Waldergrave vs orleans park

[Razzmata]

Hi, im house hunting, but my dilemma is whether to go for waldergrave catchment (v quiet residential, boring for me single mom and only daughter, i hear about bullying a lot, every parent or estate agent i met (5) happened to talk about pulling girls out so imagine my fears) vs orleans park (i hear only good things but more expensive so can only afford flat that has less price appreciation than a 2bed house thats more affordable in wald catchment ).
Waldergrave no doubt is excellent with education but is orleans park comparatively not good enough? Or at par? What about course offerings, gcse prep, mock year etc? I hear orleans introduces children to subjects as a mock year but waldergrave doesnt, so they select blindsighted (im new to uk so dont know the system)

please tell me anything or everything about areas <=0.2 miles from orleans park or waldergrave, house vs flat price appreciation dilemma, residential vs more buzzing area dilemma, overall quality of life vs running after schools :(

It's Waldegrave, not Waldergrave.

They're both good schools. They may be past their peak, but still very popular. Both are stand-alone academies. The very successful Waldegrave Head retired a few years ago. Some say its not as good now (there are other threads that mention it if you search). The Orleans Park head is retiring this year. Neither school has had an Ofsted inspection under the new Ofsted framework so might be inspected soon. It's more difficult to get Outstanding now because Ofsted wants it to be a more exclusive label, so lots of schools are being downgraded.

The other schools in the area are all very good too - you can't really go wrong in Richmond upon Thames.

im new to uk

From Hong Kong?

Thanks, its a huge decision and a very perplexing one. Hows the pastoral development their at waldegrave? I hear about “girl gangs”, “manipulative queen bees” etc personally from parents i meet, which is all i hear on the non-academic side :( i cant imagine it can be true when all i read on mumsnet is great reviews :(

It's not really a huge decision, it's the same area and borough just different catchments. I would focus on the housing that suits you both best and is in the catchment. DC move again for 6th form and 1 of the popular options is Esher College so your dc may only be at the school for 5 years.

@hockeygrass no DD is small and waldegrave/OP have sixth forms. So id like to stay put for more than 5 years

You can get to both Tiffin Boys (mixed 6th form) and Esher College from the catchment of both secondary schools - these are popular 6th form options for girls. I know the area and both secondary schools and as another poster says both schools are slightly past their peak and so I would focus on housing instead.

replying at your request on another thread.
id agree with the others, focus on where you want to live first. All the schools are much of a muchness but you want to feel happy & settled with your location as schools can change quickly but location can’t! That said we love living in TW2 and don’t find it boring at all!
re bullying - have 2 girls at W. We haven’t had any issues at all. They deal with behavioural issues quickly. I personally don’t believe this is an issue at this school and certainly no more than any other big girls state school.
I’ve spoken about the negatives of W on other posts. I believe these are perhaps the negatives you should focus on as they differentiate W from the other Richmond secondaries. These are meaningful feedback and comms - both of which are very disappointing at W. They need to move with the times, embrace technology and engage with parents. unless they find a way to improve in these areas - any upcoming ofsted maybe very disappointing.
good luck!

I hear about “girl gangs”, “manipulative queen bees” etc

My sons went to a primary school close to Waldegrave, so most of the girls from his cohort went there. Many are lovely, but there are certainly several who would fall into the Queen Bee category. They are the ones my sons remember, and they shudder if I suggest they might consider applying to Waldegrave Sixth Form (which is mixed).🙂 If Waldegrave has more of this than other schools it is because it is a girls' school (obviously) but also because its previous outstanding reputation has attracted many sharp elbowed parents to the area, and their girls are genetically and socially inclined to be sharp elbowed too.

because its previous outstanding reputation has attracted many sharp elbowed parents to the area,

To be fair, the same is true of any other outstanding school. If you want to avoid it, stick to Good schools instead.

My daughter is very happy at Waldegrave (Year 8). Some girls recently transferred from another Richmond school due to bullying and are very happy there. It really depends on each individual's experience, but I am not aware of mean girl gangs, and my daughter knows girls in several forms. The school is academic, they have regular tests and high standards, but teachers are generally kind and patient, and not pushy.

@Mamajeet112 DD bad been offered a place in Waldegrave in Year 9. It’s in year place and she will be joining next week from over seas. Are the girls generally inclusive and friendly? I worry she may find it harder to make friends in an all girls school.

Hello @FromIndia

My daughter really likes Waldegrave. She managed to find a group of kind and friendly girls. Some girls have friends in their own forms, and others have more in common with girls in their English or Maths classes (E & M are streamed and taught separately) or after school clubs. It's a large cohort, and there are a lot of opportunities to meet friends.

@Mamajeet112 thank you so much for writing back. Aadya

I know 6 current and former Waldegrave girls, my daughters choose to spend time with only 2 of them (one of whom they are related to!).

Of the others, one is definitely the queen bee, one the mean girl, one totally self absorbed. But, of those 3, 2 are completely their mothers!

@AuditAngel hahaha why am I not surprised? An apple doesn't fall far from the tree. It's just the results of Waldegrave are so much better than my other choice that I'm tempted even though I get the feeling the other school will be more chilled out. My daughter is not particularly academic.

You get nice girls and mean girls at every school so don’t read into this. Go and visit and get a feel for both. All girls schools are perhaps more intense than coeds. It’s quite an academic school that perhaps does Better by its higher achieving. They don’t set much either, only Mary’s I think and not from year 7 which I also thinks a negative as the differential between the top and bottom is big and it’s disheartening being in a class of v academic kids if you aren’t..

That should say maths

@Clairesm I agree, Claire. It takes all kids to make the world (and a school). Aadya hasn't been at a single sex school before so the energy of the place is quite different for her. Not necessarily bad but just - as you say, intense. Aadya is joining from year 9 so W do stream for Math and English and there is some automatic streaming from Year 10 in science between children who choose 3 sciences and those who choose combined science. Sometimes being in a mixed class can push children to achieve but it depends on the child. Aadya does get discouraged so I was concerned a little....

@Clairesm let's hope that any Ofsted review is not disappointing!!