Chase Bridge in Twickenham/Whitton - anyone any experience?

[Mumwithason]

Hi - this is my first post on Mumsnet so thanks in advance to anyone who answers!

My son will start school next September and our nearest school in Chase Bridge. We're planning on sending him private for secondary school so just wondered if anyone had any experience or perspective on Chase Bridge? It seems like a friendly place and the children all seem happy, also the new buildings are amazing, but the Ofsted report (particular the comment on attainment for boys) worried me a bit. Do they push the more able children? Do many children go on to private (or grammar) secondary??

Many thanks!

All my childhood memories are flooding back now ...

When the 11 year olds left to go to secondary they all used to lie on he grass at the top of the field, put jackets over their heads and snog each other on their last day. The rest of the school used to stand around and watch. How weird is that?

We also used to have brilliant pre-organised fights with Nelson School (does that still exist?)

The OP doesn't really want to know this does she ......?

Oh .... and when we had a street party on the playground for the Queen's Silver Jubilee, a boy in my year crawled along under the table pulling all the girls' knickers down.....

You don't get that kind of detail from Ofsted now do you???

Like I said, Chase Bridge has been taking children from Hounslow for years. I really don't know how you can possibly say I'm incorrect, I know each of my children had friends in their year groups who lived in Hounslow. In fact my neighbours who have older children who went there said the same. It may well be that the school has been getting more popular recently so that it is more difficult for children who live further away to get in; however, CB has regularly had bulge classes and in those year groups virtually everyone who applied got a place no matter how far away they lived.

Richmond comes out first or second in the primary school league tables every year, the point being that parts of it are pretty affluent with pushy parents who do tend to send their kids off for tuition/Kumon etc, but Whitton isn't the most affluent part of the borough. My children had no tuition and did fine on the basis of what they learnt at Chase Bridge. You've also ignored the point I made about CB having to deal with pupils coming and going more than most because it's next to Kneller Hall.

Pizzahut, why on earth are you going on about great schools in Twickenham? Again, I never said there weren't. You do realise that Twickenham schools come within the borough of Richmond, don't you?

yes know it comes under richmond why being rude for just saying that children no matter what post code their under can do just as well so dont suggest that children no matter what faith or culture bringing down chase bridges results as im sure chase bridge have allot of excellent pupils from hounslow if what ur saying is the case. nelson school is still their. what so different between twickenham pupils and hounslow pupils dont see any difference when walking in twickenham or hounslow both as able as each other

anyway seen this before where some think their better than others but are only narrow minded and wrong so will not waste my time. one family member lived in teddington but didnt make her better then me and it didnt make her kids better either

I have to say pizzahutlover you're sounding a bit
I don't think nennypops has said anything inflammatory.

Ooh. Missed out "ranty"

i dont know didnt sound right to me sounds to me she blaming children from hounslow for the league tables not being so high i dont feel this is right like me saying chatworth is not doing so well because its taking pupilsfrom twickenham wrong and not the issue so many schools in poor areas doing very well its down to the individual school. hounslow has poor and rich areas just like richmond but i dont look down on anyone from any area

I didn't blame anyone, Pizzahutlover. All I did was come on here and answer OP's question about one school. I didn't criticise anyone, I didn't criticise children from Hounslow - as I pointed out, my children had and have a number of friends from there, as do I, and in fact I used to live there. I simply explained the fact that the school isn't at the top of the Richmond league table on the basis that it isn't in the more affluent areas of Richmond where some parents tend to pay for extra help for their children. I also correctly pointed out that Chase Bridge has a more fluid pupil population than some schools because it is near an army training school, but you keep ignoring that part.

You are the one who seems to see everything as a criticism, and you seem to be over-concerned about league tables which are largely meaningless anyway: with 60 children in a year group, it only takes one or two children to be away or having an off day to pull the school's percentages down quite dramatically.

I really don't know why you have such a problem with someone being happy with one particular school when they aren't criticising others, but I suggest you go and sort it out for yourself.

And punctuation would make your posts more coherent.

Mmmmm. I think I'm quite glad that I moved out of the area......

Chase Bridge is definitely one of those on the up schools. Going back a few years it was one of the schools in Richmond Borough that people didn't want but now I believe it's over subscribed.
I do think round here is nuts for schools. Comparing nationally all the schools are pretty great but because there are some fantastic schools in the Borough the level of comparison is skewed iyswim.

I don't think the fact that Chase Bridge is oversubscribed says much of anything about it really. It is well known that there are not enough places in the Richmond Borough and all of the schools are oversubscribed.

Regarding the typical education level of Hounslow, I am no expert but I do know that a high proportion of the kids who get into Tiffin (boys and girls) come from Hounslow. And they don't get there through mediocre academic performance.

