Teddington school, any parents with children there

I've had children go through Teddington School, so like to think I've got first hand experience.

Teddington is very well run, and a happy place to be, with great teachers that they retain well. But sadly the (fully deserved) bad Ofsted back in 2018 has left its mark making some parents nervous to send their kids there, despite being a Good school for a while now.

Ultimately the school is an important factor in results, but sharp-elbowed parents with high aspirations are a crucial ingredient in academic success and exam results. And some of those sharp-elbowed parents...for the moment anyway...still choose Grey Court,Turing, Waldegrave or Orleans if they have the choice, as they deem those choices lower risk in terms of exam results. And so it follows on that those 'other' schools have slightly better results than Teddington.

But I'm confident that the same child, would likely get the same results in Teddington as they would in any of the 'other' schools.

And re the large catchment - so what?! It's a true Comprehensive school - children from different areas and backgrounds, beyond the "Teddington bubble" that celebrates the kids getting a 6 at GCSE when they were predicted a 4, alongside the string of 7-9s that middle class parents aspire for their children to achieve.

@Ketzele good post and agree with every word. The children of Richmond are on the whole very fortunate to such a good selection of schools.

Also OP I would not spend much time worrying over the 'choice' as you don't really get a choice - if you get your first choice you will be very lucky the number of families I knew (borough of Kingston) who received their second or third choice was fairly large - I knew a few who didn't get an offer from their list at all that was very stressful for them indeed - that was in 2020 however, so things might have got better. But I would say you need to be happy with your DC going to the top three schools on your list just in case.

I don't quite know why we're arguing about GCSE results, I think OP wanted a rounded picture of the school. For me, the headlines are that this school suffered from bad leadership a few years back, and a bad (in my view, unfair) Ofsted report. This resulted in a great number of the most achievement-oriented parents pulling their kids out, loads of teachers leaving, and the school spiralling. Thankfully a new Head turned the school around and it is doing a really good job of building back.

Yes, this is why it has a larger catchment area than other schools and a more mixed intake. There are also other reasons why parents choose other schools: Waldegrave is girls only (so will always get better stats), Turing House is shiny and new, Orleans now has the head who turned Teddington around. They are all really good schools and all worth OP considering.

But I still maintain that the stats do NOT necessarily show Teddington provides worse education, rather that it takes in children from a wider catchment. Academic children do well at Teddington. The school is safe and happy (by school standards!)

For me, going to your local school is a huge priority, and I would have been happy to send my kids to any of the schools mentioned. OP may have different priorities. But I think the overall message is that all the schools round here are pretty damn good.

>note - re GCSE 2022 - 77 high achievers with high progress and attainment score is not anecdotal.

So you saying that in Teddington there were exeptionally high achievers and on other schools in Richmond borough not to this extent ? Teddington wasn't in the middle in terms of achievement but surpassed Orlean,Turing etc?
We may then know different data. I see from gov page that Teddington was again, a mid performer as compared to the rest. A page below about it from gov portal. Again, Turing, Orlean, Grey had 100perc where you see 94 and 97 perc for High Attainers at Teddington( below)

Try to understand: nobody says it is a bad school, not at all. We don't have very bad schools in the borough. They are all great and good. I said that T is in the middle result-wise as compared to other schools in the borough. Fact.

And there is so much more than GCSE results in child's life. If I had a very sporty kid I would not hesitate and give my DC to that school. Or a very artistic kid interested in drama. They also have a good language offer.

I am concerned that the great facilities and free treat at the Open day may be misleading.

>Truly hope it is not a local trait
I assure you it is. A lot of people in this area work for NPL or LGC and would be laughing about not distingusing between basic stats vs anecdotal individual example

A levels is a completely different story.

Wishing you all the best.

@JustWingItLifeEyelinerEverything Hmmm don’t agree with you. Teddington is academic it may not be have the highest achieving pupils in the borough but it’s academic. You will not be at a disadvantage if your child goes there many do get very good results.

The catchment is huge at the moment because it had poor Ofsted a few years ago actually around the time my sister in law children were in the school, hence it’s not so popular anymore.

