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  • The Old Vicarage School
    48 Richmond Hill
    Richmond
    Surrey
    TW10 6QX
  • Head: Mrs Clare Strickland
  • T 020 8940 0922
  • F 020 8948 6834
  • E [email protected]
  • W www.oldvicarageschool.com
  • An independent school for girls aged from 3 to 11.
  • Boarding: No
  • Local authority: Richmond-Upon-Thames
  • Pupils: 215
  • Religion: None
  • Fees: £18,750 pa

    Fees last updated: 25/06/2024

    Please note school fees are subject to VAT from January 2025. During this transition period, please contact school for full fee information.

  • Open days: Open mornings are held twice a year in March and October. Private tours are available on request.
  • Review: View The Good Schools Guide Review

What says..

Located close to Richmond Park in a cream-coloured grade 2 listed castle. All that’s missing, really, is a portcullis, a moat and a knight in shining armour... For a non-selective school, massively impressive leavers’ destinations. We saw some wonderful teaching and girls, sponge-like, absorbing information, building skills and taking risks. ‘Wrong answers don’t matter,’ a year 6 pupil told us...

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What the school says...

The Old Vicarage School, and our pre-school, Little Vic is a non selective girls nursery and prep school based in a beautiful Grade 2 listed castle on Richmond Hill. The school was established in 1881 and became a Charitable Education Trust in 1973. Whilst retaining traditional values, there is a clear vision for the future and teaching and facilities combine the very best of the old and the new. Girls join Little Vic the September after their third birthday and transition up to Reception the following year. Older girls may be admitted further up the school if a vacancy arises, following a day spent at the school to ensure it is a good fit for them. Girls are expected to remain until the age of 11, being prepared for 11+ entry into London Day Schools and Common entrance for Boarding schools, with most girls achieving their first choice. A range of academic, sporting, drama and arts scholarships to senior schools have been awarded to girls over the years.
Work of a traditionally high standard is expected of the girls and they are challenged and supported in class of up to 15 girls, encouraging self esteem and enabling them to fulfil their potential. Girls in the Lower School are taught by a Form Teacher, with some specialist input. Girls in the Upper School are taught by subject specialists who impart a real enthusiasm and love for their subject area. They will also have a form tutor to provide the pastoral support the school is known for. A system of older buddies, prefects and the Student Council ensures that all girls feel an integral part of the school from the beginning.
Music and drama are active throughout the school. Individual music tuition is provided in a wide range of instruments in purpose-built facilities and our choirs sing at numerous competitions and collaborations. All girls take part in at least one dramatic production a year, as well as in assemblies to which parents are invited.
The major sports are netball, hockey, rounders, athletics and swimming and the school has close access to state-of-the-art facilities in the surrounding area as well as our own gym and playground. Girls compete in fixtures against other schools from Year 3 and have had notable successes in recent years in borough-wide championships.
Extra-curricular activities cater to a range of interests and include art, yoga, sports, computing, chess, craft and drama clubs. All girls in the Upper School attend a residential trip to Sussex, Dorset, Oxfordshire and France and up to fifty girls join the biennial ski trip to Italy.
At the Old Vicarage School, we ensure your daughter is given an exceptional start, both academically and socially. We aim to fulfil her potential and exceed your expectations in a warm and nurturing environment.
...Read more

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What The Good Schools Guide says

Head

Since 2023, Clare Strickland. Raised in Oxford, Froebel trained, MA (Oxford Brookes) and PGCE (Cambridge). Currently doing an educational doctorate and ‘loving being back to being a learner’. First job at St George’s Ascot followed by a stint at Millfield senior school. Thereafter, Dragon School, Oxford, rising to deputy head before moving to Richmond as head of OVS. There is no doubt that her experience gives her a useful insight and understanding of the journey on which her young charges are embarking.

The head has ‘remarkable energy’ and ‘numerous, sometimes slightly bonkers, ideas,’ according to colleagues and parents, very much said as a compliment. ‘She’s a believer in pushing boundaries, in experimentation’, but will also adjust her ideas to ensure good outcomes. Balancing a traditional education with the innovation needed to...

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