Orleans Park, Grey Court , Richard Reynolds Secondary school

It’s not even a discussion. Michaela is undoubtedly an exceptional school with an amazing headteacher (every school should have a Katharine Birbalsingh) but it’s in a very deprived area. Whereas Orleans has amazing results, is located the safest borough in London, is surrounded by green spaces and the River Thames and the small walkable catchment area is full of lovely period properties etc etc etc. No one looking to move from central London for an exceptional secondary school would have both St Margaret’s / Richmond and Wembley on their shortlist.

Michaela students only do 7 or 8 GCSEs though as against 9 or 10 at Orleans (and most other comprehensives). The latter is far preferable IMO.

Unfortunately there won't be any Progress scores published this year or next year, due to Covid, so Attainment will get more focus than usual.

Unfortunately there won't be any Progress scores published this year or next year, due to Covid, so Attainment will get more focus than usual.

Thanks. I did quickly realise that I’d failed to spot that Wembley outlier. Incredible results & methods.

Michaela Community School, 82.0%

For anyone considering Orleans Park Secondary for their children, the latest GCSE results are quite reassuring. It looks like the % of grades 7-9 (59%) is the highest of any non-selective comp in London (and quite possibly England - I’m yet to find a higher % for the usual high performing schools in England). Other local / SW schools did really well too: Ashcroft (52%); Waldegrave (51%); Lady Margaret (51%); Kingston Academy (51%); Grey Court (49%). www.londonpreprep.com/2026/08/londons-best-100-secondary-schools-gcse-results-2026/

@tennissquare I understand what you’re saying but in reality this is exactly what parents and young people do when choosing a place to study from 16-19. So although it’s like comparing apples and pears that’s the reality. Going through this right now I can tell you that many of the secondary schools have quite low entry requirements and are obliged to take pupils from year 11 if they meet the entry requirements. The entry requirements are very similar if not the same as Esher - you can afford to do that when your outstanding provider. However, Richmond upon Thames College and Kingston College have much lower entry requirements by comparison as they often struggle to fill their courses. For instance by daughter was told by Richmond upon Thames College, that they might take her with a 6 in maths to do Maths A level, no where else would dream of that!!

@12345change , I wouldn't compare Esher to a school secondary, I would say it's massive with a wide academic ability due to the low entry requirements. It's right for some 16 year olds and not for others. It's tricky for the pupils from Esher High, Thamesmead etc who end up going there because of automatic entry but find it too big etc.
For the posters who asked about school sixth form performance, you need to understand Esher and Tiffin to understand the movement around the borough for 6th form.

For clarity I’m not saying that Esher college isn’t good but some of the state secondaries are excellent.

12 Oxbridge offers given the size of the college isn’t that great tbh. I’m sure Greycourt and TKA have a bigger proportion than that. And the academic ability varies in the same way as Esher. Not that Oxbridge is everything but I would say Esher isn’t as good as many suggest.

@hieronymus2 , they really don't go to private schools, the way uni admissions work there is no point is making the move to private for 5 terms of teaching if you can get the same A level results from state education.

Esher College is massive, 2000 students in total, unless you go to a school with automatic entry if you live in a TW postcode then your place is allocated by a ballot so you can't expect to go there. It's results are good and they have 12 Oxbridge offers this year. But the academic ability of the cohort is wide because the entry requirements are low once you have a place. You can read the admissions policy.

@hieronymus2 it's a bit of a leap to assume they go private - why would they when they are doing so well in the state system?

See my answer above about how you're comparing apples with pears.

Some of the top performers at Orleans Park & Grey Court do go to the Tiffins. Others sometimes go to Harris Westminster, or Kings College Maths School, both of which are highly selective. Some may also go to Ashcroft Technology Academy if they want to do IB. However, many do stay at their comprehensive sixth forms or go to a comprehensive college like Esher or Strodes. They will be in the top performers at those institutions, and do very well.

Your best bet is to put in an FOI request to the relevant schools to ask where their post-year 11 students have transferred to for the past few years.

Also, be cautious of Locrating data. You are better off getting the data at source from the Government's Compare Schools website.

Also, remember that the vast majority of selective independent schools don't do GCSEs (they do IGCSEs) and therefore do not appear in those tables whereas they do appear in the A Level tables.

Thanks @tennissquare for trying to solve the puzzle with me!

Probably, a lot of the students try for Tiffin Sixth Form. Looking at the Feeder Schools for Tiffin 16-18 info in Locrating, less than 5% come from Orleans Park and Grey Court, so between 1 and 5 kids from each school. Losing the top 5 students can definitely account for that drop in results.

Esher College is in the top 24% for A Level results, so it's worse than Orleans Park and Grey Court. Waldegrave is in the top 16%, so it's slightly better.
Ashcroft Technology Academy is better (Top 10%) but it's a long commute, and I don't see these schools as feeders. Same for Hinchley Wood School

I guess some more students move to the top performing independents in the area (Hampton School, Kingston Grammar School, Lady Eleanor Holles School, Surbiton High School).

As well as what tennissquare said, remember that the GCSE figures are top 4/5% of all secondary schools that do GCSEs, whereas the A level figure is the top 21/19% of all sixth forms doing A Levels. Many secondary schools don't have sixth forms at all, so you can't compare the two stats - they are apples and pears.

Many sixth forms are stand-alone colleges and some are very academically selective, so it is inevitable that they will have higher A Level results than comprehensive sixth forms.

