My daughter went to HH two years ago and had the time of her life. The college is unlike any other in the country, run by a lovely family whose goal is to cherish the talent of its community (in the Arts, Humanities, Sciences and Mathematics to name a few!) The family atmosphere filters through the whole school, and the students exude a real feeling of being totally at home and comfortable, you only have to walk around to get a sense of their community. It is the polar-opposite to most colleges, whose senior leadership teams tend to stay behind close doors, at Hurtwood the interaction between the staff and students is what makes it so special. They are not selective on grades but still the school manages to have an impressive set of results year after year, but more importantly for me was the fact that my daughter had access to opportunities that blew me away (especially considering she had been in state education for her whole school career.) She had teachers who were in her words 'incredibly inspiring' and unlike teachers at all really!! (More often than not professionals in their field who want to pass on their expertise in a school that values their experience.) The Enigma programme that the students partake in twice a week means that they can try out a whole range of activities to supplement their academic qualifications. The investment in the school shows, that truly are West End standard (I highly recommend that you go and see their 'Hairspray' this Christmas so you can see for yourself) is just a sheer gift for those with a talent for performing and there is no denying that the school has talent in abundance! I could not have asked for a more wonderful school family for my daughter to be part of and she flourished under their guidance. Her particular interest was creative writing and she had weekly sessions with a professional poet invited to teach a weekly group... Hurtwood is something of a dream factory really, they take students who come earnestly with a passion and try their best to give them all the help they can, using their alumni to share with students contacts and experience in the industries they want to progress in (a friend of hers got to interview Hans Zimmer in Boston after finding her passion lay in music technology and composing) and for that I cannot fault them. What is so special about this school is that it is entirely unique, with a group of students from every background imaginable, from all over the world, who each have something to contribute which makes learning refreshing and interesting. I'm disappointed to hear rumours of drug activity, in my daughter's experience Hurtwood had a tougher drugs policy than any other school that her friends attended and they had (and still have) weekly spot drug tests with the guarantee of immediate expulsion if you test positive. I cannot thank the Jackson family enough for giving my daughter the most fulfilling and enjoyable two years and providing her with opportunities and friendships that will stay with her for a lifetime.