Grey Court School

Since 2019, Chris Rhodes BA (Durham). Additional MA in education from St Mary’s University. Also part of management team running the three-school Every Child, Every Day Academy Trust. A languages graduate from a teaching family, plans to join the EU were scuppered by changes in language requirements. Against stiff competition, offered post here as modern languages teacher in 2006, aged 25 – thus far, his first and only school. School was at its lowest ebb and by end of his first term, just two trainees were left – Mr Rhodes and his future wife (now a senior leader at another local school).

Promotions (gifted and talented coordinator, head of year KS3 and languages, assistant headteacher, and deputy headteacher) followed swiftly, while the school (flourishing under previous head) continued its vertiginous rise. It’s now in the top five per cent of non-selective schools in the country, endorsed by three stellar Ofsted ratings.

Everything moves fast, Mr Rhodes fastest of all, shadowing him like taking in a podcast on 1.5 times normal speed. (‘Tigger’ is his unsurprising nickname.) He teaches (French, food technology and English) where needed (supply teachers aren’t used) and has little time for heads who remove themselves from the front line. ‘It’s not that hard.’

On the day of our visit, he was on duty at the start and end of day, break and lunchtime, as well as manning the barriers that keep the essential one-way system going during lesson changeover. This is ‘one of the best bits of the day’, he says and a way of monitoring the school’s vital signs as he engages pupils with banter (sports results are common currency) and issues the occasional admonishment (acknowledged with rueful grins).

He’s massively proud of the school, from its 500 fixtures and 200 school trips a year to its inclusivity. ‘We might not get the best results of any comprehensive in the country but we’re not far off. And we produce pretty good human beings.’ Always conscious that ‘we’re only ever as good as our next set of exam results or our next fixture’, and takes permanent exclusions (one a year at most) personally: ‘Worst thing to happen because you’ve failed.’ Relaxes by playing football, cooking and travelling and keeps healthy hours so as to collect his own children by 5.45pm. Locks the school over Christmas to ensure that festive break is had by all.

He’s ‘hands on, present, knows what’s going on,’ say staff, who praise a culture that trusts them ‘to do the right thing for students’ and try new things. Echoed, almost word for word, by pupils. He’s ‘always connecting with you’ and ‘If he has an idea he will try hard to make it work.’ Above all, parents stressed his care for pupils. ‘It’s not about being the best academically but being good people,’ said one.

Oversubscribed – around six applications for every year 7 place. Waiting lists in every year group. For sixth form, priority to existing pupils meeting entrance criteria – five GCSEs at grades 9-4 with maths and English at grade 4 or above (for BTECs) or grade 5 for A levels, up to 40 external candidates filling remaining places.

Some departures to local colleges and other schools after GCSEs, with most staying on into sixth form. Around half of sixth form leavers to Russell Group universities and just under 70 per cent to ‘top third universities’. Exeter, Nottingham, Surrey, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Durham, Oxford Brookes, Manchester Metropolitan, York and King's College London all popular. In 2025, one to Oxbridge, three medics and three overseas – St Peter’s University, New Jersey (USA); University of Albany, New York (USA), WHU, Koblenz (Germany).

Ethos, ‘above and beyond’, translates into joining the dots – academic and extracurricular – so that every child, regardless of background, has opportunities to ‘expand their cultural capital’.

One pupil’s Oxbridge aspirations (and success) were kick-started by confidence-boosting participation in debating competition. School also partners with independent King’s College School (Wimbledon) which offers ‘getting to grade 9’ sessions for disadvantaged, able pupils in year 11, while their sixth formers provide philosophy and maths tuition for pupils in years 8 and 9 and rugby training in year 7.

Full menu of lessons – languages, music, art, drama, humanities, DT, computing and PE taught until at least the end of year 9 – comes with high expectations, with up to 90 minutes’ homework in years 7-8 and 2.5 hours in years 10 and 11 (now more evenly spread across the week following parent feedback). Teacher-to-pupil ratios highest in lower sets, class sizes (which can hit 32 up to year 9) dropping to 25 (or lower) in years 10 and 11 as ‘it’s the business end when great grades are awarded,’ says the school. ‘Teachers are always pushing, giving feedback, trying to make sure you’re keeping on top of it,’ said a pupil.

