Highgate's Ugly Step Sister

Its not the first time we've reported on snobbishness when it comes to the Ham&High and the schools that supposedly fall into its catchment, but this year's A-Level special was a fresh reminder that Hampstead School - despite what we say about it - is seen as a lesser place than some of the local private schools in the area, or at least should garner less attention.

In last Thursday's edition, the same photo of a UCS student who will now attend Cambridge University (because Hampstead has had no Oxbridge students...) was plastered across the front page and the frontispiece for the A-Level Special section of the paper. In fact, of the 16 photos in the section, only 2 were of comprehensive school students. Of those two, not a single one was of a Hampstead student.

To make matters worse, whilst the paper took the time to report good news stories from seemingly all the schools in the area, there was not a single mention of Hampstead School - not one - in the entirety of the paper. According the Ham&High, Hampstead School and its A-Level students don't exist.

This, of course, has nothing to do with the fact that the majority of the advertising in the Ham&High is for property - nay, they have an entire weekly pull-out listing the latest pads on the market. And, when it comes to choosing a property, one of the key deciding factors is proximity to outstanding schools.