Thames Ditton primary school. Is it just full of posh white families?

[Seekingchange]

We are a mixed race family and live in Thames Ditton. Our DC will start school next year and we are considering several schools in the area, the TD infant school is our favourite so far. My main concern is around its location and the fact that (I assume) the vast majority of families attending will be white, posh british middle class whereas we are a mixed race (and mixed nationality) family living in a lovely but modest maisonette, not a 4-5 bed mansion costing 6 figures like the vast majority of houses I see in the area.
I want my DC to make some good friends and I want us to feel like we fit in as I think school is a massively important step in our family life. Are we going to feel cut out? Am I possibly overthinking this?

Well having had a look at it on Google streetview it is surrounded by modest 1930s semis. So I'm sure it will be fine. Even in very posh areas the state primary schools tend to be full of normal kids because all the poshos send their kids to private school anyway - this is what happens where we live.

I can’t help with that school but I wanted to reply as we live in Thames Ditton with primary school aged kids, we are a white family, but we’re not posh! The other families I’ve met around here are all really down to earth as well so I honestly wouldn’t worry about it at all x
PS I’m not sure where all the mansions are - I know there are a few roads with quite large houses but generally not mansions!

Are kids that go to private school not “normal”?! 😉

Well even if not mansions, most 3 bed houses around here are £800K plus and lots well over 1 mil so there must be mainly very affluent people living in them.
We live in a 2 bed maisonette and have middle management jobs and an income (combined) of £100K which isn’t that high in this area

The housing across the area is quite wide ranging, have you been to visit Cranmere primary school in lower Green?
There is also St Paul's on Hampton Court Way.

School funding is based on the number of pupils in the school so a full reception year group is a key priority and something TD infants should be able to offer. I believe the PAN has been reduced from 90 to 60 to ensure the year group is full. This is the kind of thing you should focus on in an area where the falling birth rate is impacting school admissions and funding.

@tennissquare not sure I understand your message, how is this relevant to what I was asking in my original post? Yes I am aware of the reduced places available in the school but we live nearby and have a high chance of getting a place. We also have other lovely schools we are considering but this one was our favourite so far.

The falling birth rate and funding issue is key in the area, you are lucky to be in catchment for a reception group that is due to be full.

What is wrong with white and posh? If you like the school then apply for it. My children are mixed race and attend a predominantly 'white, posh' area....the school is great and we're lucky to get a place.

@Mrswalliams1 nothing “wrong” and infact we are seriously considering this as our n1 choice. I guess in an ideal world I would like my kid to mix up with different types of children and backgrounds and I would also like to potentially make friends with families that are more similar to us

There is a DfE spreadsheet where you can see the ethnic composition of every school in England.

explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics

Imagine if I, as a wealthy white person asked if a particular school in a particular area was full of poor, <insert non-white ethnic minority> children. I’d probably be banned from mumsnet.
🤯🤯

Imagine if you, a wealthy white person, lived in a country where you were in a minority.
In that situation you'd be perfectly reasonable to ask if your child would be the odd one out at the school you were looking at.
Or imagine you had a DD and found the school you were thinking of had just one other girl in their year.

Exactly!

It’s Thames Ditton, and you live there. So your question is confusing.

The area is very white, and mainly middle class. My kids went to Weston Green and Esher college. There were very few BAME people, but there were a few. More in Weston Green TBH which is a private primary

St Paul’s is Catholic

Can you make friends with families who are different to yourself in terms of race, culture and wealth but very similar in perhaps more important things like values, attitudes and priorities maybe…..? It feels like you more feel you will be different, but others may not feel that way at all….

You have had some strange responses @Seekingchange ... I am sorry I can't really help as my information is decades out of date!!

We lived in Teddington 20 years ago.. it was mainly white but not exclusively so. We had friends who were teachers, nannys, pub managers, film makers, charity workers, health workers, and a host of people who worked in dozens of roles in many different companies. We had a mix of friends from different ethnic backgrounds, but maybe 80% white.

What, like this thread where the OP received several pages of considered answers?

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5209195-considering-sending-my-child-to-a-predominantly-south-asian-school

I would definitely choose that school.

The school is successful - so use it and be happy that you have a great state school on your doorstep. Don't judge people by the size of their house, their class or race.

It's the feeder school for the secondary school that is so popular that people move to the area just to go to the secondary school!

My children are white British and went to primary school in New Malden, 10 mins away from Thames Ditton. They were in the minority. Big popular and successful primary school, 4 form entry. Friends with children who were Sri Lankan, Korean, Indian, Polish etc. Had a great time at primary school. Made friends for life.

Then perhaps you are living in the wrong area.

@TooTiredToType77 New Malden might be close to TD but it is very, very different and much more diverse

I thought the same. The media would have a field day.

I am mixed race too and I went to a very posh mainly white school and had absolutely no issues at all. I was popular and had many friends as did my sister.I don't think you need to worry about this at all.

Send your children to the school you like. Unless you move to a different area then presumably the alternative is to send them to a school you're not as keen on but where you think will be a mix of people you'd prefer? Either way you can't control who your children will actually be friends with, or what size house those friends live in.

Tbh I find this thread a bit sad - you seem to be judging a school negatively for being predominantly white and middle class. But it's just a good, local school that reflects the area it's in, and I don't think there is anything wrong with that.

Long Ditton Infants is a bit more multicultural and ethnically diverse. Still very middle class though. Lovely, supportive parents and a great school.