Pupils say staff are accessible and ‘support if we get into difficulties at home’. An astonishingly detailed weekly newsletter/eBulletin helps. Office team ‘will always try to sort you out’, says a parent.

Of the 30 subject options (chosen in year 9), creative media, health and social care, music technology and sport are offered as BTECs or similar. Most will take five or six core subjects as well as a humanities subject and a language, including Mandarin, Spanish, German and French (‘J’habite à jambon,’ wrote a Ham-based student with a little help from Google-Translate). High-achieving year 9 English language students are invited to study AS politics. ‘Tricky but it’s helped with a perspective of the world around me,’ says one. When 2024 election was called, head of politics had invited all local candidates to hustings at the school within hours.

Breadth continues in the sixth form, most choosing three (sometimes four) subjects from 28 on offer, topped, tailed and boosted by focus on thinking skills, critical reasoning, speakers and debates and development of oracy skills. Extensive enrichment programme also includes compulsory community service and work experience. Maths, the runaway top A level choice, is taken by around 160 pupils – followed by psychology. Economics, biology, history and criminology and sociology also popular (boys, here as elsewhere, far outnumber girls in A-level physics). Won’t axe subjects (like philosophy) even with small take-up. Some swaps with other schools in the same academy trust – A-level music students go to nearby Hollyfield School, who send their sixth formers here for the exceptional languages.

The lessons we saw were calm (it’s a no-shout environment) and notable for engaged, attentive students, from year 7 pupils weighing ingredients in a food technology lesson to year 9 science students watching rainbow-layered compounds in test tubes.

A popular place to work. Parents felt that the very few teachers who didn’t buy into the ethos here tended to move on very quickly – with many staff here for over a decade.

Almost 60 (just above national average) have EHCPs and just under 15 per cent of pupils have SEN support. Dyslexia is the single biggest area of need, followed by cognition and learning and communication and interaction challenges, then SEMH. Pupils may be up to three years behind their peers but all are expected to work towards mainstream qualifications in year 11, with suitably challenging targets. ‘Grade 1 might be massive progress,’ says SENCo.

Eight places for speech and language needs (may include language processing delays and a dual diagnosis of ADHD and autism) in a specialist resource provision, Newman House (staffed by lead teacher, occupational therapist and school’s own speech and language therapist). Also houses a two-classroom extension for mainstream lessons to avoid any ‘othering’ of SEN, with well-used student support centre for anyone feeling overwhelmed.

The 15-strong team of learning support assistants (including parents and career-changers as well as former pupils who are ‘brilliant, have a real rapport with the students’) provide in-class support in core subjects and others, like DT, where there’s a strong social communications component. Bolstered by volunteers, including former primary school teacher who runs catch-up phonics sessions with younger pupils.

Despite the numbers of pupils with SEN, this is a full-on environment – and exceptional progress is the norm. In 2024, 80 per cent with additional needs achieved ‘at least’ grade 4 in GCSE English and maths and 70 per cent gained at least a grade 5. For those who stayed on into the sixth form, 34 per cent of the A level grades were at A*/A and 64 per cent at A*-B.

As most support is class-based (learning support assistants may be working with up to 10 pupils), not suitable when full-time one-to-one support is needed or more than one or two small-group sessions a week. Strict behaviour policy won’t work for ‘a child who worries about that’, says a parent. One pupil with SEN – who joined the school knowing nobody – praised effort the school had put into socialisation. ‘They’re on it the whole time.’

Almost no students become NEETs (not in education, employment or training). Able pupils with EHCPs increasingly stay on into the sixth form. Those who leave after GCSEs move to local inclusive colleges in Richmond, Kingston, Epsom and Reigate (staff here might attend interviews). ‘One of our jobs is to find what they love – then it’s easy to help,’ says SENCo.

‘Art room can become second home in free time,’ says a pupil. Music creates similar sense of community, with 300 pupils learning in and outside school (individual lessons in vocals, guitar and bass, piano and drums), school orchestra, numerous bands and choirs and terrific range of school productions, like hugely enjoyable Alice in Wonderham Christmas show, complete with festive (and funny) digs at one-way system, restorative justice and senior leadership team. Student technical crew, responsible for all the backstage work, wear T-shirts for productions, each with customised version of stag from Grey Court crest. ‘We’re a very tight knit group,’ says one – confirmed by parents.

