Grey Court or Waldegrave

[Jenniferinlondon]

Hi, I am looking at Grey Court or Waldegrave. I have twin girls. Other than co-ed vs all girls, I would love your views on key differences between the two.

Plus will these two schools continue to do well under their new heads?

Thank you!!

Where do you live? Can't think of many locations in the borough where you would get a distance place at both Grey Court and Waldegrave .

I on't know much about Grey Court, but the new Waldegrave Head has inherited a big financial deficit and a strong reputation to maintain. The outgoing head knew what she was doing taking early retirement while the school was at the peak of its success.

I hear they are different schools and depends on your child. I have a friend living in Richmond with one in each. Grey Court has all the advantages of co-ed including more sports. Waldegrave seems a little more pressured from the outside and being a girls school, you have to watch more for the type of girly behaviour that undermines confidence. My friends says she would not have sent her GC child to W and vice versa, so depends on the child really.

My DD is in Y8 at GC and has friends from primary who attend Waldegrave. Other than co-ed/single sex, the biggest difference we have found is setting. Waldegrave teach in forms (mixed ability) for everything other than maths whereas GC set for maths, english, science and MFL in Y7 (and then history and geography in Y8). There are different opinions about educational benefits of each approach and you might like one more than another. However, what I hadn't appreciated until my daughter started at GC is the social element of being in different groupings for different subjects which has been brilliant for my DD. It means she knows loads of children across the year group and is with different friends in different lessons. In Waldegrave, the girls are with the same 30 girls every lesson apart from maths. When we looked at both schools, I also found the language provision at Waldegrave limited - you are assigned a single language from french, german or spanish and take that from year 7-9. At Grey Court, you either take French or Mandarin in Y7 and then everyone takes a second language in Y8 (German or Spanish) and study both until Y9 when options are chosen for GCSE. (Obviously there are different provisions available for students who would really struggle to take two languages).

Oh, and I absolutely loved Maggie Bailey (previous Head at GC) and was gutted when she left. But so far I have been impressed with Mr Rhodes (new Head) who really seems to be carrying on the ethos of "every child matters" and the encouragement of extra-curricular activities such as sport, music and drama, alongside the drive for academic results. You can probably tell we're very happy with Grey Court!

Thank you all so much.

Asaladforautumn — thank you for taking the time to write on your experience with Grey Court. I am an expat so not only am I not familiar with the area — I am also not familiar with the school system!

I've got 3 at Waldegrave.

The pp is correct that at Waldegrave, they are not streamed except for Maths (although there is a top set for English), but they are in mixed classes for every subject after Year 8 so they do get an opportunity to mix with the whole year (which is huge).

There is an option to take 2 languages. All 3 of mine are taking 2. There is also the opportunity for gifted linguists to take Latin lessons (for free) at a local independent school.

Waldegrave is an excellent school academically and the behaviour is exceptional: there is little to no disruption in classes, despite them being of mixed ability. However, it can be a tough environment for some : a lot of girls all competing at every level together can be challenging for even the most robust teenager.

Hi,

I'm making this same decision and am curious to know what you decided and what was the result! If you have time, please could you give me a quick answer. It's so hard this year as we've only been in the UK since the end of last year, we don't know the schools, and we can't visit any of them!

Thank you,

upociv

I've got twins, both in year 7, 1 at Waldegrave and 1 at GC (boy). Our first choice of school was Waldegrave, which we chose because during the open morning tours we observed some classes, and the girls really seemed to enjoy their lessons and were much more engaged than at the other schools we visited. It turned out to be the right decision for my DD who really likes Waldegrave and has confirmed that the teaching is fantastic. She now enjoys subjects she never really liked at Primary School.The only downside for us is the MFL provision (you are assigned a language from French, German or Spanish - most likely French, as they have four French forms and only two German and two Spanish forms). There is a provision for able linguists to take an additional language in Y9, but that's outside of curriculum time, as far as I know. At GC children can study French, Spanish, Mandarin or Spanish in Y7 (the Spanish option in Y7 is new and they try to accommodate your choice) and then an additional MFL in Y8. Other differences are that GC offers more sports, they set for more subjects, they are stricter regarding behaviour, forgetting homework and give out detentions regularly, whereas getting a detention at Waldegrave is almost unheard of (at least in Y7). My DS at GC gets more homework than my DD at Waldegrave. GC use a ParentApp (Sims) which informs parents automatically of achievements as well as behaviour, set homework, timetable etc. which is quite useful. Both schools are great. I am happy to answer any specific questions if required.

