Turing House School was established to serve the Western (Twickenham) side of Richmond Borough. Since its inception, it has had a nodal admissions point centrally located within this area.
The nodal point location is marked by the star on the interactive map below, in Somerset Gardens, within the area known as Fulwell, near the north Teddington border. This location was chosen because it is the furthest point (2237m to be precise) from other local co-ed non-faith secondary schools. It therefore prioritises families who have least priority by distance for other co-ed schools, and helps to distribute the impact of Turing House places on other schools' admissions.
Our full Year 7 admissions policy can be found on our Admissions Policy & Data page. Most places are allocated in distance order, from either the nodal admissions point or the school entrance, at a ratio of 80%:20% respectively.
The size and shape of our catchment around these points varies annually, depending on patterns of applications and preferences. It is influenced by local geography (the location of parks, rivers and roads), and the relative popularity of other local schools. To help families understand their chances of admission we publish allocation maps for previous years on our Admissions Policy & Data page.
Turing House governors are committed to striking an appropriate balance between serving demand near the school and the broader area of need that the school was established to serve. Every year, in the Autumn term, we review our admissions policy in light of the latest admissions patterns, to ensure it remains fair and reasonable.
How was the Nodal Admissions Point position calculated?
The Nodal Admissions Point was identified with Microsoft Excel Solver, using Linear Programming, an optimisation technique developed by a Russian contemporary of Alan Turing.
To put it simply, the algorithm tried many different British National Grid points within the polygon formed by the area's other co-ed secondaries, until it found the point that was furthest from all of them. We could have done the same thing by hand, with a map and a ruler, but it would have taken a very long time and would have been a lot less reliable!
Why not use the Nodal Admissions Point for external admissions to the Sixth Form too?
Our Nodal Admissions Point caters for local need in an area at risk of reduced access to co-ed Year 7 places. External applicants to Year 12 have a different range of choices, so the same rationale does not apply. Both admissions policies are reviewed annually by our Local Governing Body to ensure that they remain fair and reasonable.