Kingston vs Teddington

[mumofboys2307]

Any advice re primary schools in kingston and Teddington? Had our eye on Alexandra but just saw their recent ofstead report😢 we're renting at the minute and will be buying in the summer, but don't want to commit to an area until we have more info re schools so any opinions would be greatly appreciated!

www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/find-a-school-in-england

Worth looking at stats too.

There is I think a big difference in house prices between the two areas. Unless you have a bottomless budget, that will be important. I don't know anything much about Kingston schools, but the Teddington schools tend to have very different vibes to each other, though all do well.

Also, don't get hung up on a poor ofsted if you like a school. One of the Teddington schools had a very poor ofsted a couple of years ago, and has bounced back brilliantly.

Do look at the tables, but do visit as many as you can too. Plus look at the council websites to see how far away people have got in from. Catchments vary annually, and can vary by a fair bit. In Teddington, this has caught people out.

All the schools are in such a privileged area that there are no bad schools, you want to look for one that has settled with parents that match what you want out of the school (e.g. do you want a primary school full of kids keen to get into Tiffin so when you're tutoring it seems normal, or do you want to avoid such parents) the schools become reflections of the parents due to small initial differences as parents move to areas to get into a particular school.

All the schools are in such a privileged area that there are no bad schools There are some academically poor and average ones. Most of the top performers are faith schools so I wouldn’t say it’s that straightforward.

That's pretty much my point JoJoSM2 - you've pretty much shown that your prime motivation in what a good schoo is are "top performers" based on academic results - there's nothing wrong with that as a view. But it just shows that the schools which get those "academic" results and are selective (either by location, or even more selective in location + faith criteria) are chosen by parents who want those things.

A parent who doesn't choose the academic school, won't push their kid to revise, won't tutor outside, won't intervene to bring results up, hence the schools reflect the parental choice, this is particularly true in areas where there's very little deprivation such as these, where people are willing to choose where they live to get a school that reflects their views.

Thanks for your replies, it's hard to know so far in advance what the best option is as my DS is only 3yrs old. So I don't know yet if he will be academic or not etc.
We're currently renting in Kingston but also considering teddington for when we come to buy as we really like the vibe of there. Kingston in nice, but north kingston where we are is very residential and there isn't much happening.
The good schools are very big which won't suit our DS as he's quite shy, the smaller schools are faith schools which are also very good but wouldn't suit us either so we're in a bit of a pickle!
Regarding tutoring, I think every child is different, some may need a bit of tutoring to help them reach their full potential. But pushing them to more than what they are capable of just to pass an exam is probably not a good idea.

Have you considered other areas? Cheam Village? Lovely place to live with lots of amenities. Cuddington Croft and Cheam Fields are both 2-form entry, non-faith, strong academically but also lots of clubs, own pools. Cheam Fields even has its own chickens

@JoJoSM2 hadn't thought of cheam, but worth considering. I work in kingston and DH works in Wimbledon, so needs to be somewhere easy to get to from both. Had considered Wimbledon, but house prices crazy - not sure if market will change after brexit. Would like an area with also good private options from year3 or after 11+ depending on what both DS1 and DS2 are like. We are renting now so have some flexibility in choosing area based on school, community, amenities etc before we commit to buying anywhere.

Cheam would be very easy for Kingston and Wimbledon for work. In the village, there’s a big park, fab playground, a David Lloyd (with a crèche and kids classes). There are also rugby, cricket and tennis clubs all within walking distance. Great if you’ve got boys that you need to tire out.

There are a number of independent options for later too. Homefield Prep is the local hot house, Banstead Prep is an all around school, Ewell Castle draws the less academic children. For senior schools, other the SW London choices like King’s or Kingston Grammar etc, Cheam is also on the coach route for Caterham School an v convenient for Epsom College and the Croydon indies.

I’d say worth a look.

@JoJoSM2 wow! Sounds amazing, so much to offer ! Thank u so much, I'll def have a look.

@mumofboys2307 did you make your decision? we live in North Kingston at the moment too - and renting! And I am increasingly unhappy with lack of challenge in the school we are at. Interested to know what you did! And if you have a six year old boy maybe we've even met in the park already!

Hello, just choosing a primary in north Kingston (kt2) and wondered which school your referring to?!

@mumofboys2307