Is it too early to start a 2016 girls 11+ W/SW London thread?

Mummyinatizz well done to you both! I can't imagine the relief! What will you do with your time now you are sorted??

Great news mummyinatizz! Glad the stress is over and done with for you and your DD!

Very happy for you and your DD mummyinatizz!

Delighted that my DD got an offer from SCHS on Friday. Seems to be a really good fit for her so we'll be accepting today and the worry/wait is over for us. Best of luck to those still waiting to hear later this week.

Big hugs to everyone who's waiting. We did this last year and it was stressful both at home and in the playground.

Last year was a bumper year in terms of the birth rate so there was just a lot more kids chasing the same number of spaces. Several schools seem to have been shocked by the number of acceptances so the likes of WHS had a bulge class, Ibstock sent out a note saying they weren't expecting to offer any places off wait lists and Emmanuel said the same as they had so many acceptances.

Hopefully wait lists will move a bit more this year as so many kids are doing 4-6 exams so may get multiple offers.

So I guess what I'm saying is that hopefully last year was just an odd year and this year will be back to a more normal profile.

How is everyone!!? Results coming in for my DD school have been by mixed and lots of kids expecting to get yes or interviews not going through... How everyone else doing?

TeddTess not sure KGS offer that many. They only interview 300 and I'm assuming 100% of those don't get offered. I'd guess maybe 250 offers, but of course it's just a guess. Oh and I was told 800 sat for 11 plus this year by the admissions lady

People are forgetting to factor the numbers who sit Indys as a backup for Tiffin and the Sutton Grammar schools and will take these in preference. Also a lot of DCs sit because parents are unsure of getting their local desirable state school choice and want a backup. It isn't just other Indys the schools are competing with to fill their places.
Someone said upthread that Surbiton has 500 entries, it was allegedly 700 a couple of years ago and there were fewer places then as apparently there will be a 175 intake this year (again mentioned upthread, I haven't checked). I am sure numbers from KGS have been higher in the past.
I don't think anything is different this year and expect the final reckoning to be similar to last years. I know its stressful but hang on for those waitlist places if that is what you want, there will be an awful lot of movement.

I think WHS is expected to have adjusted their offer rate this year - they over offered last year so possibly will be more cautious this year

Now I can spell!

I'm sure you are right TedTess as my DH was talking to the new Emanuel registrar on a recent visit and he was talking about 2-3 times offers due to losing so many to Dulwich, Whitgift, Alleyns etc..

I think KGS must be similar due to losses to Hampton, LEH, WHS, PHS, even Kings and others...

Also I should have noted my conversation with KGS head doesn't tally with the figures they gave me in last year's 10+ rejection letter (790/220). He was probably a bit vague on that.

and both KGS and Surbiton def went to wait list last year

it's much better odds than that

so 750 for 110 places at KGS
i bet they offer x3 (guessing) so that is 330/750

We live in the SW London area and 7 years ago when or firstborn DC was applying for primary school there was a crisis in our borough for places which had been building up for a couple of years already. This was due to an increase in births and migration into the area (and poor planning IMO). This was solved with bulge classes in existing schools and eventually a new primary.

These kids are now approaching secondary age and the provision for places has fallen short of the mark again. It's an all round state/private problem.

I had a chance to speak to the headmaster at KGS as my DS was one of the last to come out of the exam room in January and I asked him about the numbers. So just to clarify 1000 sat the exam that day but 750 were for 11+ and 250 for the 10+ in the afternoon. He said this was overall a bit of an increase on the previous year. For 11+ he said some of those holding 10+ places from 2015 do not take them up so although advertised at 100 places it may be around 110.

After Emanuel's exam I asked the head of the lower school the same question. He said 640 sitting for approx 75 places (a little higher than the 600 cap I note).

So for 11+, about a 1 in 6.5 chance at KGS and 1 in 8.5 at Emanuel it would seem on the face of it...

BUT do remember they over offer and a child can only accept one place out of all the schools they have applied for. If you get waiting list there is a good chance it will shake down overtime especially after Grammar school offers on March 1st.

