Any views on Waldegrave Girls, Teddington?

[SleepyRoo]

We're thinking of moving into the catchment of Waldegrave Girls school, Teddington, having seen its impressive data, and visited a (rather brief) open day. This was fine, but the Head's talk was vague, and she took no Q&As.
As we are not from the area we can't get any parents insights into what the school is actually like.
It looks quite academic, but does it expect enough from its "mid-range" pupils?
How is the teaching?
And what's with the 2.30pm finishes - does this actually benefit the girls education?
Any insights at all, very gratefully received.

Only know it is a good school, local families are keen to get in. Catchment is getting smaller and smaller.

Just posted this on another thread:
Lots of my DD's friends went to Waldegrave (my DD is now in Y10) while DD opted for co-ed secondary. Most are happy, a few are disappointed with the sports provision which really seems to have fallen away in last few years, and a couple of girls struggled with the sheer size of the school. There's 240 girls per year - my DD's school is same year size but of course that means half as many girls going for sports teams, drama etc. My sense from friends is that it is easy to get lost at Waldegrave.

I really would question whether moving into catchment makes sense. It's a good school but has an above average attaining intake of pupils and so its value added is good but not amazing. Rather than look at "its impressive data" I would suggest you consider issues such as language provision (used to be one language only from Y7-9 but I think this might have changed), accessibility of sports, drama and music provision (given large numbers of students) and whether your DD actually liked the feel of the school etc. I think it is a great school and, as I've said, I know many girls (and their parents) who are very happy with it. But it wouldn't have been the right choice for my DD.

Thanks @Nowfeeltheneedtopost - the size is an issue. But all the girls comps seem to be a similar size, and I'm expecting that extracurriculars will need to be done out of school. That said, feeling "lost" doesn't sound great.
DD quite liked it, without much else to compare it to.

First of all, I believe the school is actually located in Twickenham (but close to the border with Teddington and also Hampton Hill).

Secondly, I personally get the impression things have changed since the new Head took over and not necessarily for the better imho.

It's the only girls' school in the whole of Richmond Borough and 1 of 3 rated outstanding by Ofsted, so is usually very in demand.

There are 2 catchment areas you have to live in before even applying. Then of course, the closer you are in that the more chance of getting a place.

They used to do French and German MFLs there last I knew, which is not very on trend with the popularity of Spanish these days. But that may have changed recently!

Thanks for this, @Meredusoleil , useful observations. Are you a parent - or do you know any? I am looking for anecdotal experiences if possible? Re teaching, ethos, atmosphere of school ?

As a pp said, Waldegrave is in Twickenham, not Teddington, and has a very small catchment. I live in the area but have boys, but I know lots of families with girls there. The previous head was very popular with everyone, including the teachers, which counts for a lot. But before she retired she made it very clear that the school was going to have to cut back on a lot of things, or face a big budget deficit. The new head has been very ill with cancer and was on leave for a long time, so they had an interim head - I don't know if that's still the case. People seem mostly happy with the school - a friend with year 9 and year 13 daughters says she's noticed a decline between the two, but she wasn't specific. There are a lot of very strong minded girls there - from what I can gather there have been some campaigns and walk outs recently, though I'm not sure what about.

DD went to Waldegrave when 6th form very new, great GCSE results better than DS at Hampton Boys (Independent). Stupidly trusted same at sixth form. Very disappointed, DS on gifted register, but lost out on Uni place had to go into clearing, chemistry teacher left after first year, Biology teacher disappeared at crucial stage of second year, no teacher and appalling supply for several weeks, over confident geography department not to grips with change in A level structure, DS went from over 90 UMS in AS, which no longer counted towards A2, to a B - many classmates also a grade lower than expected in Bio & Geography. DS diagnosed with lifelong health issues and school failed to understand or help. Plus points : lovely bunch of girls that she has remained friends with. But was bullied by a boy and would not let me take it further, relies on her friends to help and didn’t trust the staff to do so. Still makes me upset when I think about her time in sixth form. I wish I had persuaded her to try for Tiffin, didn’t get a place at Esher. My advice if worried about academic side do what it appears many parents do and get tutors, keep an eye out for signs of bullying, be involved and don’t let teachers think they know your child better. I had a difficult conversation with one, now left, who accused DS of playing XBox games at night, no XBox anywhere near her room, she was tired because of her immune disease and school not allowing her home for a lunch that she could eat GF. Aagghhh. They didn’t give them much freedom in sixth form because they are worried about what they might do if allowed out at lunch time - which is archaic and leads to resentment when every other school, including those with top results, does allow it. I hope that has changed.

