Tolworth Girls’ School and Hinchley Wood School comparison

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We have recently moved to London and are now living in Surbiton (KT6), just a 5-minute drive from Tolworth Girls’ School. I am looking for a school for my younger daughter to start Year 9 in September 2025. However, I noticed that Hinchley Wood School is better in all aspects, but we need to move closer to HWS to meet the catchment area requirements. Could you please provide some advice? Thank you very much.

Briefly you are looking to make an in-year admission, you need to ring each school and ask how you join the waiting list for a place in current year 8. Yes you will move further up the WL if you move right next door to HW but you still have to wait for someone to leave and then the space be allocated to whoever is top of the WL. Years 7 and 8 and pretty much full in Surrey/ Kingston/ RBRUT. Surrey has been particularly impacted by the vat on private school fees and a place at HW is sought.

Both are Outstanding so I wouldn't agree with you that HWS is "better in all aspects". I have a child at each of these schools and I do not agree with that at all although my child at HWS is happy enough. It's not the be all and end all its reputation would suggest.

In any event you are reliant on waiting list places coming up and not only would you have to move close to HWS (very close to get high up the list - just being in catchment won't cut it), you would still need to wait for a place and so it's likely she would have to start somewhere else anyway. Go and see both schools and see what you think in person.

TGS do (or at least did until recently) start GCSE courses in year 9 so bear this in mind. Where is your daughter now?

Finally - if your daughter does go to TGS, I hope 5 mins drive was just a way of expressing how close you are! Please don't drive to either school - traffic is insane.

Thank you for your detailed reply, which is very helpful to me. Can I hear more details about TGS and HWS from you, as well as the positive and negative reputations? Your experience and suggestions are really important to me.🤗

I realise this is an old thread, but I'd really like to hear more about experiences of both schools as I'm in the process of choosing for Year 7 entry.