Hampstead Academy

Excuse me parents who took their children out of Hampstead Academy. As a student of Hampstead Academy, I know what I am talking about. Overall, a great school. Rounded curriculum, great teachers, and contrary to popular belief, not a large teacher turnover rate. With the exception of my drama teacher, mostly the same people have been teaching just about since I was in 1st grade, allowing (gasp) friendship between me and my teachers. As a result of the small class size I have a great group of close friends, when in a larger school we may not have even hung out together. Yes, there are problems with the neighbors, so there is no field now. But there is a track/football field and a soccer field just down the street. Also the mathematics curriculum, in comparison to schools such as Pike, is lacking, but there are numerous extracurricular enrichment opportunities such as HAT day, Math Club, and the MathCounts team. In a few words- close knit friends and great academics. more

My friend's daughter and son go there. They are very uncomfortable sending their children there where they have no opportunity to excel in athletics. At one point they said they were putting in a field but the town squashed it and the school administration was evasive in stating the intent of the field. Teacher turnover is another issue. Apparently you don't get a big return on investment for the big tuition. They are looking at St. Joe's next year. more

My son has attended Hampstead Academy for the past six years. It has been a friendly and welcoming environment with caring and understanding teachers. The curriculum is strong in math and science and the program is further enriched with art, music, drama, languages .... including Latin, Spanish, and Chinese. The developing sports programs involve all who wish to participate. My child is well prepared for high school and is enrolled in accelerated classes in math, science, and foreign language. The strength of the school lies in the responsive and knowledgeable administration and staff. I highly recommend this school. more

My daughter spend 8 fantastic years at Hampstead Academy and found it to be the most memorable experience of her life. Her teachers knew her well and she continues to be in contact with them... and most of them are still there. The strength is in the quality of the teachers and their caring for the students. We have moved across the country but my daughter is still close friends with her classmates from Hampstead Academy. more

Both my children attended Hampstead Academy from preschool through Grade 8. What a wonderful place! A family centered environment, caring, professional teachers, a responsive administration made my children's experience extremely positive. They both now attend private high school and were well prepared. The tuition is affordable, the programs cannot be matched. Parents are encouraged to participate and am eternally grateful to have\r been part of such an amazing school. more

The school has seen a lot of turnover in teachers in the last few years. This bothered me because it generally means something is amiss. One afternoon after school, I had to return for something one of my kids left behind and overheard the first grade teacher in a faculty meeting speaking about a student and family in what I felt was a disrepectful and unprofessional manner. I shared this concern with my spouse and he related something he heard the head of school speaking to another teacher about another parent as he was walking by during the school day; needless to say, it was not a kind or professional comment and really speaks to confidentiality concerns. As this left us with doubts as to the integrity of this school's atmosphere, we no longer wanted to pay a very expensive tuition for a school which decidely had a conflict of interest between their need for tuition and their professionalism. more

My daughter attends Meritor Academy and has been accepted to Hampsead Academy for next year. I have looked into Pike School and Shore School for other schools and I have got to tell you Hampstead is just as good (education and enrichment) as these schools but without all of the pretentiousness and large school size. Hampstead in my opinion is a best kept secret and once parents in the Merrimack Valley find out about all that Hampstead has to offer at the reasonable tuition rate they offer, the school will be swamped with applications.We have been at Meritor Academy for 2 years and has been severally disapppointed. Most of the original teachers are gone as well as its reputation as high quality education.I strongly believe that Hampstead Academy is a great school and has all that any of the top notch private schools have to offer except the large school size. more

There is discontentment between the neighboring community and Hampstead Academy. The school is unwanted there and I wonder how long it will be there. Apparently they cause unwanted traffic issues through a neighborhood that does not want to be part of their "extended driveway". The Academy also wants to put in an athletic field and the neighbors say they do not want them to host other schools there as it will create even more traffic and noise. The school contends they will not do that but they have been disingenuous in the past. more

I really enjoyed visiting this school. I didn't not end up enrolling my children there because I felt it was a little too uptight and strict for my little kids. They need structure but I also wanted them to have a great time and I didn't feel they would get both at this place. The people were great though, and I found it very safe and clean. more