Commute to Hampton Boys ( If avoiding coach)

Under the current Ofsted framework, good and outstanding schools only get a short inspection to confirm their grade. If the short inspection indicates that the grade may need to go down, the visit is extended and, if it may need to go up, they get a full inspection within 2 years. If there is a change of Head in that time, the timeframe will probably be extended to within 2 years of the new head joining.

That's because when they came in 2023, the result was good but with some outstanding features. So that's why they said they would return within a year or so.

And that is very interesting @Meredusoleil because they had one in 2023 and were graded Good and just one year later they had another one and were graded Outstanding. It suggests that Hampton Hill Juniors will have Ofsted also in 2024. Will the new leadership deliver in time for Ofsted visit? The deputy head, headmaster and head of pastoral care plus a couple of teachers is leaving and the new headmaster is just joining.

Just FYI, Hampton Juniors recently had Ofsted in and they finally got the Outstanding grading they were hoping for when the inspectors visited last year 👏

The market in Richmond has been falling down less than in London because only 2 percent over a year. The price sensitivty relates more to upper market as the average family housing price holds the price pretty well.
I bought my house in that dip in 2010 on the graph and it more than tripled its value by now.

We are going again into recession

Dorking is not cheaper than Richmond Borough. The father of my child sold the house there last year. Woking maybe....

According to the FT, London house prices have underperformed the rest of the UK for the past eight years.

Young couples use to move to the Twickenham area, now out to towns like Woking/Dorking.

You can see the impact on the prep sector - The Mall and Kings House now co-Ed. The preps know it's not down to marketing spend, facilities etc, there are simply not enough young dc in the area to fill the school places state or private.

That would be visible in falling property prices in London then.

The greatest impact is inevitably for first-time buyers - young couples moving further out of London so they can afford to buy their own home and start a family - rather than on people already settled here.

But if that is the case it would be visible in all age groups. And for secondary y7 entrance all schools have waiting list and catchment. For in year transfer there are lenghty waiting lists

It's not just the birth rate, but also the post-Covid exodus out of London to cheaper areas, facilitated by hybrid working.

Amazing. My is born in 2013, which was already a year with decline in the birth rate but the schools were packed with waiting lists on the top. At secondary school entrance all schools have waiting lists.

The population going to reception this year must be really small. Wow.

Indeed! Very surprising.

In fact, I counted 12/23 of the schools listed had "all preferences met" which means there was no need for a waiting list (yet). That is a lot. Over half!

Then there was also the mention at the bottom of the document which included some of the religious schools, saying they also still had places available 😯

What surprises me more is that Hampton Infants is still taking in a 120 pupil cohort (looks like the only school in the Borough) despite these falling numbers.

Stanley has dropped right down to a PAN of 60 and I think Heathfield has also gone back down to 90, as both had higher numbers in the past.

According to the LA (link posted by @urbanesque above), the position as at National Offer Day in April was that Hampton Infant School had only filled 108 of its 120 places from on-time applications. Assuming that there were 12 or fewer late applicants, all of them, from wherever, would have got places straight away after the 108 offers were made - and more could be accommodated if somr of the original offers were rejected.

@mrDoubt so you have lived within 2.4 miles, haven't you?

Great link @mrDoubt , just shows how much the falling birth rate has impacted the schools in the area. Best of luck to your dd.

"I thought that influx of kids from Ukraine and Hong Kong increased the number of children."

It has. That's why the drop-off isn't as big as in some other London Boroughs where schools are closing.

I thought that influx of kids from Ukraine and Hong Kong increased the number of children. The catchment for Hampton Infants was 2.4 km this year.

For secondary schools all of the schools show waiting list. Even Twickenham Academy has a waiting list. Worse than last year. Although there were some shifts. Orlean Park offered 300 meters larger catchment and Waldergrave similarity slightly larger. Teddington school catchment significantly shrank as compared to previous years .

did you say your younger child is going into the nursery class at Hampton Infants? If so, you will need to reapply for the Reception year. Have you checked their admissions policy? Usually there is no admissions priority for nursery children

Ah this may be it. You are correct @urbanesque

@mrDoubt urbanesque is right. Please move as close as possible to Hampton Infant school to get to Reception class, less than 2 km

@mrDoubt did you say your younger child is going into the nursery class at Hampton Infants? If so, you will need to reapply for the Reception year. Have you checked their admissions policy? Usually there is no admissions priority for nursery children.

@JustWingItLifeEyelinerEverything lots of primaries are undersubscribed now, due to a lower birth rate: https://5f2fe3253cd1dfa0d089-bf8b2cdb6a1dc2999fecbc372702016c.ssl.cf3.rackcdn.com/uploads/ckeditor/attachments/15682/LBR_Notes_to_parents_following_Primary_2024_allocation.pdf

The distance criteria has increased a lot in recent years, since both schools have increased their intake to 4 form entry!

Was it undersubscribed? Usually there is a waiting list as Hampton Infant and Jr schools are popular

@mrDoubt
We have decided on Hamptin infant. Happy with our choice for now

But in that case you have to move to Hampton, otherwise you will be outside of catchment

@JustWingItLifeEyelinerEverything , taking a dc out of school during term time. Attendance is a national priority with new guidance from Sept.

@mrDoubt , I don't know for sure but i think the highest absenteeism for holidays is linked to the ski season. Many dc don't like missing the end of summer term and all the school events etc.