EXCLUSIVE: Hornchurch Secondary School being dubbed a ‘prison’ by its pupils.
As pupils returned from their half term break, a new leadership team was introduced at Hornchurch High School.
They returned to find gates across their toilets, being placed into isolation for the smallest issue and now fearing to ask a question in class as the atmosphere is so strict.
Dawn has a pupil in Year 11 and told the Havering Daily: “The school had an open door policy before, it was a friendly school. Not now, children are frightened to ask questions in case they are seen to be disrupting the lesson.
“It has become regimental there. They can’t access the toilets unless they get a pass. There are gates across the toilets.
“On their first day back after half term, all year 11 pupils had an assembly where they were told they were all failing. It really has been awful.”
Parents are angry at the lack of communication and consultation since the new leadership took charge.
Faye who also has a pupil in year 11 told the Havering Daily: “For the smallest issue, pupils are being put into isolation and given an hour detention. On the first day back, 30 pupils were in isolation and the second day, 50 were in isolation.
“They are made to sit in a cold hall where teachers wear their coats but pupils are told to remove theirs.
“There are cameras now in the toilets.
“It really is sad to see the school like this. It was a really friendly school and now it has all changed.
“Pupils are threatened daily with detention and having their prom revoked if they don’t adhere to the new rules.
“We are also angry that as parents we were not informed about any of this. It really is unpleasant now.”
It is believed many parents are now looking to remove their children from the school as it is being dubbed a ‘prison’ by pupils attending there.
There is a meeting for parents taking place tonight at 7pm at Gidea Park Methodist Church.
Havering Council are aware of the many complaints by parents and are due to release a statement. However, the school is an academy and as such they have no control.
The Havering Daily contacted Hornchurch High School for a response, but none has been given so far.
The toilets with gates across the doors.
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Just removed my child from this school. His mental health was massively damaged. After being kept home for a while for his own safety with no support from the school, his second day back he was attacked and reported it to a teacher as he had been asked to do and was met with “you’ve only been back a day and you’re moaning already” he didn’t feel safe at that school at all. Zero communication from the teachers, teachers vaping by the school gates I could go on, awful experience for my own child and others from what I’ve heard and read.
Apparently the head teacher claims he is “God within the school and he should be feared” frankly I call that bullying
I really disagree with these comments. The school has been in need of improvement for quite some time. The new head seems really nice to me and has written home and sent a video to inform us of any changes weeks ago. My daughter says things are now really calm and she is learning much better in lessons as the naughty ones are being dealt with for a change, she likes going to school again. Keep up the excellent work, this was long overdue, time for the good kids to learn without distraction.
I think this lot set up Riverside in Barking. My boys went there and it had the same rules. Both got great grades and was a lovely place, I think its outstanding now. If you look at the grades they get there and then Hornchurch I know where I’d want my boys to go to school. I hope the head makes this school just as good the area needs it.
you must hate ur kids for liking the school environment lol
This school is a disgrace, it was a nice school before but now it is literally like prison, i am a pupil here and it is awful 1 hour detentions for everything even forgetting 1 pen. This school needs to change it is terrible. Going to the toilet is a necessity not being able to go to the toilet is stupid.
i also go to this school and it is honestly the worst thing i can’t even walk in the halls with my coat on as for some reason its “distracting to are learning” of course i understand that its to get put it down quickly but its as easy as taking it of when u arrive to lesson also the fact that students with medical problems need to use the bathrooms not only that but they also needs a pass to be able to use the facility’s but now they have to grant permission by a teacher before they can do there business i personally think that this school was a fun environment to go to but now we are frightened to even do anything i heard that someone got a one hour detention as they were leaving the lesson to go home this is called a silent transition made for not talking when going to a from lesson i heard that as they was leaving the class they was talking on the way out and got a detention for an hour at the end of a school day please if the school sees this please make changes and just listen to us even if you don’t make to much changes just take are feeling into account and are mental health.
