Best secondary school - Richmond/SW London

[Schoolseeker10334]

hi all. Hoping for advice/recommendations.
Live in Sheen with DS 8. In process of divorcing STBEH, father of DS.
DS currently in year 4 at local primary school. I am hoping to buy a flat in next 6-12 months and certainly by when it comes to secondary school applications
DS is extremely bright, but quiet and anxious personality - possibly neurodivergent. Has been affected by separation (unfortunately dv involved). He can be a bit of a people pleaser but enjoys a hill work and learning, is intellectually curious.he does get bored with school as says it’s ’too Easy’!
I am wondering which secondary schools in Richmond or even heading towards Putney/kingston would suit him best. I have to stay in SW London. He will be doing the tiffin exams but I am under no illusion these are very competitive and the ethos may not suit DS.
the schools I have in mind are/

christs c of e
rpa
orleans park
greycourt
kingston academy
possibly Teddington
Turing house

I am asking as I am would like to move into the catchment area for my preferred schools . I am sit in currently in catchment for Christ’s and rpa.

i have booked into open days, looked at the websites and results and asked locally but would be interested in thoughts please. Thank you

The open days will probably really help. When I looked round some of these schools, there were some I'd expected to like that I really didn't. Grey Court in particular felt like somewhere I wouldn't want my child to be and I have since heard about more than one child who left because of bullying. But then I also know people who've had very happy children there.

Most people would probably aim for Orleans or Turing House if they had the choice. But none of the schools you've listed are bad schools. We are very fortunate in this borough to have so many decent schools.

@MonGrainDeSel thank you ! Why these 2 schools specifically ? My decision will also be influenced by affordability of property

Kingston Academy is quite good. Having met the students there, it seems they’re quite content and they have good educational outcomes. It is definitely on the list for us if ours doesn’t pass the 11+ selection for other schools when she’s older.

Grey Court has great educational outcomes. But as per pp, have heard of students having a rough time due to bullying but unsure how much of it is OTT, or whether it is just over sensitive kids these days, compared to when I was a boy.

Think about what is important to you/would most benefit your ds when choosing a school eg. Size of cohort (from memory, Grey Court has the biggest at 240 and RTS has the smallest at 150).

Then compare all the schools using that criteria until you see which ones tick more of the boxes kind of thing.

@Schoolseeker10334 maybe aim to leave yourself with some choice. It's easy to be in catchment for both Teddington & Turing House because they overlap. (Make sure you read the Turing House admissions policy because it has a remote admissions point). There is also some overlap between Teddington and Grey Court if you can afford to live near Teddington Lock. If you're a church-goer then you might get some overlap between Christ's foundation catchment and RPA or Orleans Park.

As a pp said, they are all good schools so go and visit to see what feels right for your kid. Don't go by the opinion of one or two people who happen to read your thread here because all schools have their supporters and detractors.

Both seem to have good reputations for pastoral care and that was really important to me. Plus both seemed like slightly calmer environments compared to some of the others.

I think Turing House catchment might be relatively affordable compared to near Orleans.

I also liked Christs and Teddington, both of which have reasonably priced housing choices nearby.

Ham is affordable too but I didn't like Grey Court.

I would definitely say visit everywhere if you can. Because when I did the admissions round for Y7, I went to all the schools and so did other parents I knew and we came away with very different impressions from the same open days!

@LondonPapa the bullying I heard about at Grey Court was most definitely not a case of someone being over-sensitive. It was racist in nature and completely unacceptable.

Thank you!
having visited Teddington, I don’t think I’d enjoy living there, though can see myself in Twickenham.
i currently live within catchment of Christ’s and rpa

We had an excellent experience with Grey Court for my DD. She got into Tiffin girls from a co-ed state primary in the borough but she became clear she didn’t want single sex so we luckily got in to Grey Court on waiting list for start of Y7. We’re a mixed race family and I can honestly say she never encountered racism as a PP suggests. She got 8 x9s and 3x8s in GCSEs and 2x A stars and 1xA at A level so we’re delighted with both the education and the experience that grey court provided.

Recognise you also mention DV and divorce. Many of my DD’s friends felt very supported at Grey Court pastorally but I would also say that friends with DC at Christs raved at pastoral care there. Given your current location, that could be a great option. Should also say, given you mention your DC likely academic, that my friend’s DD went from Christs to study medicine.

Well then your best bet might be to stay local so that your son can keep some of his primary school friends. He'll have the separation and move to cope with, so may benefit from that stability (unless of course you think a completely fresh start and some distance is important).

@puzzelz i think I’d like to stay local as we’ve moved twice since the separation and need stability for ds. Also I like the area! But if I think I will have to move if the local schools will not suit dsand/or other schools will suit him.

Any thoughts on RPA (Richmond park academy )?

I’ ve taught in all of those excepty Turing as either regular supply or full time.
Avoid RPA (sorry as see you’re in Sheen). I refused to go back there (only school I’ve refused to work in) as the behaviour was appalling (and I am no shrinking violet and I’ve taught supply in ‘rough’ schools in other areas of South and West London) because the leadership was chaotic snd ineffective.
Christ’s is fine, but if you cannot/don’t want to go private (Ibstock is a very nurturing school with lots of diversity snd caring place for quiet/quirky children) and can’t get into Orleans (insanely close ‘catchment’) then Grey Court is definitely the best of the rest.

If you’re in Sheen, have you considered looking at Chiswick School? It’s got a very good reputation at the moment.

@Twimbledonia when exactly did you teach in each of these schools, and on how many occasions?

Students play up to supply teachers, and especially so as supply teachers vary in quality (sorry - nothing personal, you may be great). Either way, it's not practical for people to shop around to "avoid" every school that someone tells them to avoid.

As a local observer I'd say RPA used to have a generally poor reputation but is now considered a good school and is widely relied on by its local population. If you filter the most recent P8 results by high prior attainment RPA tops the chart, so they must be doing something right by their most able cohort.

@puzzelz
I’m happy to hear this as we’ve just been offered a place today for our year 8 daughter. We’re less than 300 metres from Orleans but still can’t get in there.

Agree with this. I hear good things about RPA these days. Very different from even five years ago.

They're all good schools. My two are/were at Teddington, though as you don't want to live here [shock!! EVERYBODY wants to live here!] I won't waste your time any further!

PM’d you, Antipogees

@Ketzele haha! Teddington is lovely, and I might well go and visit again, but I find it a bit too quiet and cut off — as a single parent without a car local amenities are important and I like a ‘buzz’ where I live! Might look at teddington school if I decidedl to move to ham/north Kingston as I think catchment extends there !

I'm also a single parent without a car, but I agree its sleepy. When I rocked up from Zone 1 16 years ago, I felt like I'd woken up in 1950s Godalming. I was so ready for it, but I accept many aren't!

If you think Teddington is too quiet, definitely don't move to Ham!

@MonGrainDeSel but at least you are a bus ride away from Richmond centre and not too far from Kingston !

I don't know. I would prefer Teddington to Ham. At least Teddington has a proper high street with actual useful shops and is also a bus ride from Kingston/Richmond. Having lived in Isleworth briefly, I decided then I never wanted to be more than a short walk away from adequate transport and real shops. Ham doesn't really have either!

It's possible to live in parts of Twickenham and still go to Teddington School - it's a big school with a wide catchment.