So… why should I turn to Huntbridge to help me choose a school for my child?

So choosing your child’s school can often feel like one of the most difficult choices you will ever have to make. You are inundated with different schools promising the world and when it comes to the most precious thing in your child, it can all feel overwhelming. Then perhaps you look for outside help, and look, I get it. It’s a crowded field, you have maybe stumbled across us whilst also being aware of countless agencies who can bring you in with high calibre advertising, swanky offices, ‘partnerships with XYZ School’, statistics like ‘we have helped x000 students attain their first choice universities/get into their school of choice’ and so on. So why go with us, below I will lay out the reasons why you might want to consider Huntbridge.

1 - We have worked in schools

We’re not glorified recruitment consultants, we have actually been there. To give you some specifics, our Founder and Managing Director was a Head of Year (Through Years 7-11 including a secondary school transition programme and a full GCSE cycle), a Subject Lead, he has done everything from classroom teaching, to spearheading an intervention plan that saw a 21% results improvement over a 6 month period as well as leading on whole school initiatives. From dealing with families in the most difficult of circumstances to supporting students in gaining scholarships to elite schools and places at top Universities. Our lead associate consultant has been a SENDCO in a large school and supported hundreds of families through all aspects ranging from EHCP applications, to help gaining places at alternative educational providers, parental coaching and supporting SEND students in mainstream school with some of the most serious barriers to learning achieve astonishing results when the rest of the system had seemingly given up on them. When it comes to education, believe me we have seen almost everything, and there is still much more going on at Huntbridge, that is just a small part of some of the expertise you are gaining direct access to through our consultancy and it’s network.

2 - We work for YOU

Back to that not being glorified recruiters bit. Many agencies operate on a commission basis, they will reel you in and then steer you towards a particular school or university as it is beneficial to them. We do not, you pay us to work directly for you, it is as simple as that. Put it another way, you may well be looking at investing over £150,000+ on your child’s education, so wouldn’t putting a tiny fraction of that into truly making sure that this you are making this crucial decision from a position of strength be worth it? We are employed by you, to make decisions in your child’s interests. We will work directly for you and them, we won’t sugar-coat our advice. That sometimes does mean that we disappoint parents and students by informing them that they would not be a good match or meet the entry criteria for a particular school. But our business relies on integrity and giving you the best possible advice.

3 - We can see through the gloss

A Consultant might try and reel you in by pretending to have all this insider knowledge, whereas in actual fact a lot of it is just stuff that you can look at online. League tables, ISI or Ofsted reports are easy to find and frankly, no-one should be charging you for things that are already there. As mentioned, we have worked directly in this industry and we know it goes far beyond snazzy prospectuses, performative open days and snapshot of two days reports written years ago. We can tell you what a school says vs what it means along with a strong perception of the reality on the ground. When a school says it has a zero tolerance approach to bullying but it’s behaviour policies have clear gaps and hidden independent reports suggest otherwise, we can tell you. Or when a school boasts that it has sent students to top universities but we can see their average results data pales in comparison to national averages, but maybe a tiny handful of students largely self studied their way there, we can probably tell you. When a school claims to have a strong approach to safeguarding, but policies are outdated and fail to keep up with the ever evolving challenges posed by the young people, we can tell you. We can really zone in on both quantitative and qualitative data as well as use our considerable experience to give our no-nonsense interpretations and lay out your best possible options.

4 - Local knowledge

Our experience comes directly from the United Kingdom having worked and established relationships with an array of schools, including state schools in areas with high levels of deprivation, small private schools with very close staff-student ratios and some of Britain’s most high performing independent schools which have produced generations of Prime Ministers, International Sports Stars, FTSE 100 company CEO’s/MD’s and much more. We know that two schools just 500 metres apart can be completely different experiences for students who attend them. We have a rare insight into what is going on inside British schools and British society generally and how it is affecting the experience of young people in schools today.

5 - We are boutique

It would probably seem like a shortcoming initially to say that we are small in comparison to other agencies, and yes that is true. But that is, in our view our biggest strength. By working with an agency who have 1000+ families on their books, you are more likely to get a one size fits all approach. With us, you will get a truly individualised approach catered directly to your child. It may well be for example that you have two children, one school is great for the older child but it wouldn’t be a good fit for the second one. We can really delve into what you and your family need and are looking to get out of their education. Even some of the supposed best schools in the country have students who leave having had negative experiences with them, by going with us we really get to know you and your child and zone in on what is in their interests, which especially when you are looking at a privatised and highly competitive industry, is crucial in our eyes.

6 - The help doesn’t have to stop at securing a place

With our expertise, we are happy to continue working with families to provide support on everything ranging from GCSE option selections, University guidance, responding to behavioural incidents (again believe me, we have seen almost EVERYTHING there) and every other part of the journey your child will go through.

So don’t hesitate, it is risk free to book a free consultation today. You can do so by clicking here or just by e-mailing us at info@huntbridge.co.uk and we can get your journey started.