@hieronymus2 , the pupils move to other state offerings. Until about 15 yrs ago state secondary schools in the area didn't have sixth forms and the pupils went to sixth form colleges. There was a change of policy and most schools now have 6th forms and those that don't have the pupils admitted automatically to Esher College, ie Hampton High.
Esher College takes 1000 pupils via automatic entry and a ballot. There are other colleges offering more vocational subjects - Kingston and Richmond - and then there are more academic routes via Tiffin school (which is mixed for 6th form) and Tiffin Girls.
Schools like Waldegarve are also popular for 6th forms
Pupils (in particular girls) like a change and there are plenty of options . Tiffin girls is in the top 50 Oxbridge schools globally.

Looking at the results in Locrating, Orleans Park is top 4% in GCSEs but then decends to top 21% for A Levels. Grey Court descends from to 5% to top 19%.
Why is that? Do the brightest kids move to other (independent) schools after GCSEs? Or they just relax??

I know this is an old thread.. but I’ve somehow stumbled across it and have been reading the replies to the op question.
Which, honestly have left me feeling frustrated and disappointed for the op.

But then I read your fantastic reply! Informative, knowledgeable, and you’ve answered the op question!
What a breath of fresh air to read your answer!
Thank you for being so kind and positive! 🌼🌼🌼

@StMargslawyer

When it comes to results it varies year to year. E.g. in 2022 Turing had higher score of 82 perc.
I really liked Orlean Park but I must admit I didn't find the building that impressive. I found it overcrowded and part of the buildings have door to the room directly from the outside. It is cold there in the winter and kids seat in jackets.

The access to the sport fields situated below is forbidden with the exception to the PE lessons or clubs. There is a very limited space to spend time outdoors and it is really on the benches. No much space for walks.

Turing, Teddington have far more space outside and inside.

We spent many many hours researching and visiting most of the schools in the area (Orleans Park, Waldegrave, Grey Court, Turing House, Christ’s, RPA, Tiffin, RTS, St Catherine’s, Ibstock, Radnor House, LEH) and decided to go with Orleans Park for a number of reasons. It might not be the right school for everyone, so I’d definitely recommend going to as many open days as possible to get a better feel for each school. Our criteria were:

1. Academics
2. Orleans Park has the best state, non-selective results in the borough / area (79% English and Maths grade 5, average EBacc score of 6.04, average A Level score of 41.22) and either beats or in on a par with many of the private schools (St Catherine’s, Ibstock, Harrodian, Radnor House), plus 50% of leavers go on to Russell Group universities and there’s a history of Oxbridge success.
3. School ethos and environment
4. We really wanted to find a school with strong values where the kids are well behaved, happy and excel. That came across strongly during the open day. We liked the feel of Orleans Park, both the school buildings and the surrounding grounds (immediately adjacent to the Thames). Most of the other schools were also largely impressive buildings (in how they operate rather than how new they are), but not quite as impressive as Orleans, in our view. Plus the headteacher is excellent and has only recently joined, so we expect that she'll be around for as long as our kids are at the school.
5. Sports
6. Our children do a lot of sports clubs outside school (another reason for selecting St Margarets as a place to live) but we also wanted them to do plenty of pre-, during- and post-school sports clubs. Our daughter has so far done running, netball, football, hockey, French clubs, is playing for the school netball, hockey and cross country teams and will shortly be doing duathlon, athletics, volleyball, tennis, cricket and rounders clubs. The standard is also very high, both for boys and girls.
7. Mixed sex
8. We have 3 kids (boy and girls) and were keen to send all 3 to the same school. Plus, day-to-day life involves mixing with males and females, so we felt that it’s important to develop normal friendships with both sexes prior to departing for Uni. We had also heard reports of increased levels of bullying at certain single sex schools in the area. Again, some parents may feel that their child’s personality is more suited to a single sex school, but we’re confident that our kids will thrive in a mixed environment.
9. Ofsted Report
10. Our daughter joined the school when Orleans had previously been awarded ‘outstanding’ pursuant to an Ofsted report in 2017. Thankfully, in January 2024 it retained its ‘outstanding’ rating. I suppose we were less concerned by this Ofsted validation as we now know that it’s an excellent school, but at least it provides reassurance to prospective parents that it is excellent in all respects.
11. Surrounding area (housing, demographic, activities)
12. We definitely wanted to live close to the secondary school so we wanted the surrounding area to be full of nice, period housing and close to all amenities. Being close to the Thames, plenty of sports clubs, Kew, Richmond Park, Bushy Park, Richmond and Twickenham town centres is an absolute joy. House prices and rents are clearly not cheap, but we preferred to spend income on a nice house near an excellent state school (and go on nice holidays) rather than a smaller house and send the kids to private school. Neither route is right or wrong, but that was our choice.
13. Tight Catchment:
14. We were keen on a school with a tight catchment area for several reasons: 1) a short walk to school for the kids to save time / driving and for that saved time to be spent on homework / music rather than on a school bus / car 2) for the kids’ friends to be nearby at weekends and evenings, again to minimise travelling (parent taxi service!) and for safety reasons. Plenty of our friends went the private / Tiffin route, but the thought of our kids wasting hours of time on a school bus every day and then us having to drive them long distances to see their dispersed friends at weekends did not excite us.

Hope that brief summary helps. Just one subjective view, so definitely do as much of your own research as you have time for!

My friend lives just by Trafalgar school. I will ask her ;)

Well, they may not be living in Hampton Hill, but next time you're in Twickenham have a look around. There are now many families from Hong Kong living there.

naah I am just chatty:) My line of argument was that if there was a significant influx of kids from Hong Kong, they had to accommodate some specific areas and not spread evenly across the boroughs. I would have noticed them at school.

@YouDeserveSomeCake I mean this kindly, but I think you're just so determined to have the last word that you haven't noticed your line of argument has gone down a rabbit hole. 🙃