Best of British luck!

"It has only been suggested that the tax breaks derived from being a charity could be removed ie the schools could continue as trusts etc just without the charitable status"

That is not a legal possibility at present.

Under the current law, the only way to end charitable status is to close the charity (which in these cases means closing the schools, selling off the land, buildings and major assets at market value, and redistributing the profits to continuing charities in line with CC guidance.

I am not aware of any current proposals for a new law which would allow the transfer of any charities' assets to private ownership (whether an individual or a trust).

If your child is offered a place at two schools you can decline your least favored of the two straight away, that frees up a place instantly. With dd a few years ago she was offered a place at PHS which we declined as soon as she received an offer from LEH. That meant we could also call another less favoured school and decline her place there before their offers even came out. Declining places quickly is really important as it reduces stress for the other girls & their families.

meditrina I haven't heard any suggestion that legislation would be drafted in such a way that schools would have to wind up i.e. it has only been suggested that the tax breaks derived from being a charity could be removed ie the schools could continue as trusts etc just without the charitable status. It was estimated that this would result in fees rising by a few hundred pounds per pupil annually. Note that around 20% of private schools are not charities anyway. I therefore personally don't think the removal of charitable status would make much difference ie its more media puff from the schools . Indeed it would free private schools from eg providing more bursaries which in most cases don't come from the school's own funds but from other parents' fees i.e. it seems to me crazy that to demonstrate their charitable nature the schools raise their fees to provide more bursaries putting them out of reach of middle earners so eventually they will only cater to the super rich and those on bursaries..

I think people have definitely upped the numbers of schools they apply for. We for instance applied for three, then had a last minute panic we wouldn't get any and applied for a fourth. Even on this thread people have routinely applied for 5 or 6. So wait lists will move. One assumes schools are over offering if they have spotted this general trend. If not I think there will be a knock on effect next year.

Sareba - well done to you and DD, you're so close! Have you got other irons in the fire? Yes am told, the numbers at PHS were similar to WHS.

Not sure about waitlist for PHS, but recall last years posts here re WHS waitlist not moving much/at all last year.

Under the law as it stands, you can't just remove charitable status. You have to wind up the charity.

The wholesale closure of private day schools would exacerbate the demographic time bomb that is the shortfall London school places (for those pesky foreign pupils would still be living there). No politician would touch this at the moment.

I think it is also true that there are plenty of foreign parents in West/Central London for whom state schools are a definite no go and who only apply to private schools. The resulting squeeze on places and sky high fees (due partly to schools being vastly oversubscribed so they feel they can charge what they want) means that London state schools have an increasing number of English MC pupils whose parents were privately educated. An interesting situation may arrive if things continue as they are going where most of the pupils at the top private schools are foreign in which case I can see more calls for the removal of their charitable status.

In terms of waitlist, they will call and offer as soon as they can. For every parent agonising over choices, there'll be someone going through this for the 2nd, 3rd, nth time who is very grateful to return forms asap.

I think you will find there is no shortage of money in London so there are plenty of families who can afford the fees.

Mummyinatizz - I'm sorry to hear. Hope you get good news next week.

I'm also interested in numbers, and if anyone knows how many applicants to how many offers particular with PHS and JAGS. We received a letter that our DD is on the wait list for PHS which was first choice. I see WHS was 450 to 50, I'm thinking PHS would be around the same? Does anyone have any information on how quickly the wait list moves. Do they wait until after 3rd March before putting next round out, or is there a likely hood that they drip feed offers, as places become available.

Good luck to all waiting for offers.

1000 children applying for 100 places sounds like crazy odds, but to give you some perspective. Most years at our prep between 8 and 12 children are offered places, and at most 1 or 2 go. Often no one goes, as KGS is less popular with the parents than LU, Hampton, LEH and increasingly Ibstock. It's a great school and perfect for many children, but sadly seen as a banker by many parents at academic preps. These children are applying for between 4 and 6 schools and often get 5 offers. This means if you are really keen, take heart!