Any views on Waldegrave Girls, Teddington?

DD went to Waldegrave up to GCSE. She did very well, but was always fairly academic. She got extra help where she needed it and I know some of her friends who weren't as academic were always offered extra help and encouraged. But all this was under the old head as DD decided to go elsewhere for 6th form.

There were some bullying issues, mostly (but not all) dealt with appropriately.

Overall I'd say I was happy with the school in our 5 years there.
You need to be very close in the catchment area to guarantee a place, we only got in on the waiting list a few months after initial offers and we're only 15 min walk away.

DD went to Waldegrave when 6th form very new, great GCSE results better than DS at Hampton Boys (Independent). Stupidly trusted same at sixth form. Very disappointed, DS on gifted register, but lost out on Uni place had to go into clearing, chemistry teacher left after first year, Biology teacher disappeared at crucial stage of second year, no teacher and appalling supply for several weeks, over confident geography department not to grips with change in A level structure, DS went from over 90 UMS in AS, which no longer counted towards A2, to a B - many classmates also a grade lower than expected in Bio & Geography. DS diagnosed with lifelong health issues and school failed to understand or help. Plus points : lovely bunch of girls that she has remained friends with. But was bullied by a boy and would not let me take it further, relies on her friends to help and didn’t trust the staff to do so. Still makes me upset when I think about her time in sixth form. I wish I had persuaded her to try for Tiffin, didn’t get a place at Esher. My advice if worried about academic side do what it appears many parents do and get tutors, keep an eye out for signs of bullying, be involved and don’t let teachers think they know your child better. I had a difficult conversation with one, now left, who accused DS of playing XBox games at night, no XBox anywhere near her room, she was tired because of her immune disease and school not allowing her home for a lunch that she could eat GF. Aagghhh. They didn’t give them much freedom in sixth form because they are worried about what they might do if allowed out at lunch time - which is archaic and leads to resentment when every other school, including those with top results, does allow it. I hope that has changed.

As a pp said, Waldegrave is in Twickenham, not Teddington, and has a very small catchment. I live in the area but have boys, but I know lots of families with girls there. The previous head was very popular with everyone, including the teachers, which counts for a lot. But before she retired she made it very clear that the school was going to have to cut back on a lot of things, or face a big budget deficit. The new head has been very ill with cancer and was on leave for a long time, so they had an interim head - I don't know if that's still the case. People seem mostly happy with the school - a friend with year 9 and year 13 daughters says she's noticed a decline between the two, but she wasn't specific. There are a lot of very strong minded girls there - from what I can gather there have been some campaigns and walk outs recently, though I'm not sure what about.

First of all, I believe the school is actually located in Twickenham (but close to the border with Teddington and also Hampton Hill).

Secondly, I personally get the impression things have changed since the new Head took over and not necessarily for the better imho.

It's the only girls' school in the whole of Richmond Borough and 1 of 3 rated outstanding by Ofsted, so is usually very in demand.

There are 2 catchment areas you have to live in before even applying. Then of course, the closer you are in that the more chance of getting a place.

They used to do French and German MFLs there last I knew, which is not very on trend with the popularity of Spanish these days. But that may have changed recently!

Just posted this on another thread:
Lots of my DD's friends went to Waldegrave (my DD is now in Y10) while DD opted for co-ed secondary. Most are happy, a few are disappointed with the sports provision which really seems to have fallen away in last few years, and a couple of girls struggled with the sheer size of the school. There's 240 girls per year - my DD's school is same year size but of course that means half as many girls going for sports teams, drama etc. My sense from friends is that it is easy to get lost at Waldegrave.

I really would question whether moving into catchment makes sense. It's a good school but has an above average attaining intake of pupils and so its value added is good but not amazing. Rather than look at "its impressive data" I would suggest you consider issues such as language provision (used to be one language only from Y7-9 but I think this might have changed), accessibility of sports, drama and music provision (given large numbers of students) and whether your DD actually liked the feel of the school etc. I think it is a great school and, as I've said, I know many girls (and their parents) who are very happy with it. But it wouldn't have been the right choice for my DD.

Only know it is a good school, local families are keen to get in. Catchment is getting smaller and smaller.