Radnor House School

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Considering this school for my daughter.
Just wondering if any reccent or current parents might have feedback.

Obviously it's a small school on a small site (at least for the time being). What do people think about it socially and from a behaviour point of view?

Any opinions about it academically? Daughter is fairly strong academically and has the potential to do better with good teaching but isn't exactly SPGS material!

For many applicants of dd's it's 1 of many schools they would consider so also St Catherine's opposite and SWPS in chertsey and then Claremont Fan in Esher, Ibstock and possibly Notre Dame in Cobham if you live on the bus route.
The step up is then surbiton high, Putney high, Wimbledon high then LEH.
It really depends if you already live in twickenham, want co-Ed, like rowing, are prepared to wait a few years for the new site (if you live locally you will have a realistic outlook on the speed of Richmond planning dept) or attend a prep school owned by Dukes.

It's difficult to predict the academic outlook because of the possible site move and the impact it may have on staffing - good or bad, who knows?

It's different for ds because of the lack of options and the academic level it offers suits many ds.

Thank you @tennissquare for your thoughts.

Anyone finding the Radnor house admissions process tricky? I don’t seem to able to find out where my daughter is on the waitlist? I also learned that a fellow student in her school got a place recently despite there being a waitlist- finding the lack of transparency very frustrating….

@Atlanticocean I imagine the best idea if you haven't already would be to call admissions and ask specifically where she is on the list?

Made numerous phone calls, emails, no clarity on her waitlist position- talking to other parents locally this is also their experience….. my daughter is in year 6

@Atlanticocean , Does the dc who has gained the place have a sibling going to? Sometimes admissions will jump a dc to the top of a list if a sibling is taking a place in a year group with places.
Overall I would have thought their registrar is having a difficult time because they can't possibly know if they will be at Kneller hall in Sept 24 so if the current sept 23 year 6 group is full they may have few spaces for year 7 in sept 24 if the move is unable to happen as planned. (And they have all those dukes prep schools full of dc who have been promised a place).

No they don’t have a sibling already there which explains my frustration. My main issue is emails not being responded to, phone calls not returned etc. I live in Twickenham so very much aware of the kneller hall situation . It irks me that my daughter is on the waitlist- position tbc and a classmate has gained a place ahead of her. The process lacks integrity as well as transparency…..

@Atlanticocean not good at all, sorry to hear.

Thank you 🙏

DD is currently at Radnor and very pleased. She’s been pushed and stretched academically but with strong pastoral care and supportive teachers. I don’t think a small site bothers my DD - there’s a wide variety of clubs on offer and they have access to St Mary’s Uni and Teddington cricket club for sport.

From a social perspective it’s great. She has a great group of friends who are supportive of each other. She’s got to know kids in other year groups because of some clubs spanning more than one year group. The children tend to be a lot more local than at other schools so socialising is easier. Not seen any behavioural issues but that’s not to say there isn’t any. However the strong pastoral care does mean things are dealt with well.

@Digletpiglet thank you for the feedback. Sounds great! So glad your DD is having a good time.

Hi ya, I'm also a Radnor parent who is very happy with my dc progress. They seem to cater to the full spectrum of academic ability and pastoral care is second to none. We've had few issues with bullies which were handled very quickly and effectively.

I feel sometimes RH is overlooked because of its lower exam results to more academic schools but when you consider that there are quite a lot of children there with extra help required, the fact that the results are better and better each year is encouraging and only highlights the fantastic teaching that goes on there.

Keeping fingers crossed re Kneller Hall but the planning issue is a worry.

@winetime123 thanks for the info. I think the most important aspects of a school are the teaching, pastoral care and peer group. Obviously would be great if they got planning for Kneller Hall but things do seem to take a while in Richmond.

We have a DD at St Catherine's across the road from RH and have been very impressed by it. We chose it over RH as we felt the single sex environment would support DD's confidence. She is academically able but mildly dyslexic and has thrived at the school.