Five trips a year for all, linked to core curriculum, plus (optional) trips – year 10 to Paris, sixth form physicists to Large Hadron Collider. Two activity days and a residential trip with outdoor sport in the summer term.

Reluctant joiners get plenty of (gentle) encouragement from teachers to join some of the 35 (non-sports-related) clubs and activities spanning cooking to mindfulness. One teacher commented, ’Finding the right activity or club that can unlock a child’s potential is at the heart of what we do.’

The works. Multiple trophies in reception announce that they play to win, with leading schools (state and independent) in their sights and recently ranked top non-selective school for sports in England by School Sports Magazine (and they should know). Head of sport, exuding competitive spirit from every pore (sport has own social media account), is not about to let those fabulous facilities go to waste.

Numerous teams, headed by football (equal number of boys’ and girls’ teams), netball, rugby (league, sevens and union), tennis and basketball. If specialist expertise needed, will be acquired (like the Polynesian sevens international coach brought into bring teams up to snuff).

Pupils we spoke to willingly sign up for early starts (7.15am), late finishes and numerous Saturday matches to take advantage of close to 40 clubs and activities (most free), from elite cricket training to boxing and rowing. Around 200 pupils work towards bronze, silver and gold Duke of Edinburgh awards, run by staff members, who also organise popular school skiing trips (Vancouver, Jasper, Pyrenees among recent destinations).

Many successes, some individual (fencing, gymnastics, pentathlon) and team victories and awards in swimming, cross-country (national champions) and girls’ football – Richmond borough athletics champions for 10 years in a row. Some move to US colleges with sports scholarships. No wonder annual sports celebration evening lasts three hours.

‘Lots of fixtures, lots of training and the team is close,’ said rugby player. Pupils and parents adamant that sporting prowess doesn’t attract more than fair share of status and glory. Probably doesn’t do any harm, either…

So successful is their approach that the school is now one of three mental health hubs in Richmond, leading support for 8,000 local children. Underpinned by dynamic PSHE curriculum that doesn’t duck the big issues – no-nonsense posters about consent were prominently displayed near entrance. Zero-tolerance approach with non-negotiables (punctuality and correct uniform) but ‘soft edges’, says school. ‘If you have a problem we will kill it with kindness but if you can’t be bothered to get out of bed, you’ll disrupt the learning of 30 others,’ says head.

So while there are afternoon detentions, much of work goes into helping pupils succeed. Despite size – eight classes in each year group – every child is ‘made to feel like an individual, which is phenomenal,’ says parent. Everything from supervised homework sessions (years 7-11) to games-focused clubs and activities that also support eg mental health or emotional regulation are offered. ‘So much intervention if it’s all too much,’ said a pupil.

Have rethought areas where bullies might flourish – each year group has own break time outdoor space (no mixing allowed) and toilets are now in high traffic areas with fully visible hand-washing areas (very different – some parents, we were told, took a while to come round to the idea), while roving senior leaders patrol corridors during lessons. Recent ban on mobile phones in school for years 7-9, broadly supported by pupils, has reduced cyberbullying. Staff are trauma and attachment trained – no raised voices in school – while restorative justice, introduced under previous head, is widely used. In cases of bullying, both sides (separately) must agree to a meeting. Emphatically not an easy option (staff, as well as pupils, can be held to account).

Anyone struggling to make it into school will be visited at home by school’s own family support worker, part of an extensive team with student support officers, one per year group, school counsellor and mental health support team. ‘About getting them over the threshold,’ says school.

While glowing inspections have boosted property prices, school itself is a mixed community. ‘Exactly what you’d want society to be,’ says Mr Rhodes. Around 15 per cent of pupils are on school meals. Some have arrived in the UK after harrowing journeys, stories filmed by diversity and equality group as part of multicultural festival, their moving stories displayed as a montage in main corridor. Parents are tireless supporters and fundraisers and even crew their own dragon boat, the memorably named 50 Shades of Grey Court School, in local regattas.

An exciting, energising school, in the top five of the nation’s non-selective schools, yet with time and attention for individual learners, so that ‘every child feels success every day’. Nothing like Hogwarts but what it achieves is just as magical. Do a mile in Mr Rhodes’s shoes and you’ll end up wishing every school could be this way. Not just hands on, but heart and head too.