Hereward House School (), also known as HHS, is an

Independent Association of Prep Schools The Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS, formerly Independent Association of Preparatory Schools) is a schools association, representing around 670 preparatory schools. The majority of IAPS' schools are in the UK, with other locations ...

(IAPS)

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

preparatory school for boys aged 4 to 13, located in Hampstead,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

on 14 Strathray Gardens, near

Swiss Cottage Swiss Cottage is an area of Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden, England. It is centred on the junction of Avenue Road and Finchley Road and includes Swiss Cottage tube station. Swiss Cottage lies north-northwest of Charing Cross. Th ...

and

Finchley Road Finchley Road is a designated arterial road in north-west London, England. The Finchley Road starts in St John's Wood near central London as part of the A41; its southern half is a major dual carriageway with high traffic levels often freque ...

. It prepares boys for London

day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children and adolescents are given instructions during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compa ...

s as well as London boarding schools (including

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

Mill Hill Mill Hill is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is situated around northwest of Charing Cross. Mill Hill was in the historic county of Middlesex until 1965, when it became part of Greater London. Its population counted 18,45 ...

and

Highgate Highgate ( ) is a suburban area of north London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross. Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has two active conservation organisat ...

History

The school was founded in 1951 by Lionel and Mary (Bella) Brewester. It originally had six pupils, and was based Belsize Avenue. This number slowly increased until they moved to their current site (14 Strathray Gardens) in the 1960s. Today, the school teaches 171 pupils every day and employs 35 staff, 27 of whom are teaching staff. Pupils usually join the school from Transition to Year 1, but sometimes join in higher years. The school is split up into three main sections, the Junior School consists of Transition, Year 1 and Year 2, the Middle School consists of Years 3, 4 and the Senior School, which consists of Year 6, CE2 (Year 7) and CE1 (Year 8).

Operation

The school was named after the eleventh-century rebel leader,

Hereward the Wake Hereward the Wake (Traditional pronunciation /ˈhɛ.rɛ.ward/, modern pronunciation /ˈhɛ.rɪ.wəd/) (1035 – 1072) (also known as Hereward the Outlaw or Hereward the Exile) was an Anglo-Saxon nobleman and a leader of local resista ...

. All four school houses, one of which each boy is allocated to, are named after ethnic groups from his time period: the

Angles The Angles ( ang, Ængle, ; la, Angli) were one of the main Germanic peoples who settled in Great Britain in the post-Roman period. They founded several kingdoms of the Heptarchy in Anglo-Saxon England. Their name is the root of the name ...

, Danes,

Normans The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...

and

Saxons The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

As is customary in most preparatory schools, competition exists between the houses, in sports and academic life. All boys of all ages have to wear the school uniform, which is composed of mostly grey and black clothing, accompanied by the distinctive white and blue striped tie, and the

fleur-de-lis The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...

embroidered blazer. This uniform differentiates the pupils from those of the other preparatory schools in the area.

Sports

Hereward House is known for its sports, specializing especially in football, which is played in the winter months, and cricket, which is played in the summer. In football, Hereward House competes against other schools, including

, UCS and

. Both cricket and football are played at Hampstead Heath Extension and Brondesbury Cricket Grounds, with football being played at

Astro-Turf every week. There are also inter-house competitions in the two sports, with the four houses competing against each other for inter-house glory. Cross country races are also frequently held at the Hampstead Heath Extension. The Hereward House Inter-School Cross-Country is an event in March at Hampstead Heath Extension. Schools are invited from across London to compete for titles in under-eleven and under-thirteen races. This event is one of the largest inter-school competitions in London.

References

External links

Hereward House School website

ISC analysis

ISBI article

Notes

{{authority control Independent boys' schools in London Preparatory schools in London Independent schools in the London Borough of Camden Schools in Hampstead Swiss Cottage