Non-selective, comprehensive — here's how admission really works
Book a Free ConsultationIf you've searched for "Waldegrave School 11+" or "Waldegrave School entrance exam," it's worth stopping you before you go further: Waldegrave School does not set an 11+ entrance exam, and there is no selective test to prepare for. Waldegrave is a non-selective, comprehensive girls' school in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames — not a grammar school, and not partially selective either. This guide sets out exactly how admission works, how its places are allocated, and how families in Twickenham and the surrounding area can prepare their daughter well for secondary school, whether or not a Waldegrave place is confirmed.
Checked October 2026
Achieving for Children says Richmond applications for September 2027 entry close at 11:59pm on Saturday 31 October 2026, with National Offer Day on Monday 1 March 2027. Waldegrave's 2027-28 arrangements keep a Year 7 PAN of 216, and DfE records the school as non-selective.
Waldegrave School is fully comprehensive. It runs no aptitude test, no banding assessment and no academic entrance examination of any kind for entry into Year 7 . Waldegrave's own admission arrangements for 2027–28 state plainly that places are allocated using oversubscription criteria based on looked-after status, medical or social need, siblings, staff status and — for most applicants — home-to-school distance within a defined catchment area. There is no mechanism by which a test score of any kind affects whether a child is offered a place.
This wasn't always the case for the site. Twickenham Girls' School, which was originally on the site, opened in 1909 as Twickenham County School for Girls, later became a grammar school and became a comprehensive in 1973. Waldegrave School itself was formed in 1980 from the merger of Twickenham Girls' School (opened 1909) and Kneller Girls' School (opened 1936), and gained academy status in 2012. If your daughter is applying for Year 7 at Waldegrave, there is genuinely no exam to prepare her for at the point of admission.
Waldegrave School's Published Admission Number (PAN) for Year 7 is 216 places in the school's own admission arrangements for 2027–28 (the school consulted on them from Thursday 11 December until Friday 30 January 2026 and states there are no proposed changes to the policy). Applications for Year 7 are not made directly to the school — Richmond residents apply through the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Common Application Form (via eAdmissions), and the Local Authority sends out the offers. Achieving for Children, which runs Richmond's school admissions, states that applications for September 2027 entry opened on Tuesday 1 September 2026 and close at 11:59pm on Saturday 31 October 2026, and that National Offer Day is Monday 1 March 2027, with outcomes emailed after 5pm; Waldegrave's appeals timetable gives 11.59pm on 19 April 2027 as the last time to submit an appeal.
Where Year 7 is oversubscribed, places are offered strictly in the following priority order:
| Priority | Oversubscription criterion |
|---|---|
| 1 | Looked after and previously looked after children |
| 2 | Exceptional medical or social need, professionally evidenced |
| 3 | Siblings already at the school in Years 7–11 |
| 4 | Daughters of staff employed 2+ years before application |
| 5 | Catchment area (85% Priority Area A / 15% Priority Area B), by distance |
| 6 | Any other applicants, by distance |
For most families, criterion 5 — the catchment area — is the one that actually decides the outcome: in the school's own table for September 2026 entry, 160 places were offered on distance and 48 to siblings. Waldegrave's catchment is split into two priority zones: Area A, which receives 85% of catchment-allocated places, and Area B, which receives the remaining 15%. Within each area, places go by home-to-school distance, measured by the shortest route by road and/or maintained footpath from the property to the nearest pedestrian school gate. The six criteria are the whole list: outside looked-after status, exceptional medical or social need, siblings and staff daughters, priority depends on where the child lives.
The shape of Waldegrave's priority areas comes from local history. Rather than drawing a simple radius around the school gates, the boundary of the rectangular catchment area was set in 1998 using the location of the link primary school furthest away in each compass direction — John Betts in Hammersmith to the north, St John's School in Kingston to the south, St Faith's School in Wandsworth to the east, and Forge Lane in Hounslow to the west. Because of this, Waldegrave itself is not sitting at the centre of its own catchment area .
In practice, this means two families living an identical distance from the school gates can fall into different priority areas — and therefore have meaningfully different odds — purely because of which side of the historic boundary line their street sits on. If you're weighing up a move, or simply want to understand your own chances honestly before applications close at 11:59pm on Saturday 31 October 2026, the school's published catchment area maps (linked from its admissions page) and the Local Authority's own information are the two sources worth checking directly. For families based in the wider area, our 11+ and secondary school tuition in Twickenham page covers the borough's schools landscape more broadly, including both Waldegrave and Richmond's selective options.
