Teddington school, any parents with children there

[purplecat1]

Just wondering about teddington school. I'm relatively new to the area and from what I understand it has a chequered past but seemed to come out of it. But I hear there is a new head this year.

Any experiences good it bad from anyone who has a child there or knows the school.

No, but I live near and know many children at that school. Varied experience. Some ...bad luck and moved. Some popular sporty kids have their best time.

I think saying Teddington is not academic is very unfair and not true. I know lots of people who have children there and their children are very academic.

My sister in laws DC went to that school and both are very academic - one of them walked out with three A levels A* and two A grades in very academic subjects.

Yes this school has been through a tough patch but it is definitely on the way up and if I was in the catchment area I would happily send my children there.

I said it is mid way. I didn't say it is an absolutely worse performing school in the borough. Just in the middle academically as compared to the rest in the borough. But realistically can you say it is in top 3 in terms of academic results? Can you look at data tables for Richmond Borough below? This year will be published with detail on the 19th but not changed significantly. Just in the middle of the borough's results

>My sister in laws DC went to that school and both are very academic - one of them walked out with three A levels A* and two A grades in very academic subjects.

😃And this proves that this is top academic school in the borough? Even in the schools with worse results you have very good pupils. We are talking about school, school results as compared to other schools and not about anecdotal stories of a particular individuals.

>and if I was in the catchment area I would happily send my children there.

5.9 km radius last year. Huuuge catchment.

And here catchments:

re catchment more dense population around most of the other schools. but yes the school had ups and downs in the last 3 years so not surprised... still the difference in the stats is not massive except maybe with Turing and Orleans where it is more marked. Not sure it is the case at A levels...

note - re GCSE 2022 - 77 high achievers with high progress and attainment score is not anecdotal.

To answer your earlier question JustWingItLifeEyelinerEverythin yes, I do know the difference between grammar and comprehensive schools but thank you for "educating" me. I have to say I find the tone of your statements very abrupt and off putting. Truly hope it is not a local trait. Would love to hear from parents with actual kids at the school...or who have left for whatever reason if they are around....

@JustWingItLifeEyelinerEverything Hmmm don’t agree with you. Teddington is academic it may not be have the highest achieving pupils in the borough but it’s academic. You will not be at a disadvantage if your child goes there many do get very good results.

The catchment is huge at the moment because it had poor Ofsted a few years ago actually around the time my sister in law children were in the school, hence it’s not so popular anymore.

I don’t live in the borough but as I said would be happy for my children to go there if we did. I very much believe this school is on the way up it has something to prove unlike some of the schools in the area.

>note - re GCSE 2022 - 77 high achievers with high progress and attainment score is not anecdotal.

So you saying that in Teddington there were exeptionally high achievers and on other schools in Richmond borough not to this extent ? Teddington wasn't in the middle in terms of achievement but surpassed Orlean,Turing etc?
We may then know different data. I see from gov page that Teddington was again, a mid performer as compared to the rest. A page below about it from gov portal. Again, Turing, Orlean, Grey had 100perc where you see 94 and 97 perc for High Attainers at Teddington( below)

Try to understand: nobody says it is a bad school, not at all. We don't have very bad schools in the borough. They are all great and good. I said that T is in the middle result-wise as compared to other schools in the borough. Fact.

And there is so much more than GCSE results in child's life. If I had a very sporty kid I would not hesitate and give my DC to that school. Or a very artistic kid interested in drama. They also have a good language offer.

I am concerned that the great facilities and free treat at the Open day may be misleading.

>Truly hope it is not a local trait
I assure you it is. A lot of people in this area work for NPL or LGC and would be laughing about not distingusing between basic stats vs anecdotal individual example

A levels is a completely different story.

Wishing you all the best.

I don't quite know why we're arguing about GCSE results, I think OP wanted a rounded picture of the school. For me, the headlines are that this school suffered from bad leadership a few years back, and a bad (in my view, unfair) Ofsted report. This resulted in a great number of the most achievement-oriented parents pulling their kids out, loads of teachers leaving, and the school spiralling. Thankfully a new Head turned the school around and it is doing a really good job of building back.

Yes, this is why it has a larger catchment area than other schools and a more mixed intake. There are also other reasons why parents choose other schools: Waldegrave is girls only (so will always get better stats), Turing House is shiny and new, Orleans now has the head who turned Teddington around. They are all really good schools and all worth OP considering.

But I still maintain that the stats do NOT necessarily show Teddington provides worse education, rather that it takes in children from a wider catchment. Academic children do well at Teddington. The school is safe and happy (by school standards!)

For me, going to your local school is a huge priority, and I would have been happy to send my kids to any of the schools mentioned. OP may have different priorities. But I think the overall message is that all the schools round here are pretty damn good.

@Ketzele good post and agree with every word. The children of Richmond are on the whole very fortunate to such a good selection of schools.

Also OP I would not spend much time worrying over the 'choice' as you don't really get a choice - if you get your first choice you will be very lucky the number of families I knew (borough of Kingston) who received their second or third choice was fairly large - I knew a few who didn't get an offer from their list at all that was very stressful for them indeed - that was in 2020 however, so things might have got better. But I would say you need to be happy with your DC going to the top three schools on your list just in case.

I've had children go through Teddington School, so like to think I've got first hand experience.

Teddington is very well run, and a happy place to be, with great teachers that they retain well. But sadly the (fully deserved) bad Ofsted back in 2018 has left its mark making some parents nervous to send their kids there, despite being a Good school for a while now.