The better schools do tend to be in the wealthier pockets of Twickenham. But, that is because that is also where a strong tutor culture flourishes. The schools with the higher league tables have the same level of teachers / facilities / curriculumn. The difference is what happens outside of school. So if you focus on higher league tables, you will find a culture of parents who are dedicated to education and probably either tutor themselves or higher tutors.

I obviously meant hire, not higher.

(I didn't go to Chase Bridge)

Thanks strix thats good to know and shows their is allot of potential of the children from hounslow.nenny pops its what u said that i didnt like. It does not make sense what you have said as chatworth and chasebridge are alittle more than one mile apart. Chatworth is on the border of whitton and takes children from hounslow and not twickenham as catchments have been set up not to take them in 2011. Chase bridge is in twickenham and takes very few children from hounslow. Chatworth gets higher results then chase bridge so nothing to do with the mix taken from hounslow as this school is doing better. This is my point here nothing to do with league tables but you did mention league tables first. And chatworth students do do tution as i have seen this with my own eyes so nothing to do with it

Regarding army base children have no interest in that but will not have people saying anything thats clearly incorrect about hounslow children as my kids are born in hounslow and are going to school here as well. Hounslow is 4th out of 150 leas i think for value added between key stage 1 and 2 which is really good and shows that the teachers work hard with the children at school in hounslow schools

I choose a hounslow school over two richmond schools maybe three i know it sounds crazy but thats the reality and thats bcause the hounslow school was doing better but also suited my child more then the three richmond schools that my child would have got in to easily. Just because the school is in richmond does not mean its great because i rejected three in richmond as i either did not like it or felt it was not right for my child. And their are also a mix in richmond also not all white people look at marshgate they got good results look at their ofsted its says that their is a mixed community there some spanish french etc so mixed so doesnt add up what your saying know alot about hounslow and richmond schools so know their is also a mix in the schools in twickenham and richmond

Look at marshgates primary schools website their is pictures on their home page and there is a boy and other children on their that are clearly not white but are asian afrian etc

pizzahutlover may I politely suggest you drop it? You have made your point a number of times. I didn't read Nennypops' post to mean the same as you have inferred but, in any case, you have made it clear you disagree with what you think she/he said. And now you are starting to bring up whether children are black or white or have foreign parents or whatever...I just don't see the relevance. Somewhere in this post someone asked for opinions about Chase Bridge and other schools; surely it is more helpful to allow others to respond to that question?

I don't have children attending Chase Bridge but have heard good things of it from two friends.

Well ill drop it now but do feel that people should check their facts before saying it as someone may just come along and prove them wrong leaving them looking silly glad my child did not go their if this is the way parents from twickenham look at children from hounslow anyway got my point across and dont have anything else to say but dont feel you should be talking to me like that as im not the one in the wrong and im only defending and correcting what has been said. Last postnow and dont feel anyones got anything else to say as their more interested in better twickenham and richmond schools

I think this thread is quite interesting. We live fairly close to this school and I put both of my kids on a bus into Twickenham to go to their respective CoE schools. Didn't consider chase bridge or nelson primary. I turned my nose up at their league tables and actively sought Coe schools in the Richmond borough... Because as everyone knows Richmond tops the league tables every year.

Never even crossed my mind to look at Hounslow. Although I do know the the Blue School (CoE) is excellent.

Also, I want to reiterate that I only know one child who went to Chase Bridge so my comments about it being "small minded" might be a bit unfair.

I would have choose a coe but have no chance of getting in as im from different religion. Would have gone for that though if i had a chance. I had a choice of nelson chase bridge heathfield chatworth hounslow town. Nelson i didnt like as was too overcrowed and teachers and children looked crammed when i went.liked chase bridge but felt chatworth was better as better results more mix and no need to catch a bus and hounslow town didnt bother with as felt it was no good chatworth is ranked number 7 in whole of hounslow coming behind belmont in chiswick which is very good its up at the top with all the chiswick schools even doing better then some and has good rep as well. Someschools are good some not so good. So yes someschools are doing very well in hounslow blue school is number 1 in hounslow doing great but theirs also spring grove who got outstanding recently and is number 3 this year in whole of hounslow and has great results so you find good and not so good schools everywhere depending on what the oarents looking at that is
.

Nelson primary has been given a number 4 by ofsted i think its now lower then satisfactory can imagion the poor parents that choose nelson when it was good to now find out their child is now going to a bad school thats not even satisfactory. Teachers looked depressed head had no confidence looked like he was hiding from us parents and teachers were using corridors to individually hear children read not soo good

What is a number 4?

Inadequate which i think is 4 forgive me if im wrong then its a 3 :)