I think where you live will limit your options, unless you have sibling/EHCP place lined up, I think you are unlikely to be positioned for both of these schools.

In the event you are Teddington way, I'd look at Turing House.

You won't get Grey Court from Waldegrave Area A, but if you live near Richmond Bridge, you have a good chance of getting into both (Waldegrave - Area B - it starts about two streets before the bridge in East Twickenham and then into Richmond) and Grey Court.

We are in Ham, which (bizarrely) is Area A for Waldegrave. It's the percentage that goes against us. 85% from Area A, and that's usually fulfilled before anyone from Ham gets in. But I have spoken to the school and have been told that it's not an impossibility, so it sounds worth a try.
I'm also wondering about Teddington now, as teachers in other secondary schools locally say that it's improving fast and that we can safely ignore it's last Ofsted report.
DD is very keen on Grey Court, and there's probably a lot to be said for a short cycle ride across Ham Common to get to school!
I just wish we could have been able to see these schools. Choosing blind is difficult.

@upociv it's always worth staying on the waiting list for your first choice school because they do shift a lot between March and September. Usually someone gets hold of the September 1st cut-off distances from the council and posts them to Mumsnet but I haven't seen any for this year yet.

The Kingston Academy is also a popular choice in Ham.

Good luck!

@Mamajeet112 cud u plz comment on my thread for wadegrave vs orleans p

@Razzmata I can't find a thread for Waldegrave vs Orleans P mentioning your name. I am happy to answer any questions. I have children at Waldegrave and Grey Court, not at Orleans P, though

@Mamajeet112 tx, hru and Dd finding waldegrave as? My Dd is only 6, but im house hinting to be in waldegrave catchment and just stabilise for another decade or so. I hear a lot about girl gangs and queen bees. That can be anywhere but do you think it is attributed to the area, or waldergrave having a high i take, or it not being coed…just tell me anything. My Dd is indeed sensitive, and too young for me to know if she will be academically competitive so lets go with being moderately academically competitive- what wud u suggest in such a situation? I personally was a v gud student but hated a super strict school with sharp elbowed girls. I found coed more relaxed afterwards cz boys were more chilled and less competitive abt everything. Im not sure what atmosphere is like at waldegrave - school visit was a mixed vibe, i cudn really tell :(

@Razzmata My daughter really likes it at Waldegrave (Year 8). She is lucky and has a nice friendship group. The school is academic, but the teachers are mostly relaxed and kind, and not very pushy at all. I am not aware of girl gangs and queen bees, probably they exist as much or little as at other schools. The good thing is that the year groups are large, and there are plenty of opportunities to meet people from other forms as well. Comparing Waldegrave and Grey Court (where my son is), I found that the start to Year 7 was more gentle at Waldegrave, more like a primary school extension, but both schools are very good. I don't know anyone at Orleans Park, but it is also considered a great school, quite focused on MFL (children learn French, German and can later choose Spanish as well). At Waldegrave girls only learn one MFL (either French, Spanish or German, it will be allocated). Waldegrave has a specialism in science. I wasn't quite sure about this, but they have great science teachers, and my daughter who never liked science before, really enjoys it now.

@upociv what did you do in the end? I have to choose between Christ’s and W and I’m so confused. My DD is mid range and I want her to be stretched but also to be among children who are welcoming and easy going.

@merdarn89 have things changed a lot since the new head? My daughter has been offered a place in Year 9 and I’m very confused as she’s never been in a single sex school before.

@FromIndia so what was your choice? I am also planning to move to the area and looking to rent accordingly. trying to decide between GC and W