be very clean and put together. Also, I was a tour guide for two years and at the end of every tour, we were asked to evaluate the candidate so if you think the tour is not apart of the process, you are very wrong. Ask questions and be interested. Also, tip for the parents: the kids speak on the tour. Do not ask their questions for them...
  • Most younger siblings have an easy time in the admissions process. I can only think of one case of a younger sibling not being admitted. About half of the students who entered with me had come from public schools. The remainder came from private K-6 schools, or had transferred from other New York private schools The Elizabeth Morrow School and St. Bernard were two of the larger feeder schools...

School Life

Located in the countryside, in picturesque Elstree, Haberdashers' does not have any useful public transportation facilities, which either forces parents to drive their children into school, or to use the mildly overpriced coach service. Whilst in the distant past, the school offered boarding facilities, Haberdashers' is now a fully day school. Catering is subcontracted to Chartwells, a division of the Compass Group. Electronic swipe cards are used for payment, on a pay as you go basis. The food has often been criticized for its blandness. A new healthy eating initiative has not aided this situation. The school has recently constructed the Aske....

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