Thanks for that feedback- your sixth form experience doesn't sound great at all. I hope changes have been made since then...

DD went to Waldegrave up to GCSE. She did very well, but was always fairly academic. She got extra help where she needed it and I know some of her friends who weren't as academic were always offered extra help and encouraged. But all this was under the old head as DD decided to go elsewhere for 6th form.

There were some bullying issues, mostly (but not all) dealt with appropriately.

Overall I'd say I was happy with the school in our 5 years there.
You need to be very close in the catchment area to guarantee a place, we only got in on the waiting list a few months after initial offers and we're only 15 min walk away.

Thanks @IsThisNameTaken it seems like there's more positivity for the GCSE years than the 6th form.
My impression is that the new head is still bedding in.

I live near Waldegrave but my dds go to a nearby coed school. I think Waldegrave is a great school and would have been happy for my girls to go there, but I also think it gets a lot of hype that isn't necessarily always deserved. Mainly because it has a very middle class intake, is only girls, and the last head was a star. I know quite a few girls there and most are v happy, though it doesn't seem so good with pastoral and SEN. Remember things can go wrong for a child in any school, whatever the Ofsted rating. Where are you now and what are the alternatives?

I've got/had 3 at Waldegrave so I know it quite well!

I also have experience of the 6th form with the current head.

I am friends with parents of and know lots of children who are at private schools locally and tbh I can't see any difference. They all do the same things in and out of school (they are all friends) and are all headed to pretty much the same universities. They have also all had the same struggles with friendships and other social issues.

One of mine is now at Oxbridge. One is Year 13. She was always a "mid-range" student and at the start of Year 12 she was predicted AAB but is now on course for A*s - partly due to her hard work but also the incredible teaching and support she has had in her subjects.

All 3 have taken 2 MFLs including Spanish. One does Latin.

If you are happy with an all girls education, then go for it. However there are plenty of other good schools in the area so you don't have to move.

It's interesting that the people that criticise it don't usually have children there.

@Ketzele we are in another area of London where private senior schools dominate. The results at our current local comps are nowhere near as good as Waldegrave's. We have girls, both reasonably academic, so it seems like a good move.

Thanks @hamtrich , useful comments. Sounds like the curriculum choices have been OK too.

Sadly many parents consider Waldegrave to have gone rapidly downhill since the last amazing Head left. If you’re not 100pc on board with gender ideology (ie there’s no such thing as a biological female), for a start, it really isn’t the place for you.

It used to be a school where girls were incredibly empowered and womanhood was celebrated. There was no ‘right way’ to be a woman or girl. Now it’s all ‘if you’re not girly then you’re a boy or non-binary’ and the word ‘girls’ is forbidden. Very sad as the local boys’ schools still use the word ‘boys’ all the time.

Results are still great. But it’s not the wonderful feminist school it used to be just a few years ago.

The sixth form are allowed off the premises when not in lessons though. Don’t know if that used to be different

@RoccosGirl are you a parent there? I'm pretty sure I heard mention of "girls" at the open day...

We are current parents of a child at Waldegrave. We were initially concerned about the sheer size of the place (our daughter came from a local prep) but actually, she manages the space well and more girls have allowed her to find her ‘tribe’.

We have have had the opportunity to observe the inner runnings of the school and feel the new Head is exceptional and cares deeply for her students and staff.

I wish there was more sport on offer but there generally is plenty going on around the place and, living in the vicinity, there are an abundance of opportunities at out of school clubs etc.

