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Education

Common Entrance - will we hear today if DS hasn't passed?

57 replies

KingscoteStaff · 09/06/2015 10:47

Or is this an urban myth?

Don't think I can last til Thursday...

OP posts:

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inthename · 09/06/2015 11:17

our school has said results are phoned through this week, so head will contact parents. Think its quite unusual to fail CE unless not followed schools advice. At our school the children get told on Friday, they are emphasising that tbey shouldn't compare marks as CE not 'common' at all with each school marking differently

cakeisalwaystheanswer · 09/06/2015 12:30

I was always told you would know today if it was a no but its a formality for most schools particularly those that pre-test. Only St Pauls has been known in the past to use CE to weed when they over offered, but they got so much stick for it that they must have thought better of it and put in an extra class for current Y10.

Good Luck, I'm sure it will be fine.

Bombaybunty · 09/06/2015 12:58

My understanding is that if you haven't heard anything by the end of today, it's good news. Might be an urban myth though!
The current school get the results tomorrow from the future schools and we are told on Thursday.

At DS's school, the children are told their results and then allowed to phone us.

KingscoteStaff · 09/06/2015 13:13

Oh dear cake, it is SPS...

I'm sure it's all fine...

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AnotherNewt · 09/06/2015 13:28

Both Westminster and St Paul's have mucked up their numbers in the recent past, and I bet they're not the only schools which have occasionally found themselves with more people holding conditional offers than they really want.

When this happens, the schools usually contact preps in about March, when numbers settle, to warn that they may need to fail some candidates, and ask heads to consider their candidates so any weaker ones can do a last minute shuffle, or at least know there's an issue. If there's been no such warning this year, and you're at a prep where the head knows their stuff (and I think you've posted which school before so IIRC you should have no worries in that score), and no teachers have raised concerns about his progress since the pretest, then you really don't need to worry.

How did DS think the actual papers went?

cakeisalwaystheanswer · 09/06/2015 13:39

It will all be fine, as I said they've got an extra class in Y10. Anyway they have an expensive re-build to pay for and an extra class is an extra £500k a year, a lot more money than the cost of a couple of extra teachers they'll have to employ.

It will all be fine, deep down you know it will be fine, but that won't stop you panicking until Thursday.

HopeandLuck · 09/06/2015 17:46

Good luck to everyone. I remember the nail biting this time last year waiting for the result, but arrive they did and everyone passed.

Bombaybunty · 09/06/2015 19:15

Hurrah!

chocolateyay · 09/06/2015 19:18

OK, so we have 2 offers, both of which will need a CE sat in '17. We can't keep both on tbe table can we?

So what happens if we say 'no thanks' to one and end up in a sticky situation should he fail/school over offers and has to weed some out?

TinkerBellThree · 09/06/2015 21:09

Chocolateyay - you can indeed pay deposit to two schools and hold them until 2017. You will have to decide in March 2017 as to which school your DS should sit CE for though, as you can only sit for one school. This of course, does not come into play if one of both schools have their own entrance exam, such as Winchester College.

KingscoteStaff · 09/06/2015 22:10

Well, AnotherNewt, DS says all exams went swimmingly and DH says of course he'll get his 70%s and DM says what are you worried about he's a bright boy and I sit here biting my nails, convinced that if I show one sign of relaxing before the actual letter arrives then hubris will cause all his brilliant answers to somehow slip off the paper. Oh for heaven's sake...

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Chocolatewaterfalls · 10/06/2015 22:22

TinkerBellThree what happens if you then get rejected as you didn't get the required pass mark at CE do you have to scramble to find somewhere else?

Eastpoint · 10/06/2015 22:25

SPS has an extra class in yr11 too. Latymer over offered one year as well and had an extra form - it happens.

manicinsomniac · 10/06/2015 23:28

Yes. The senior schools were supposed to contact the prep schools by Monday night if they were going to turn a candidate down so prep school would have phoned you yesterday.

Our results are in from all schools bar Bedford, Marlborough and Headington and we expect those tomorrow. Parents won't find out till Friday afternoon but I think that's mainly because our year 8s are on their leavers' trip this week.

DoodlePegs · 10/06/2015 23:37

School found out today, children are told tomorrow. It would be unusual for there to be any suprises at this late stage. All will be ok!

PeriPathetic · 10/06/2015 23:56

We were supposed to hear today, but not all the schools' marks were back in time apparently. So we will hear tomorrow lunchtime. The head said he hadn't received any 'awkward phone calls' which is good news!

TinkerBellThree · 11/06/2015 06:22

Chocolate- the school should have a really good indication as to the likelihood of success before your DC sits the exam. In the event of a big miss, the selected school
will call your head and they will discuss the situation. If there are no mitigating circumstances, the paper will be returned to your DCs school. The HM will then discuss with you, call around some other schools on your list and find one that will take your DCs paper for marking. It is this process that OP has referenced to and that starts on the Tuesday.

chocolateyay · 11/06/2015 07:12

Thanks - just need to keep the boy motivated until 2017!

Bombaybunty · 11/06/2015 13:19

Good news here, definitely going to his chosen school. Phew!

KingscoteStaff · 11/06/2015 13:24

Well done, Bombay's DS!

No news here - they are away on a camping trip and get given their results up a mountain or something, after which they are meant to phone us...

OP posts:

IndridCold · 11/06/2015 14:38

I have never got around to deleting DS's voicemail telling us he had passed - it was three years ago .

Fingers crossed for everyone still waiting.

inthename · 11/06/2015 14:41

Quick question, if ds papers are being marked by his own prep school (as currently have no senior school) is it the same marking timescale & do they get verified somehow externally?

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HopeandLuck · 11/06/2015 16:17

Indrid You're not alone, I've still got Ds's email, titled 'I PAASSSED!!!' He was shaking with excitement when I finally got there and we were punching the air and yelling in car on the way home.

AnotherNewt · 11/06/2015 17:42

KingscoteStaff: it has to be good news for you. If they have to break bad news (which they would have known for a couple of days) whilst away, they would absolutely have let you know today rather than stick with the celebratory up-a-mountain approach (because if it all went wrong for a pupil, they may need/want to come home to mum).

inthename: yes they'd have to mark to the same timetable, otherwise they may as well not bother. The marks from a prep can only be indicative, but the head needs to use that indication when they hit the phones this week for you in the final scramble. The senior school will want to re-mark, so allow for that time in your nail-biting.

KingscoteStaff · 11/06/2015 17:54

Oh Newt I do really know everything's ok - I just want him to get down off the mountain and phone me!!!

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