Y7 2022 Twickenham

[NewToTwickenham]

Hi,

We are new to the Twickenham area and lucky enough to be living fairly close to Orlean's Park School, such that we should not have problems with a place in Sept 2022 (accepting there is never a guarantee). It seems like an excellent school but I cannot get a feel for how the girls do in comparison to the boys.

We could, at a push, afford private and are considering St Catherine's but can't work out what the benefits would be over and above Orlean's and whether it would be worth the sacrifices that we would need to make.

We don't have strong preferences single sex vs co-ed.

Any thoughts would be very welcome.

We have been in the same position as you with the same schools. For us, it was about the size of the school and which one would best suit our daughter . They are both good schools in different ways. Does your daughter do better in bigger schools or smaller environments? What has she been used to up till now?
Orleans is 6 form entry or it was, of approx 180 children , st catherines is 3-4 form (depending on the year) and is 60-80 in a year.
Orleans is state so is secular and st catherines is Catholic with a light C. - do you have a preference with religion?

Thanks Scaffoldhell. Currently in a fairly standard state primary with 2 form entry. She isn't particularly confident but this does seem to be improving this term. Difficult to balance the smaller size vs perhaps more children giving more opportunity to 'find her tribe'. Bit geeky, likes to please, bright but not massively self motivated. Would ideally have preferred secular but not a deal breaker.

So difficult to get a feel for the 'added value'. It doesn't help that we didn't get a chance to go to the OP open day/event due to work commitments and there is only so much you can get from the Virtual videos.

St Catherine's has a reputation for being a small nurturing school, not particularly academic by private school standards. Orleans Park has a strong academic record for a state school. Your dd is probably likely to do well in either. At OP she is more likely to have very local friends - St C's has a wider geographical catchment and I doubt many go there from the area around OP - it will be mostly girls who don't have an outstanding state school on the doorstep.

What about Waldegrave? I think that's what I'd be looking at in your shoes.

@NewToTwickenham , you should probably consider Radnor House too especially with it's addition of Kneller Hall from 2023.

Unfortunately RaoulDufysCat we are too far away for Waldegrave although I have listed on CAF.

Thanks cricketjoy85. Do you know why the disparity in fees? It does seem quite a bit more expensive and fees are higher that PHS for example.

@NewToTwickenham , Radnor has been bought by Dukes Education, they have also bought prep schools in Chiswick and kew. Eventually they will expand the site in Twickenham into a larger prep and feed all pupils into their new site in Whitton.

Hi - my DD started at OP in September and we’re really pleased so far. She had an option of an all girls private but we turned that down as she wanted co-Ed & local. We didn’t consider St Catherine’s as we didn’t want Catholic, and for us we just felt the academics weren’t strong enough to warrant paying over what Orleans could offer, and OP had better results from a non-selective intake.

DD is very much enjoying school; the class sizes are c. 27/28 so whilst it’s big, it is well organised. Teachers come across well and very energetic which we really liked. They have plenty of extra curricular; they don’t limit numbers which is great as the kids can sign up to whatever they like.

The facilities in certain parts of the school are a little dated, but the grounds are great, teaching great, standards are high, it’s well managed, the cohort is local so friends are nearby; and it’s free!

Thanks @cricketjoys85 and @FormerNorthener.

Useful to know regards Kneller Hall. That would still be an ok journey for dd. Have booked an open day at RH so will see what she thinks.
I might try and see if OP could facilitate an ad hoc visit.

Hiya - I am a big fan of St Catherine's as my goddaughter is there and it has done wonders for her, so I might be a bit biased, but if your daughter is hard to be motivated, it might be better to consider a smaller school if you have the means to do so because the bright and unmotivated kids often fall through the cracks at a bigger school. From what I know of St Catherine's is that they're amazing at making an atmosphere of motivation, where everyone feels safe to try hard. The teachers there are generally great and they will nurture the bright spark. Also, many parents send more quieter 'geeky' girls there due to the nurturing nature, so I'm sure your daughter will find her crowd!

That being said, Orleans is a great school too and she'll be happy wherever.