School inspectors have handed down a damning verdict on the inadequacies of the private prep school Hill House in London, once attended by Prince Charles, which could result in it being closed over serious and significant safety concerns.
Ofsted inspectors found the £14,000-a-year independent school to be lacking in basic safeguards and roundly criticised it for poor quality of teaching and management.
“The health and safety of both pupils and adults in the main school are severely compromised. The health and safety policy is not being implemented across all sites. No one has overall responsibility for health and safety or has had suitable training,” the Ofsted inspectors noted, attaching a long list of concerns, including fire exits that “represent an ever-present danger to pupils and staff”.
The school, which now has more than 900 pupils, has been a fixture among the well-to-do of west London since 1951, after first opening in Switzerland under its eccentric founder Stuart Townend, whose family still run it.
Ofsted had harsh words for the school’s management. “Leaders and proprietors do not have the capacity to secure essential improvements. They are not taking any action to secure effective teaching. They do not know if pupils are making the progress of which they are capable.”
Severe failures of management, safeguarding and health and safety leave independent schools vulnerable to being shut down by the Department for Education if they fail to improve.
A DfE spokesperson said: “We have just received a copy of Ofsted’s published report following an inspection at Hill House International junior school. Ministers are studying that report and will confirm their decisions about regulatory action shortly. It would be wrong to take any decisions until we have studied the findings, but all options remain open – including closure. “We have repeatedly demonstrated for all types of school that we will not hesitate to take tough action if required.”
Richard Townend, a son of the founder and the current headmaster, told parents in a letter: “While it contains some positive remarks, the [Ofsted] report as a whole does not seem to me to represent the school I run and two of my grandchildren attend nor the tutors who work here.”
But Townend added: “We will explore in detail every criticism they have made and correct anything which needs attention … All our staff are totally committed to the safety, welfare and education of all our pupils.”
Distinctive for its unusual uniform of burgundy breeches and mustard-coloured tops – sold at Harrods – Hill House enjoyed international fame in 1956 when it admitted Prince Charles, who became the first royal heir to be educated at a school. The Queen took the decision on the recommendation of Harold Macmillan, who had grandsons at the school.
In more recent years the school’s old pupils have included the singer Lily Allen.
According to Townend’s obituary in the Daily Telegraph, he opened the school with one table, one chair and a tennis ball. “When asked by his first parent where the other children were, he had to pretend that they were late,” it said.
Ofsted’s inspectors did observe that the school’s pupils, from more than 50 countries, were well integrated and that the school “prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain”.
Amid the health and safety concerns there were some silver linings: “Pupils enjoy a wide range of musical and sporting activities in London and in the school’s annex in Switzerland,” which is available for skiing lessons.
Inspectors said they found “at best average attainment in writing and mathematics”, and said bluntly that pupils are underachieving.
“In most subjects, including in writing and mathematics, teaching focuses too much on ensuring older pupils are successful in passing entrance examinations, at the expense of providing more opportunities for pupils to learn in greater depth,” the inspectors found.
“Nonetheless, pupils are successful in gaining places at or scholarships to the secondary school of their choice.”