Teddington, Turing House or RTS?

[Shmo]

Hi
We are due to apply for a secondary school place.
We are struggling to decide between Teddington, Turing House or RTS due to a number of reasons. Teddington I know is working on improving the points raised in their last ofsted, Turing House looks great, but will the school change once moved to the site in Whitton? Lastly I have received a mixed reviews about RTS. Please do let me know your thoughts as we are really struggling with our decision.
Thanks!

[Susanwouldntlikeit]

Teddington is dire for behaviour -avoid!

[Arobase]

It really depends on where you live. There is no point in setting your heart on one particular school if the reality is that you won't be offered a place.

[AuditAngel]

I live in that borough, but have no direct experience of the schools. Do consider the journey to the schools. Mine have a journey that takes around half an hour on one bus, but it can take an hour to get home

[TeamsTruant]

Shmo, I think Turing will be even better when it moves because right now the sports facilities are limited and the timetable is constrained by teachers having to move back and forwards between the two sites. The new building plans look great and are long overdue. I've got a son in year 9, and he"s very happy there. We've got friends with kids at Teddington, RTS, Waldegrave, Grey Court, Hampton High and Twickenham School and they're all very happy too. We're very lucky to have such good schools where we live.

[CookEatRepeat]

I'd be really surprised if you live somewhere that gives you those three as a realistic option. I hear Teddington is turning round quickly. If you can actually consider those three, why not consider Orleans?

[TeamsTruant]

People in West Twickenham have been able to access all three schools in the last few years but I think that's because RTS was new (no Ofsted until recently) and Teddington's catchment expanded after their last Ofsted. Teddington used to have a much smaller area a few years back, so will shrink again now they seem to have turned a corner in people's minds and maybe soon on paper too when Ofsted get back to visiting. Also the primaries were expanded a lot, and new ones like Gems, St Mary's Hampton and Deer Park added so those extra children must be coming up to transfer soon. That will make catchments smaller.

[user1485813778]

I replied on similar Richmond thread - Turing is great. Very good leadership, positive approach to challenges, committed teachers, behaviour good certainly in top sets, and feels like a friendly culture amongst the students. The new site will be a good thing although a longer journey for some.

[TeamsTruant]

We've walked and cycled to the new Turing site from Hampton Hill and it's fine so long as you stick to the safe routes. We crossed the a316 at the pedestrian crossing. It took about 35 mins to walk via sixth cross and about 15-20 to cycle via Burton's Rd (but we're not very fast ). There's a map with some routes marked on the school website and it has details of the planned bus changes too. I'll try and share the link ... www.google.com/mymaps/viewer?mid=11rMH3-vucH1xbBu9XoQr__szQBE&hl=en_GB
My son says he will cycle but he'll probably get the bus if it's wet, so will need to use the 481 which is one of the routes they're increasing capacity on. Scooter might be an option, but you don't see many teens on the adult commuter push scooters and the electric ones aren't legal yet.