SW London secondary help please

[notkat]

Hi everyone, please excuse the long-ish post ahead.

We are a family returning from Australia and my son is about to start Year 6 in September. He is going to a school in Richmond that goes up to Year 8, initially I was relaxed about secondary thinking he has a couple of years until I realised most schools do intakes at 11+. I have applied for 3 schools: King's College Wimbledon (13+), Hampton (13+) and Latymer Upper (11+) which are clearly quite hard to get in, but I have no clue what the next lot of less 'aspirational' schools might be near Richmond, can someone please recommend? I am also torn between trying to register him at schools that main intakes are 11+ as he will move so soon, I would've liked him to settle before moving on again but am I doing him a disservice if I don't try?

I would prefer a co-ed but options are limited, I am looking at Kingston Grammar, Ibstock and St Benedicts, would anyone have comments on those please? The school he's going to seem to have a few kids going to Reed's, I know nothing about this school so comments would also be welcomed. Thanks very much in advance

@notkat , I can guess which prep he is going to in Richmond, they will advise you on where else to apply based on his ability. Yes Reeds and St Benedict's are good options. If you look at the Reeds bus routes you can see the catchment. Claremont Fan also run a bus from Richmond and you can get to Whitgift from Richmond via a change of train.
Radnor House are opening a massive site in Whitton in 2027 which will provide more capacity for ds who are unable to get into the top 3 schools you have chosen (which are all very tricky). Kingston grammar can be unpredictable too, your prep will be best placed to advise you re that option.

Also to add choice of school is often driven by sports offered as they differentiate between the schools:
Hampton - no hockey or swimming
Reeds - hardly any football, exceptional tennis, swimming & golf
KGS - no rugby
Whitgift - exceptional sport

Plus you can get to St George's Weybridge from Richmond but probably not worth the journey if you get an offer from Ibstock.

@tennissquare thank you so much. The additional info on sports is massively helpful.

@notkat , if your ds likes tennis, Tim Henman went to Reeds and Andy Murray lives very near by.

Ibstock
The new Thomas's secondary school

The new Thomas’ will do shuttle buses from Richmond station. Also Ibstock. I know families who have chosen both for September (older sibling of DD’s friends) and they seem happy and excited.

Check out Radnor House...the prep is in Richmond then the senior school is close by in Twickenham. It's Co-ed and lower down the academic ladder but still selective. My two boys go there, super happy with it.

Emanuel school, New Thomas college, Harrodian.

Emanuel doesn’t have a 13+ entry point and is really really, competitive these days. He could try for the 11+ since OP’s potentially open to that but it’s definitely one to put on the aspirational list.

Emanuel is less competitive to get in then the schools the pp listed. It is not easy or guaranteed of course, but neither is Harrodian....which seems to be a little random. But I would say it's more likely to get into Emanuel then Kings or Latymer.

Thank you so much for everyone's input. I spoke with the school and have a list of schools, I have applied for 6: 3 for 13+ and 3 for 11+. I think the ideal scenario is that he secures a 13+ then we can stay and settle for a bit before moving on, unless we get into LU or we only get offers from the other 11+ entries.

Also intrigued if anyone has any comments on the new Thomas' school? I mean I know it's new so it's hard to say but what factors would make you consider it?

If it helps- Thomas’ senior is not new new in that there’s been a senior school for a while (2022 I think) but it’s been unable to find a suitable permanent home until now. There were some unhappy people who were promised a Battersea location but the school ended up opening in Putney which left some struggling with transport options but with the move to the new location hopefully that’ll be sorted.

LU doesn’t do GCSEs except for English and Maths at 16. Not sure if you would like it or not since this would be a new direction and how it impact university applications is an unknown factor.

Thanks for this. Yes I am aware and was in two minds about it, but now think it's probably not a bad thing. It is risky but it'll be interesting to see what happens.

We are taking a punt on the new Thomas's College. They have an impressive team, particularly the headmaster who has a great track record as he was previously deputy head of St Pauls Girls and more recently head of the Abbey School, a very sought after girls school in Reading. They have put a ton of resources and effort into making the school a success and also it seems to have a very established primary school network. Lots of people (including our school head, who worked for the group for several years) tell me it's less of a risk than it seems on the face of it. Hopefully it pays off, it's definitely exciting!

Thank you for sharing. Best of luck to your child!