Waldegrave's sixth form is co-educational, even though the main school admits girls in Years 7 to 11: the school describes it as a comprehensive, co-educational provision for 400 students aged 16-19. The Sixth Form is large: it aims for a year group of roughly 180 to 200 students, drawing from both internal Year 11 students and external applicants, with a minimum of 20 places offered to external applicants.
Entry to Waldegrave Sixth Form is described by the school as "non-selective," but all of its A Level courses carry minimum academic entry requirements, and applicants who meet them are treated the same, with no preference for those who exceed the minimum. External applicants for September 2027 entry must apply directly through the school's sixth form application portal (ApplicaaOne) by 9am on Monday 18 January 2027, and offers (for both internal and external applicants) are conditional until an enrolment appointment on or soon after GCSE results day in August. The sixth form open evening is on Wednesday 14 October 2026, from 5pm to 8pm. Sixth form enrolment appointments are given according to the sixth form's own oversubscription criteria, using distance from home to Waldegrave.
Waldegrave's last full Ofsted inspection, on 25 September 2018, rated it Outstanding. Its most recent inspection, on 15 October 2024, was an ungraded school inspection (report published 19 November 2024), and Ofsted has made no overall effectiveness judgement in state-funded school inspections since September 2024; the school says inspectors judged it to have retained its outstanding standards in all areas.
Richmond Council's published table of furthest distances shows the last place offered by distance for September 2026 entry was 1.861km in Priority Area A and 5.046km in Priority Area B on National Offer Day 2026, and 2.094km in Area A and 6.509km in Area B at the end of national coordination on 31 August 2026 (Achieving for Children, which runs Richmond's school admissions). That is precisely why distance from the school gate, and knowing which priority area you fall into, matters so much for admission.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | Comprehensive academy, non-selective (girls in Years 7–11, co-educational sixth form) |
| Location | Fifth Cross Road, Twickenham, TW2 5LH (Richmond upon Thames) |
| PAN – Year 7 (2027–28) | 216 places |
| PAN – Year 12 external | Minimum 20 places; year group target 180–200 |
| Ofsted | Outstanding at last full inspection (25 September 2018); ungraded inspection 15 October 2024 |
| Founded | 1980 (merger of Twickenham Girls' School, 1909, and Kneller Girls' School, 1936) |
| Academy status | Since 2012 |
| Catchment split | 85% Priority Area A / 15% Priority Area B |
| Specialist Resource Provision | 10 places, Years 7–11, for Social Communication Difficulty/Autism (EHCP) |
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Because Waldegrave doesn't select on academic test performance, our role with Waldegrave-bound families looks different from our work with grammar school applicants. There is no 11+ paper to drill, no GL Assessment or CEM-style reasoning test to practise, and no benefit to purchasing "Waldegrave 11+ past papers" — they don't exist, because the school doesn't set one. What we focus on instead is making sure your daughter arrives at secondary school genuinely ready for its academic pace, given that Waldegrave's last full Ofsted inspection, on 25 September 2018, rated it Outstanding.
In practice, that means solid Key Stage 2 foundations in maths and English built up steadily rather than crammed at the last minute, so your daughter starts Year 7 confident rather than playing catch-up. For families who are still weighing Waldegrave against nearby selective options , we also support genuine 11+ exam preparation in parallel — our tutors work across both the 11+ tuition and general Key Stage 2 pathway, so you're not forced to choose a single strategy before you know how the local Richmond admissions process will play out for your family. And once a place at Waldegrave is confirmed, our GCSE and A Level tutors continue that support into secondary school, working alongside — not instead of — a school that is already academically strong.
Our students achieve a 95%+ offer rate across selective school entry. If you'd like an honest conversation about whether your family's address falls within Waldegrave's priority areas, whether a selective alternative is worth pursuing alongside it, or simply how to prepare your daughter academically ahead of Year 7, book a free consultation and we'll talk it through properly rather than sell you a product you don't need.
Considering Waldegrave School — or Weighing It Against a Selective Option?
We'll give you a straight answer on your catchment odds, whether parallel 11+ preparation makes sense for your family, and how to make sure your daughter is genuinely ready for a strong comprehensive school whose last full Ofsted inspection (25 September 2018) rated it Outstanding.
Our students achieved a 95%+ offer rate across selective school entry in 2025.