Ultimately the school is an important factor in results, but sharp-elbowed parents with high aspirations are a crucial ingredient in academic success and exam results. And some of those sharp-elbowed parents...for the moment anyway...still choose Grey Court,Turing, Waldegrave or Orleans if they have the choice, as they deem those choices lower risk in terms of exam results. And so it follows on that those 'other' schools have slightly better results than Teddington.

But I'm confident that the same child, would likely get the same results in Teddington as they would in any of the 'other' schools.

And re the large catchment - so what?! It's a true Comprehensive school - children from different areas and backgrounds, beyond the "Teddington bubble" that celebrates the kids getting a 6 at GCSE when they were predicted a 4, alongside the string of 7-9s that middle class parents aspire for their children to achieve.

I know...we are in Kingston and very likely won't be able to go to our local schools because we are no longer in the tiny catchment...
Teddington seems a good school, I feel lucky it's potentially an option - hopefully we get in!

>if you get your first choice you will be very lucky the number of families I knew (borough of Kingston) who received their second or third choice was fairly large

@12345change
I know people put Catholic schools as their top choice without being Catholic that is no CCP, no baptism. Highly unlikely to get that choice unless they live on a school doorsteps. So often it is that they made not a very rational chociew.

I live in catchment of quite a few schools 7-8. Some.schools like Teddington have a huge catchment and one have " all prefernces met"

>But I'm confident that the same child, would likely get the same results in Teddington as they would in any of the 'other' schools.

I don't think so and the proof to it is Feltham Reach results success. The school admission takes in to consideration first and foremost Pupil Premium. There are many EALs and Feltham Reach Academy has one of the best results at GSCE among non-selective comprehensives. A lot depends on teaching.
Also, the peer pressure matters. If a child ends up among ambitious kids is most often also following that pattern. If vaping in park is trendy in his circles then there is a likelihood that he will also be drawn to it .

I mentioned large catchment to cheer somebody up that there is a posibility of getting in as with waiting lists it was even 14 km! It has a huge catchment because a. It is a large school b. There are quite a few schools in Richmond.

>Grey Court,Turing, Waldegrave or Orleans if they have the choice, as they deem those choices lower risk in terms of exam results. And so it follows on that those 'other' schools have slightly better results than Teddington.

And why should they risk if they have a choice?
10 percent for 5+ and 20 perc for 7+ is not slightly. Apart from that there are other reasons why they may decide otherwise: gcse subjects offered, commute time around Bushy park, languages offeres etc.

@JustWingItLifeEyelinerEverything why are you using a > symbol instead of quotation marks to denote a quotation? It's confusing.

By the way, Mumsnet convention is to put extracted quotes in bold font, and to tag the person you're quoting.

@JustWingItLifeEyelinerEverything I think the point is - as you have said also Teddington is a good and one thing I dislike about this whole system is the illusion of 'choice' - yes you are right some people put unrealistic 'choices' on the top of their school applications but I know that is not always the case.

When my dd was going through this I remember over 100 children in the borough of Kingston had no offers on the national offers days! That is terrible and so stressful. Personally I believe children should go to the close school to their house but that is not what this thread is about.

Good op hope you get the answers your looking for - just remember everyone is different and for every negative story about a school there will be positive ones. There is such thing as the perfect school.

@MsGG Good luck hope you get the school you want - you might be lucky as this year cohorts is smaller than when my dd went through it 2020. I think there was something of a baby boom from 2008-2012 - not including the current year 6. I remember reading something of that kind. My dd has always been in the bulge year lots of the local primaries had extra classes while she was going through primary. Also her current school has extra in the year group for her year and the one immediately below because of this baby boom.

Should have said no such thing as a perfect school above... and now it won't let me edit it...

I am curious to know about the new head who started last year. How have parents found him. I have heard very mixed things from teachers in other local schools. Interested to hear how parents/ children have found him.

I know but I think that making it bold looks as if I was shouting it with sarcasm. And I am trying to quote specific part without making it bold.

. Personally I believe children should go to the close school to their house but that is not what this thread is about.

that is a great idea in principle but it would cause mayheim in property market. We already observe it around grammars. So it is better if people have option than unaffordable housing. And some schools are just huge, can accommodate kids from further distances

About Kingston. A person I know put last year a following order:

Tiffin School for Girls
Holly Cross
Ursulean
Hollyfield

She didnt even sent her girl for the exams to Tiffin and is not a catholic.

Then she complained that she received no 4. Hollyfield that was very close to her 😂🤦🏼‍♀️

Capitals shout with sarcasm, bold doesn't.

Hi there, what have you heard good/bad about the new head?

@purplecat1 Hi Op, were you offered Teddington? I have a son in year 7 and happy to answer any questions

"Hi there, what have you heard good/bad about the new head?"

If you're going to ask (or answer) this sort of question, it might be better to do it by direct message rather than publicly. It's a lonely, stressful, difficult job being a headteacher and hopefully everyone is a bit more sensitive to that after recent news articles re Ruth Perry (the Headteacher in Reading who sadly took her own life).

Having a good head in place can be the makings of a school, but no matter how good they are, there will always be some people who dislike them for whatever reason, so social media is never reliable.

I think that if you see a head's open day speech, and they impress you, then that is a good sign, because they will hopefully have the same impact on staff they are leading and/or interviewing for new roles - the ability to keep and attract good staff is key to the success of a strong head because running a school is a team effort.