Moving back to London. Where?

Move back to where you were. It sounds as if your child has already had enough upset in their short life.

Yeah, claiming that minus values are average when I stated " in the borough" 🙈. No copy

No, I didn't miss that. I was simply correcting your error. And yes, the confidence interval matters. I'm glad you're catching on.

@drumbin, because confidence interval also matters ( see the pic)

And again as you may have missed that second time,I was talking about the borough and not the UK wide scores. For the borough it is lower end.

@JustWingItLifeEyelinerEverything I fully understand how progress 8 works. Very few schools have a score of exactly zero. If you look you'll find that schools with a score of -0.11 are described as average. For example, the Richmond upon Thames school has a score of -0.22 and is still in the average range, as shown. Its upper confidence value is above zero.

@drumbin Please note that I wrote: as compared to other schools in the borough.

And no, only 0 is average. Everything below 0 is not average but is below
Greater than 0.5 = well above average
0-0.5= above average
-0.5= below average
Lower than -0.5= well below average

I strongly suggest to look at the Progress 8 of various schools to understand the grading. It is clearly stated on gov website- example

HH was below average in 2022 and in 2023 is well below average. This is ofsted terminology

-0.11 is average. Anything between -0.5 and +0.5 is considered average.

I know some local schools score well above average, but -0.11 isn't bad.

last year the Progress 8 was -0.11 and only 53% had a strong pass 5+
this year the Progress 8 was - 0.58 and only 40% had a strong pass 5+

As compared to other schools in the borough it was already at the bottom end last year. So no, not a blip

Why not go back to Chiswick? It would be good for your child.

You only left last year and prices won't have changed that much.

He was a deputy at Hampton High, but also parachuted into some other roles across the trust too. I heard he was well liked at HH: https://teddingtonschool.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/document/Headteacher-Announcement-September-2022.pdf?t=1687388518.

One year's GCSE results at HH may be a blip, so it's one to watch. Maybe they just had a hardcore of students who went awol.

The new Head came from Hampton High.

Wasn't he managing the entire Bourne Trust rather than only HH?
It was around 2-3 years ago when HH improved... until most recent GCSE results

@JustWingItLifeEyelinerEverything : "many of those schools had no visitors for years so it is not very reliable"

Turing had Ofsted in recently (according to their 20th October newsletter), but no report published yet.

Orleans must be due as its been 5 years, and they've had a change of Head too. Maybe they'll give the Head the chance to settle in first.

Teddington was done 2 years ago. Has had a new Head since then though. Their old head (KP) went to Orleans Park. The new Head came from Hampton High.

St Richard Reynolds was lucky - they got their inspection just before the Ofsted framework changed in Sept 2019. It became much more difficult to get an Outstanding grade after that.

Depends on what we looking for. If you looking at academics then it is very good in the last years but equally good GCSE results had Grey Court and Turing.
If you looking at pastoral care then several school have good pastoral care.
If you looking at facilities then Teddington has probably the best, but Twickenham and Turing also have grand facilities.
And then there is also Ofsted report but many of those schools had no visitors for years so it is not very reliable

Having said that I wasn't recommending the best schools but the one that OP is most likely to get a place. There are waiting lists to the top borough's schools even in Y9

I was going on most recent a-level results in 2023.

I agree though it’s all quite up and down

"Best" is subjective - it depends on your perspective. It's overdue an Ofsted inspection, so who knows whether it'll retain its aura of "bestness". Probably a good idea for the op to make their own mind up on that, based on what they're looking for, and their budget. Not everyone has the luxury of being able to afford a property within catchment of the most popular schools.

Right now, I think I'd be choosing Twickenham School over Hampton High, given the choice, but last year I might have said the opposite. Things change from year to year. Orleans Park has had bad years in the past, and certainly used to be considered inferior to Teddington. Ofsted ratings can change perceptions, but they're not always accurate.

Hampton high is not a well respected school locally. It is very much an uderperforming school with a below average progress 8 score and a below average attainment 8 score, which is pretty shocking considering the area and how well the local primary schools perform.

Isn't Orleans Park school the best secondary in Richmond?

You would get a place in Twickenham Academy as it has been never oversubscribed but that is not the best option. I would try calling Teddington school ( 1400 kids) if they have any free places in Y 9 if you were local....

You can't guarantee any state school will have a place until you get a firm address. If I were you I'd aim to be near top of the waiting list of your preferred school (usually by being closest to school, but check the policy as some are different), but also try to be in catchment for at least one good backup. Then be prepared to either "home school" for a while until you get a place, or else take whatever is offered but stay on waiting lists for higher preferences.

Places do come up in year 9 because some families want to move their children before GCSEs start.

One thing worth checking - which languages are offered for GCSE. Some schools only offer one, e.g. Spanish, so if your child has been learning e.g. French they will be behind the curve.