Also, our daughter has SEN and is supported very well indeed.

You are welcome to DM me should you have any specific questions

I’m a current parent, yes. You won’t find the word ‘girls’ on any letters or other documentation. And teachers openly call JK Rowling very nasty misogynist slurs. Awards are given to ‘brave’ girls who try to opt out of womanhood by claiming to be non-binary. How schools can’t recognise social contagion and safeguarding risks anymore is beyond me.

My daughter is older but parents of year 7 girls I know are already trying to move their daughters because of it.

I’m a current parent. We moved house into catchment for the school, as the op is considering. I know a number of families who have done this. Suits our daughter (year 8) who seems to be thriving there. She’s happy, nice friends, making good progress. The only criticism I’d say is I don’t feel her talents (artistic, sporting) are recognised/nurtured so I’ve accepted that’s down to me (which I’m fine with). My experience is that school aren’t that proactive with communications but if you contact the form tutor or head of year they’re responsive and deal with issues. Dm if you’ve any questions.

I think it is a shame when schools jump on trendy and or political bandwagons, when DD was there (5 years ago) a teacher told her she was wrong about the cause of the financial crash in America 1920s - but she was right, my husband knew far more than the teacher who wanted to make it a political statement and was factually incorrect. I did find a few 20 something keen teachers going off subject and give life advice that wasn't always helpful or appropriate, luckily the worse offender, who regularly reduced Lower sixth to tears left after 2 years. The form tutor whose job was to teach the extra curricula and sex ed. refused to do so, so one of the students took over the class in a helpful and informative way - the tutor was apparently shocked that she was less embarrassed then him to use the correct biological terms... He also clearly favoured boys over girls, I suspect he may have retired now. I hope so. I didn't find the school particularly approachable, and I once had to use the loos and was truly upset at the broken and doorless cubicles. I hope that has also improved. IMO most schools are too big, Stephen Biddulph writes an good argument on maximum sizes and why they matter.

I have 2 daughters at Waldegrave. We are happy but I think it’s reputation supersedes reality. The results are in part down to calibre of intake and tutoring that takes place.
One daughter is v sporty and enjoys the provision but it’s woefully poor if you aren’t top of the pack. There’s no C teams etc.
My daughters are happy and so are we but it’s not in anyway a private school substitute. The communication for one is dire, so frustrating not to have direct contact with teachers etc. if you have a choice I would recommend looking at Grey Court, I think that’s really on the up. The parental apps give great feedback , transparency to parents which isn’t forthcoming at Waldegrave.
Waldegrave is a good school though vs many others and we like it for what it is.

Thanks @Clairesm that's a balanced and honest reply. We have been in both state and private systems already - I know comms can be shonky in state (although tbh our DD1's prep is not great either, just that the parents seem to complain louder).

Have also heard good things about Grey Court, tho catchments don't overlap obviously

On a positive note feedback on the school hours has been noted and likely to change to more normal hours from sept with 3.15 finish each day except friday which is earlier. Re comms - this is a different level of bad! My youngest daughters primary comms are far superior. We failed to get even a parents evening for most subjects and no feedback when requested. You can’t contact any teachers directly unless you book via the school office. I think the calibre of teaching & standards is high but as a parent you have to trust what is going on in the background as you are none the wiser as a parent! That said your daughter will be in a school with high achieving kids with a hard working ethic. If you have a blank canvas I would look at grey court as a more well balanced option - particularly if your child is sporty as they offer a much more superior sports programme. however if you want all girls then waldegrave is a good option. As you say catchments don’t cross. I know people who are trying to move their kids over though as and when there is space.

Are you by any chance a church goer? Opens up a couple more options in the area. Catholic Richards Reynolds and CofE Christs. RR is a lottery within admission bands so could live in catchment for GC or Waldegrave and still apply. Also, heard very good things about Orleans Park which may (haven’t checked) cross over catchment for Waldegrave . I only have boys so don’t know much about Waldegrave except has a good reputation.