The Royal Masonic School for Girls Rickmansworth WD3 4HF

"I was a student here for a year and half when I was 11 years old. I was bullied relentlessly and endlessly and the staff did nothing about it - they watched it happen and let it happen. I was miserable, I didn't eat, I didn't sleep. Eventually I refused to go back to the school and it has now left me with severe mental health problems. Do not send your children here."

"My 2 daughters attended this school as boarders, whilst the education and extra curricular activities were fine their boarding experience was horrific. It is not a home away from home unless in your home you bully your children, shout at them, belittle them and ensure they live in a constant state of anxiety. The boarding house staff are awful, they also use teenage girls from abroad on gap years to bolster staff numbers in the houses, at least one of them bullied my 11 year old daughter. Pastoral care is abysmal. Apart from the terrible staff whilst some of the girls were lovely, many were cliquey and bullied the younger girls in the houses in full view of staff. We tried for months to communicate with the staff to improve the situation my girls were experiencing but nothing changed and in the end we had to remove them in the middle of the term. My children went there happy, confident, high achieving girls and my youngest left with an eating disorder and mental health issues. We hugely regret ever choosing RMS for Girls and would advise you to avoid it at all costs for your daughters."

"My daughter had a bad time at RMS sixth form a couple of years ago. There was barely any integration of new girls and the pastoral care was appalling. They use all the right words and school is very good at self-promotion. The sixth form staff are particularly proud of their pastoral care and will continually praise the girls for their "maturity" and their "friends for life" connections, but the actual reality is that a lot of the girls are bullies. The pastoral care is weak. The girls are cliquey and there is a culture of exclusion. One example out of many others- my daughter would sit down to join a group of girls and then was told to move away because she wasn't welcome, and the teacher present pretended not to notice. A lot of the teachers belittle the A level students as though they are children, and talk down to them like they are stupid. Staff were too often overlooking my daughter blatantly being disrespected and mocked by other students in the middle of a lesson. Ms Roberts was deputy head of sixth form when my daughter went, and has since been promoted, but she was nasty to my daughter and condescending."

"My daughter has been attending RMS since the age of 2. She attended Ruspini House, Cadogan House and is now very happy attending the Senior School. My husband and I are thrilled with our daughter's experience at RMS and the amazing opportunities she has had to try new things. Our daughter plays in 2 of the many musical ensembles and orchestras. She sings, she competes in a variety of sports, she takes part in Academic scholar classes, is a member of the Army Cadet Force (based in the school), she performs Drill...the list goes on and on and on... in fact there are over 60 extra curricular clubs on offer. I love the fact that the teachers know our daughter so well and can therefore support her to get the most out of the RMS experience. The food is lovely, the facilities are wonderful and the pastoral care is exceptional. As parents we get the chance to speak to staff on a regular basis, visit the Forest School, attend school events all with the the objective of making our daughter's experience at RMS - a family one."

"daughter was an international boarder a couple of years ago. when she called us every evening she would say everything was fine. once she had finished exams and left the school she revealed to us how difficult this school had actually been. the mental health neglect above all was horrific, especially from a school that we thought took the issue seriously. she has now received medical treatment for the issues neglected there and is doing much better, no thx to the school. regret ever sending her here. i once considered legal action against this hell hole."