I don’t live in the borough but as I said would be happy for my children to go there if we did. I very much believe this school is on the way up it has something to prove unlike some of the schools in the area.

re catchment more dense population around most of the other schools. but yes the school had ups and downs in the last 3 years so not surprised... still the difference in the stats is not massive except maybe with Turing and Orleans where it is more marked. Not sure it is the case at A levels...

note - re GCSE 2022 - 77 high achievers with high progress and attainment score is not anecdotal.

To answer your earlier question JustWingItLifeEyelinerEverythin yes, I do know the difference between grammar and comprehensive schools but thank you for "educating" me. I have to say I find the tone of your statements very abrupt and off putting. Truly hope it is not a local trait. Would love to hear from parents with actual kids at the school...or who have left for whatever reason if they are around....

And here catchments:

I said it is mid way. I didn't say it is an absolutely worse performing school in the borough. Just in the middle academically as compared to the rest in the borough. But realistically can you say it is in top 3 in terms of academic results? Can you look at data tables for Richmond Borough below? This year will be published with detail on the 19th but not changed significantly. Just in the middle of the borough's results

>My sister in laws DC went to that school and both are very academic - one of them walked out with three A levels A* and two A grades in very academic subjects.

😃And this proves that this is top academic school in the borough? Even in the schools with worse results you have very good pupils. We are talking about school, school results as compared to other schools and not about anecdotal stories of a particular individuals.

>and if I was in the catchment area I would happily send my children there.

5.9 km radius last year. Huuuge catchment.

I think saying Teddington is not academic is very unfair and not true. I know lots of people who have children there and their children are very academic.

My sister in laws DC went to that school and both are very academic - one of them walked out with three A levels A* and two A grades in very academic subjects.

Yes this school has been through a tough patch but it is definitely on the way up and if I was in the catchment area I would happily send my children there.

No, but I live near and know many children at that school. Varied experience. Some ...bad luck and moved. Some popular sporty kids have their best time.

London City Mum. Have you looked at the results for Grey Court, Turing, Orleans and St Richard Reynolds? please do and compare to Teddington. It is not as academic focused school as the ones I listed. It results around average for GCSE in the borough. Yes, there schools with worse results that parents love in the borough. So of a child is very academic then Teddington will not be the top academic choice the parents can make, can't they? Have you looked computer rooms in Teddington vs e.g Orleans?

Which school exactly has a poor pastoral care, problems with mental health? Aren't you confusing local grammar schools with the listed comprehensives? Do you understand the difference in the type of schools?
About " issues apparently" I also heard stories about bullying in Teddington. Everywhere are incidents of bullying. If you think that this is a prescription for one happy school then not really. Teddington school has huge catchment, one of the largest in the borough... for a reason.

Do you have a child there?

A school for the "not very academic" ? I find that statement quite harsh. Just checked the GVT data and they have quite a bit of high achievers in the last Y11 cohort (77) performing VERY well.

In 2023 Students achieving a Level 5+ in English and Maths was 67% and in 2022 72%. Not sure where the 55% mentioned above is coming from. I guess everyone will have their bias... personally good academics and a healthy mental health is important ( several local "hot houses" have a lot of issues with kids poor mental health and pastoral care apparently. another point to think about when making a choice) good luck to all the parents who will soon have to decide on whats best for their kids!

Of your DC is sporty, and looks for a happy place, and if your DC is not very academic or just around mid way then Teddington is a good choice.

Btw, many children from Teddington, Hampton Wick go there, so the kids are mostly as their parents in terms of ethnic origin, ambition etc.

Thanks so much for taking the time to share your experience with the school.

Really appreciate people with kids at the school sharing their experiences.

I can do the desk based gov.uk research but that is never the full picture of the school is it! Also, change takes a while to bed in.

My main concern is for DC to be happy at school (as much as you can be), have the opportunity to learn all that they need to (without being too disrupted by others behaviour), to have motivating teachers and the opportunity to make some nice friends. 🤗

Marginal between 86 percent and 55 percent for 5+ at GCSE? These are not marginal. The first number suggests that almost everybody had a strong pass. And that latter means that only slightly above half had strong pass . Huge difference, especially if it is a trend over several years. A marginal difference is between 50 perc passing GCSE at 7+ at Orlean Park and 46 percent at Turing House.

