Hurtwood combines the best elements of the traditional boarding school system with the best elements of the modern sixth form college to create a wholly unique and individual establishment.
While breaking new ground educationally, it has retained traditional values and has created an inspirational but safe stepping-stone between school and university.
This is a school driven by a passion for creativity and a respect for academic rigour, a small school with a distinctive voice which is less formal and less institutional than traditional public schools.
The students who come to Hurtwood House have usually been happy and successful at their former school, but they are now ready for fresh challenges.
They have reached an age when they feel that the learning methods and the lifestyle that worked for them when they were younger are no longer going to be as effective for them in the sixth form. At Hurtwood, they discover an intellectual and social environment closer to that of a university
All the students find Hurtwood a particularly easy school to join from a social point of view, because half of the school is new every year. The new students all arrive together and do not face the problem of joining a community where friendships have already been established over a period of many years.
HURTWOOD’S A-LEVEL RECORD HAS BEEN TRULY OUTSTANDING
For the last two decades, the A-level results have put Hurtwood “among the cream of the country’s best schools,” (Financial Times) at the top of the League Table for co-ed boarding schools, consistently ahead of most of its illustrious rivals.
These brilliant results speak for themselves, and they are achieved as much in core academic subjects such as Mathematics, Science, Economics, Modern Languages, History and English, as they are the creative ones.
A wider range of subjects and a greater flexibility of choice
The potential scientist, linguist, artist, philosopher, lawyer, actor or captain of industry – each is well catered for and each is equally valued. Hurtwood prepares students in 22 A-level subjects which can be studied in any combination.
This enables students to select a programme which reflects their personal strengths and passions and puts them on the first step of the journey towards the realisation of their aspirations. All A Level courses are fully linear and are examined at the end of the two-year course.
A gateway to the very best universities
More than 150 students are currently studying Mathematics or Science as one of their A-level subjects, and the places which Hurtwood Students have been awarded at the top universities reflect a real diversity of career aspirations, from Chemical Engineering and Medicine to Applied Psychology and Law.
DRIVEN TO CREATE
The defining feature of Hurtwood is its creativity. “It is the glory of Hurtwood,” according to the Good Schools Guide, “and is at the heart of its ethos.” Hurtwood provides outstanding opportunities for the aspiring actor, singer, artist, fashion designer, dancer or filmmaker.
There is a glittering array of performance opportunities – some related to the A-level Theatre Studies course, but many more available outside school hours, all run to professional standards, largely because the teachers are West End/Media pros, absolutely on top of their game creating what the Good Schools Guide called “jaw-droppingly good concerts and theatre shows.”
The Christmas musical, for example, is a £100k production with a cast of 70-80 students performing for ten nights with a full West End band and professional musical directors, choreographers and lighting designers. The same dynamic is applied to the Summer musical and to the February Rock & Pop concert – another £50k extravaganza featuring 20-30 students, many of whom have gone on to great things over the years – visit our Hall of Fame.
There is a wide variety of straight drama and improvisation built into the A-level course, with an exciting weekly programme of theatre skills including stage combat and circus skills. Outside that, our Drama Company runs a year-long, highly specialised “drama school” course, providing training to all students auditioning for the major drama, dance and music schools, and acting lessons for stage and screen.