Book a Free Consultation Message us on WhatsAppBecause there is no test, the honest answer is narrower than for a selective school: your chances rest almost entirely on where you live relative to the 1998 catchment boundary, whether you have a sibling already enrolled, and — for a small number of families — documented medical or social need. There is no coaching, tutoring or preparation that moves a child up the priority order at Waldegrave the way exam practice does at a grammar school. What we would genuinely recommend instead is: check the school's own catchment area maps and admissions page directly before applying (rather than relying on secondhand summaries), apply through Richmond's eAdmissions system before the closing time of 11:59pm on Saturday 31 October 2026, list Waldegrave honestly in your true order of preference on the Common Application Form, and — if you're not confident where your address sits relative to Priority Area A or B — contact the school's admissions officer directly for clarification.
If your priority is a guaranteed academically selective route rather than a catchment-dependent comprehensive place, it's worth being candid with yourself early: Waldegrave is not a grammar school, and no amount of 11+ preparation changes the outcome of its admissions process. Families who want both options open can apply to Waldegrave through the Local Authority process while also preparing for a selective school's own entrance exam.
For the school's own current admissions arrangements, catchment area maps and application deadlines, see Waldegrave School's official admissions page.
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Reviewed October 2026: dates, figures and rules checked against Achieving for Children's secondary application page, Richmond Council's furthest-distance table, Waldegrave School's admissions page, 2027-28 admission arrangements, sixth form applications page, Ofsted and About pages, DfE Get Information about Schools, Compare School Performance and Ofsted's provider page.
No. Waldegrave School in Twickenham is a non-selective, comprehensive girls' school (mixed sixth form) and an academy — it is not a grammar school and its predecessor on the site, Twickenham Girls' School, became a comprehensive in 1973. There is no entrance exam, aptitude test or banding assessment used to decide Year 7 admission; places are allocated by looked-after status, medical/social need, siblings, staff status and, for most applicants, home-to-school distance within the school's catchment area.
Waldegrave School's Published Admission Number for Year 7 entry in September 2027 is 216 places, as set out in the school's own admission arrangements for 2027–28. The Sixth Form (Year 12) will offer a minimum of 20 places to external applicants, with the school aiming for a total year group of roughly 180 to 200 students including both internal Year 11 students and external applicants. The school also runs a Specialist Resource Provision with 10 additional places across Years 7–11 for students with an Education, Health and Care Plan for Social Communication Difficulty and/or Autism.
No. Waldegrave School does not set an 11+ entrance exam, an aptitude test, or any form of academic assessment as part of Year 7 admissions. There is no GL Assessment, CEM-style test, or school-specific exam to prepare for, and no past papers exist because none are used. Girls whose EHCP names Waldegrave are placed through a separate procedure; every other Year 7 place is decided by the school's published oversubscription criteria, and in the school's table for September 2026 entry 160 of 216 offers were made on catchment distance.
Waldegrave's catchment is a rectangular area split into two priority zones, originally mapped in 1998 using the furthest linked primary school in each direction (John Betts, Hammersmith; St John's School, Kingston; St Faith's School, Wandsworth; and Forge Lane, Hounslow). Priority Area A receives 85% of catchment-allocated places and Priority Area B receives the remaining 15%, with places within each area awarded strictly by distance from home to the school's nearest pedestrian gate. Because the boundary follows historic reference points rather than a simple radius, two homes an identical distance from the school gates can fall into different priority areas.
Waldegrave Sixth Form is described by the school as non-selective, but all of its A Level courses have minimum academic entry requirements, and applicants who meet them are treated the same, with no preference for those who exceed the minimum. The Sixth Form is co-educational, and aims for a year group of around 180 to 200 students. A minimum of 20 places will be offered to external applicants, who apply directly through the school's sixth form application portal (ApplicaaOne) by 9am on Monday 18 January 2027 for September 2027 entry.
Because Waldegrave doesn't select on test performance, our support focuses on making sure your daughter has strong Key Stage 2 foundations in maths and English so she starts Year 7 confident within a school whose last full Ofsted inspection (25 September 2018) rated it Outstanding, rather than on 11+ exam drilling that Waldegrave's own admissions process doesn't require. For families weighing Waldegrave against nearby selective schools, we also support genuine 11+ preparation in parallel so you keep both routes open. Once a place is confirmed, our tutors continue supporting GCSE and A Level study alongside the school. Our students achieve a 95%+ offer rate across selective school entry.
Book a free consultation and we’ll help you find the right support for your child.
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