Honest opinions of Ricards please

[Naz2881]

Hi

We have our secondary placement results and we have been allocated our lowest preference which was Ricards. I am fine with it but my husband isn't. He didn't like the school when we went to the open day.

We wanted DD to go to Fulham Cross, as we got a more positive vibe there on our visit. Both schools are equal distance from us. Could some mums reassure me about Ricards?

Lillynini thinking that if you're just a couple of streets away from Ricards Lodge, your DD will stand a very good chance of shooting to the top of the waiting list.

Aside from the support offered by staff, there is a very active student support group run by some of the Year 10s/11 girls. Recall that their 'lead' gave a very impressive speech at the parents evening meeting we had before our Year 7 girls started. Think in the most recent Ofsted report there was praise indeed for the pastoral care at RL.

Hi Naz2881, I actually attended ricards lodge High school from 2013-2018. Honestly I can not say a bad word about the school starting ricards was a nervous time for me as it was my first head in secondary school and I was a very shy and timid person anyways. Throughout the years in ricards they managed to bring me out of my shell& be able to be put in social situations being able to deal with them in a positive way. One thing I can say about ricards is that when it comes to bullying or any types of problems linked to that they get it sorted straight away and do not let problems die down in their own time. Ricards lodge was definitely the best decision I ever made as I have become a more confident person. It is a preforming arts school but it doesn’t mean it’s not the right place if you have no interest in that side of things personally preforming arts are not something I enjoy but that didn’t stop me from finding other great opportunities in school. Going through school I had a few outside of school problems due to family, the teachers in ricards were my support system and whenever I needed to talk to someone they were there offering me things to help, someone to talk to and just being very supportive towards me. Overall ricards is a very supportive, positive and hardworking school.

Hi, my DD is going to start this September @ Ricards Lodge. I understand that school focuses on drama and visual arts. It seemed a little bit strange. Because they have amazing sports fields. Netball fields, tennis courts. My DD’s tennis teacher found out that she would go there, he said “ aw, you know RL has 10 tennis courts” This is a very rare infrastructural advantage over any private/ state schools. Yet, when I check the school’s extra curricular clubs, there is little emphasis on tennis. Yes, I m questioning why this is so. Maybe, there is an underlying educational/ social reason behind it. Do anyone of you know why the sports don’t get any mentioning in the school’s presentation. It is an important issue since the athletic activities help them improve their confidence and communication skills as well as drama.

By following @RicardsPE on Twitter you will find an extremely active PE dept with a huge offering for the girls. Ricards is a Performing Arts school simply because historically they received extra funding for that (in the days when Specialist Schools were created) hence they created facilities and extra resources back then which the school continues to enjoy. Sanfris - hopefully you know this now anyway as it looks like your daughter started last Sept - how is she getting on?

Dear Trampoline, DD found the whole secondary school thing very challenging. Coming from a very small primary, the secondary seemed a huge change to adjust. First few weeks of the school, she was feeling lost. She is betternow. She has a few friends. Of course, She still has ups and downs. But I think all Y7 children in London Schoolsfind this transition a bit hard.
So when it comes to sports activities, she chose Rowing but she told us last week, she can no longer continue because she wasn’t selected for the team. It is puzzling because it is an afterschool sports club. Anyways, we will investigate that. Other than that she says lunch times are so hectic she doesn’t have timeto attend any lunch clubs.- I think she doesn't want to miss out her new friends. We can understand that. Academically, the first half of the school year wasfine, she was working hard, studying hard. However, they started a bit slow to the new year, the homeworks are very light compared to the first semester. As a parent, my only feedback is her report card. School scheduled first parent- teacher meeting in March. Until then I can not make any judgments about the whole experience. We still find Ricards Lodge as a very safe place to send our Dd to. Wherever our children go to , the most important thing is having Inspiring teachers. Ingniting curiosity in children is a precious precious thing, in fact it is a-treasure. At Ricards Lodge, We will see.

Does anyone know anything about cedar base at Ricards?