A charismatic leader of the school with avg GCSE results sounds that either the cohort is average or he doesn't try well. But then Feltham Reach success comes to my mind. Amazing GCSE and most of the kids have free meals. Well that CEO of that trust is charismatic because she actually delivers

>
a small number of pupils can make quite an impact on one years stats

No, small number iof pupils has not been not making unusual impact in Richmond schools as a one off .All of that info is available. In every schools you have the small number of pupils this or that. You can easly see on Gov website, school progress including the distribution between Low attainers, mid and High. Which school is it that " small number" made an impact on one year stats and other year didn't ? I have looked at most of schools in the Richmond borough at depth and have not observed anything radical that has not been a case in the previous years. The best schools slightly soar or stay around the same and worse are not having years where they have 86 perc for 5+ at GCSE but very much around the same.

For Teddington and Hampton High there were much worse times. Now Teddington is the avg at GCSE.

This is a very good answer. People get way too hung up on marginal differences between school results. No school has a monopoly on great teaching, there will always be good and bad in every school. The main thing to look for is good, charismatic, stable leadership, because that will attract and retain good staff.

It is actually quite hard to give completely reassuring answers because teachers vary, children vary etc. I can say that a few years back the school had real problems recruiting and retaining staff, but I don't think that's a particular problem any more.

My two kids are very different - dd1 is quiet, well behaved and doing very well academically. She has a tight circle of friends and they are all heading for good RG unis or Oxbridge. She has not been tutored. I am a working single parent and have very little time to get involved with her education. Teddington served her well.

Dd2 has special needs and has always struggled with school - she doesn't go very often. When she does go she is very far behind her peers. Now I won't go into the many ways she has been let down by the system - mainly by CAMHS. But I will say that her teachers are on the whole very kind to her and I am grateful for their support. Teddington has been good to both my girls.

There are some kids with behaviour problems at the school, of course there are. (Most of them are friends with dd2, sadly.) A few years ago the school was struggling to manage low level disruption, but this has greatly improved. The school also works hard to keep on top of any antisocial behaviour after school, at the bus stop etc. Both my kids feel safe at school. Dd1, who is very introverted and a lover not a fighter, never had problems with bullying.

I do think it's important to emphasise that Richmond is a very middle class Borough with a lot of good schools, none of which face the challenges of some London schools. It's easy to get caught up in percentage differences in GCSEs between the neighbouring schools, but a small number of pupils can make quite an impact on one years stats. It doesn't tell you much about added value, and a high proportion of these kids will do well whichever school they go to.

Thank you.

GCSE 2023
67 perc gets grade 5+ at English and Maths
27 perc gets grade 7+

Why would you think that many are tutored if the result are not outstanding as compared to the other borough but just very much in the middle?
I know many parents who have kids there. Apart from just before GCSE they are not tutored

Thank you. After a rather traumatic health and safety asbestos incident in an old school building, a new build is extremely important to us. I know the government stats but What I’m trying to assess is if the progress is due to the teaching at the school or do most kids In the area have tutors? Hoping for an insider’s view ..

About top marks the GCSE results will tell you and although Teddington School is not that bad there are schools with better results in the Borough- Grey Court, Orlean Park, Turing House. Look at the gov portal showing school progress in the Pupil Characteristics, Prior Attainment. You will see how many are Low, Middle and High Achievers.

Teddington is great for kids interested in arts, as well as sporty kids. Look at the sport facilities there and club offer. It says it all.

Bumping as I’m interested too! Especially about the quality of teacher for all abilities to reach top marks.. not just the top set. Thank you!

Helpful thread - thanks. I'd be interested to hear from more parents with children at the school- particularly in years 7-9.
-How has your child found being at Teddington?

• What do you think of the teaching? Are they catering for different ability levels in practice?
• Is behaviour management generally effective?

• Would you choose it again over other schools (if you had a choice)!!😉

It's an amazing site, and teachers at the open day were really impressive. I was quite blown away by it really but keen to understand more from people who are there at the moment. I don't know many people with children there to ask. 😊