# Orleans Park School

Orleans Park School is a Mixed comprehensive school with academy status, located in the Twickenham area of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. It is situated 10 miles south-west of central London.

## Location and history

Orleans County Secondary School was established in 1914 on Napoleon Road, Twickenham, designed to accommodate 840 boys and girls. The school served the growing local population, providing mixed secondary education. In 1961, the school expanded by acquiring a sports field on Richmond Road, formerly the Exiles Football Ground, enhancing its facilities and extracurricular opportunities for students.
In the mid-1960s, proposals to close or merge Orleans School with Kneller Girls' School as part of borough-wide secondary education reorganization faced significant opposition from parents and staff. A 1966 Middlesex Chronicle article documented a campaign against its closure, with over 3,250 signatures collected in protest.
By 1971, the Richmond Borough Council approved plans to replace Orleans School with a new mixed secondary school at Orleans Park, Twickenham. on four of the sixteen acres of the former Orleans House estate. The new building was designed as a 900-place school with a sixth form entry, aligning with the borough’s shift to a comprehensive system in 1972.
The pupils moved into the newly built and renamed Orleans Park School in September 1973 marking it as Richmond’s first purpose-built comprehensive school. On March 18, 1974, Margaret Thatcher, then Secretary of State for Education, was to have officially opened the new Orleans Park School on the Richmond Road site, however, these plans were postponed
Over the years, Orleans Park School has continued to expand and in 1993, Lord Richard Attenborough opened a new building at the school, contributing to the school's development. Orleans Park School gained specialist status as a Mathematics and Computing College in 2003, as a Language College in 2008 and it became an academy in 2012.
Sir David Attenborough, continued his family's connection with the school by opening the Attenborough Building, a new sixth form centre named in their family's honor, on March 10, 2015. During his speech, Sir David fondly remembered his brother, who had passed away the previous year, and expressed delight in the building's dedication to the Attenborough family.

## Status

Orleans Park teaches pupils in years 7–13 (ages 11–19), with 8 tutor groups in each school year. Since 2014 there has been a Sixth Form, with 6 tutor groups in each of the two years. The school gained the status of a Mathematics and Computing College in September 2003, then also became a Language College in September 2008. The school converted to academy status on 1 September 2012.

## Uniform

The uniform consists of a maroon sweatshirt with an added gold band around the v., a white shirt and grey trousers or skirt; both the skirt and the jumper display the school's logo in gold, which from around 2010 became the interlocked letters O and P.
Prior to that, the school's logo was a coat of arms-style emblem with several elements associated with its location including a swan at the top, below which were the three curved seaxes (saxon swords), representing Middlesex, and a fleur-de-lis symbol beneath the swords representing the historical French influence of the Orleans name. The school's motto, "Looking Forward" was unchanged, suggesting a progressive and future-focused ethos.

## Catchment

Many pupils at Orleans Park come from the following nearby primary schools: St. Stephen's School, Archdeacon Cambridge's School, St. Mary's School, Chase Bridge Primary School, Orleans Primary, Ivybridge school, and The Vineyard School.

## Performance

As with other schools, latest exam results and related data are published in the Department for Education's national tables.

## Notable former pupils

* Joe Anderson (actor)
* Heather Cowell, professional international rugby player who plays for both England Sevens and Harlequins. Played 3 times for England Red Roses (15s). A former international gymnast.
* Cameron Cowell, professional rugby player who played 38 times for Englands Sevens team.
* Claire Allan, Olympic 2016 Rugby Sevens player
* Julian Dunkerton, co-founder of Superdry
* Edd Gould, (1988-2012) creator of the web series Eddsworld
* Josh Herdman, actor best known for playing Gregory Goyle in the Harry Potter films
* Scott Overall, Olympic Marathon runner
* Rufus Sewell, film, theatre and television actor
* Fionn Whitehead, actor best known for his role in Dunkirk and Black Mirror's Bandersnatch.
* John Yorke, TV executive and author
* Caylin Raftopoulos, British professional basketball player.
* Jesse Kewley-Graham, English footballer.

## Notable former teachers

* Greg Davies, comedian and actor who taught drama at the school prior to his entertainment career. Best known for his role as the Taskmaster in Taskmaster, and as Mr Gilbert in The Inbetweeners
* Giselle Mather (nee Prangnell), English rugby union international and coach, won 34 caps for England, part of the 1994 Women's World Cup winning side, first woman to achieve level 4 coaching status from the RFU, first woman to coach a male rugby union side, first coach of the Women's Barbarians and from 2024 coach of the Great Britain Women's rugby union sevens squad. Taught PE at the school from 1996 to 1999.
* Beth Potter, Paris 2024 Olympics Individual Triathlon bronze medalist. She was a former science teacher at Orleans Park School, teaching physics A-level up until 2016