My son will be moving from this school it’s really a disgrace, he has never got a detention before until now and he is in year 8, his form tutor had given him a 1 hour detention from losing his pen lid and his pen ink running out, the tutor said to him “you will have to pay for the pen. Ever since this new halfterm his mental health has gone downhill he’s been coming home angry and sad for the unfair situations he had been involved in, I do not recommend your child going to this school and I do recommend for you to remove your child from your school.
i go to this school and i its horrible
i went to this school as an exchange student from another country, i expected it to be fun and really welcoming, it really was at first and i loved this school! i made so many friends and had so much fun, i just found the silent transition a bit absurd, every since the new head teacher came everything was horrible, my mental health got worse with the strict rules, i was scared of answering questions during lessons as it might lead to an hour if i answer it wrong or if i shout it out on accident, the locks on the bathrooms i found absolutely mental, we weren’t allowed to use the bathrooms besides break and if we had a toilet pass, even if we had issues like “lady” issues for example, we wouldn’t be allowed to go to the toilets, they said they changed the detention system to 1 hour so its more convenient to the teachers to set them, if you were missing one piece of equipment (say your rubber for example) that would be an hour, a lot of people were told that their one hour will be escalated to isolation the next day if they didn’t attend even though some people had a good excuse on why to skip, when you “refuse to follow instructions” like not putting your pen down will result to isolation for the rest of the day, a lot of people has gotten isolation and resulted to the school using the sports hall as the isolation room was crowded, and the sports hall is cold and chilly, the teachers had their coats on but students were told to take theirs off, there are people from ukraine who can obviously not understand english a lot, many ukrainian students were being told off and getting warnings for not following instructions when they couldn’t understand! the school is really strict and horrible and i missed the old friendly system it has, its no longer a school for me, i dont find the school any more comforting, i would rather be back in my country than here
I used to work at the school, I genuinely lasted 3 months, morally I could not tolerate how the kids were spoken to.
There is so much I want to say but it would go on for quite a while.
I gained the role due to nothing more than my passion for wanting to help the youth who are experiencing the troubles of growing up and school life, yet quickly learned that although my employer was more than happy with my eagerness to help, the daily running of the school did not allow me to fulfil my role to it’s potential, most of my time was spent enforcing rules on the kids who were in trouble, and ad-hoc admin for these same issues.
Ultimately I left due to the negative impact on my own mental health.
i am a pupil there i hate it there my mental health is so bad since i went back after the half term i was crying and the head said that im attention seeking and are now using my prom againt me
This School has made my sons mental health worse, no support what so ever. Detentions given for the slight lil reason, think it’s ridiculous. Kids are being made to hold them selves and not allowed to use the toilet, which will result to health problems. My son was given an hours detention a d isolation for being late due to being ill but still pushed himself to go into school regardless. I called in to let school know, just for them to turn around and tell me that if he was ill then I should of kept him home, yet when I do that I get Court fines thrown at me even though I have medical evidence. It has made my own mental health worse and made me ill as no one has given my son or me any support with any of his issues.
Now I, like the majority of parents are all for rules and discipline, but this school is a disgrace and taken measures way too far. No disrespect but those who say it’s needed (for an outstanding ofsted report) is that more important than the children’s mental health? You can’t tar every child with the same brush by saying these measures are needed to put children in their place. Not every child in the school is a bad student. Yet they are all being treated as if they are. Unless they literally don’t speak or barely breathe. Anything other than that results in 1 hour detentions and isolation in a cold hall all day where they are told to remove their coats while the teachers are wearing theirs. My son got into trouble because when he was told to take off his coat by a teacher stood over him wearing his own coat, he replied “but it’s cold that’s why I’m wearing it, and you’re even wearing yours” and I make him right. Some may say that’s backchat but children are entitled to have a voice and an opinion and his opinion was 100% accurate so why shouldn’t he voice that. He’s a child not a robot. Later that day after my son getting into trouble for it, a teacher came and said they can all put on their coats which shows it was cold and my son got into trouble for nothing. If a child asks a question, teachers aggressively response with “why are you speaking, was you spoken too” how are they to know or learn if they can’t even ask a question to find out the answer. If I were to state every issue with how this school is now run, this would be an essay.
I am a pupil here at hornchurch high school, I get in so much trouble for the most dumbest reasons. Let’s say you lose a sharpener or rubber that would be and instant detention. This school should really think what they are doing and it needs to change now
this school is horrible send your kid here is you want to give them depression xxx – fallon boxall
these rules are so stupid, you have to be in school before 8:30 or you get an hour but if your not at lines at 8:26, you still get an hour? School food is so expensive and disgusting for no reason. they put automatic locks on toilets so that they lock whenever lessons start? kmttttt. this school needs to actually switch up.