Why the school and scout car parks are worth it
Twenty quid to a parent on a folding chair, and a walk through Whitton. It is the best deal on a match day, and the money builds a playground.
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14 of the 19 car parks we list are run by a school PTA, a scout group or a church. On the map and the match pages they carry this rosette, and there is a filter for them.How it works
Every big match day, a dozen schools, scout groups and churches within a mile of the stadium open their gates, put a table by the entrance and park cars on the playground, the field or the churchyard until the last one is in. The people on the gate are parents, leaders and parishioners. The booking site is usually one of them with a laptop. And the takings, minus the booking fee and the hi-vis, go to the organisation.
At £20 to £45 a car and anywhere from 40 to 200 spaces, a single sold-out international is worth £1,000 to £8,000 to a school. Across an autumn and a Six Nations, some PTAs raise more from parking than from everything else they do all year. It funds trips, minibuses, playground equipment, scout camp subsidies, the roof of the church hall. When you filter the map for “supports a local cause”, that is what you are choosing.
What to expect
- A friendly gate and a firm closing time. Volunteers have to go home. Most open 3 to 4 hours before kick-off and lock the gate 2 hours after the final whistle. It is on the car park page; believe it.
- Playground tarmac or a school field. Some are hard standing, some are grass, and a wet November week makes the difference. We say which where we know.
- Sometimes a tea urn. Bacon rolls before, hot drinks after, at some sites. 2nd Whitton Scouts is the famous one. Not guaranteed, always appreciated.
- Toilets at some. The car park page says. Church halls and the bigger schools usually have them; scout huts sometimes.
- A QR code or a printed ticket. Booking runs on Eventbrite, Ticket Tailor, Shopify, a PTA website or a Google form, depending on which parent set it up. Have the ticket ready on your phone.
- Cars at your own risk. As everywhere on the list. The gate is staffed throughout and the sites are in quiet streets.
- Minibuses by arrangement. Several take them; a couple take coaches. The coach guide has the list.
Every local-cause car park
School PTAs
| Car park | Supports | Walk | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twickers Parking – Chase Bridge Primary | Chase Bridge Primary School | 5 min | £35; £45 for the 27 Nov finals double-header |
| Egerton Road – Richmond upon Thames School | Richmond upon Thames School | 5 min | from £20 |
| Nelson Primary PTA, Whitton | Nelson Primary School | 13 min | from £22 |
| Orleans Park School | Orleans Park School | 15 min | £20 car, £50 minibus, £120 coach (by arrangement) |
| St Edmund's Catholic Primary PTA | St Edmund's Catholic Primary School | 15 min | from £19 |
| Twickenham School | Twickenham School | 19 min | £20 car, £30 MPV, £75 coach |
| Turing House School | Turing House School | 20 min | £20 on the day |
| Chatsworth Primary School | Chatsworth Primary School | 20 min | Check site |
| Trafalgar Schools PTA | Trafalgar Schools | 25 min | £25–£50 |
| Archdeacon Cambridge's School | Archdeacon Cambridge's School | 25 min | £20 car, £30 minibus |
Scout groups
| Car park | Supports | Walk | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd Whitton Scouts | 2nd Whitton Scouts | 20 min | £20 incl. £3 booking fee |
| 1st Whitton Scouts, Kerswell Hall | 1st Whitton Scouts | 20 min | £25 car, £80 minibus |
Churches
| Car park | Supports | Walk | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Hallows Church, Erncroft Way | Supports a local church: All Hallows Church | 8 min | £45 per car |
| St Augustine of Canterbury Church, Whitton | Supports a local church: St Augustine of Canterbury Church | 30 min | £20 car, more for larger vehicles |
Our part in it
We list every local-cause car park we can find, we never take a commission or an affiliate fee on their bookings (the Book button goes straight to their own page), and we check their booking pages for spaces so you can see at a glance which ones still have room: how we check availability. If you run one and we have missed you, or got a detail wrong, email [email protected].
And if you are choosing between a driveway and a school car park at the same price and walk time: the school one comes with a parent who will point you to the pub.
Questions drivers ask
- Where does the money go when I park at a school for Twickenham?
- To the school, scout group or church that runs the car park. A PTA car park on a full-house Saturday can raise several thousand pounds for the school in an afternoon, which pays for the things the budget doesn’t: trips, playground equipment, minibuses, scout hut repairs.
- Are the school car parks at Twickenham safe?
- They are staffed by parents and volunteers from opening to closing, usually with the gate locked in between, and are in residential Whitton and St Margarets. Like every matchday car park, cars are left at the owner’s risk. In a decade of Twickenham parking they are as safe as anywhere else on the list.
- Do I need to book a school car park in advance?
- For internationals, yes: most take bookings online (their own site, Eventbrite, Ticket Tailor or a form) and the close ones sell out a week or two before. A few keep some spaces for the gate on smaller fixtures. Each car park page says how that one works.
- Which Twickenham car parks support a local cause?
- Every car park on our list with the rosette badge: the PTAs at Chase Bridge, Nelson, St Edmund’s, Orleans Park, Twickenham School, Turing House, Chatsworth, Trafalgar, Archdeacon Cambridge’s and Richmond upon Thames School; 1st and 2nd Whitton Scouts; All Hallows and St Augustine’s churches. Filter for them on the map with “supports a local cause”.
Sources: The car parks’ own booking pages and PTA websites; our conversations with the people who run them.
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