SW London Independents - where do the "bottom" 80% end up?

Thank you for asking this question! I am constantly amazed at the number of parents that insist their DS is headed to one of the top tier schools ... Not everyone is getting in to those schools - so there must be a place for the wonderfully (high) average child.

Oh!

What I said still applies though. We weren't sure she would get in anywhere until November of year 6, and then we thought probably only the "safety school". Dd1 kept improving over December and did really well in the end. Every month did add something. We did about two old test papers a week. We kept going until the last exam was over. (In the final months she probably spent 4 hours a week on it, poor thing. But she got into her dream school in the end.)

I wish you all the best of luck. I think a school can be fantastic, even if it isn't accepting only the top 5%, or whatever guff people are caught up in. I think there is a lot of hyperbole and hysteria around the w hole process. It's nearly impossible to keep a cool head.

Take heart shirley your DD, along with the other children, will grow and develop a lot before she sits the entrance exams in January of year 6. It's more than a year away. She will around 15% older!

We gave DD1 an exam from "easy" school at the beginning of year 5 "just to see." Her score was terrible. We thought there was no hope. 18 months later she had improved markedly.

Manor House and st Theresa in the Effingham area are good options for the less academic dd. I know Manor House has a very nurturing supportive environment.

have you seen 7 you like / are accessible?

do the 2 you think you will get plus a middle and a stretch/dream one.

I work in one of these SW independent secondaries and I can tell you that the only thing they really care about is the exam result. They may tell you they interview to look at the 'whole pupil' but that is nonsense really. They interview just to try to check there isn't a real issue with regards behaviour.

Regarding how many places to offer - this is one of the biggest challenges for the schools. They occasionally over offer and are then stuck with a bulge year. If they under offer and give lots of waiting list places, they often find parents get insulted and will take a firm offer from a different school even if it wasn't originally their preferred choice.

All such a nightmare!
Ancienchateau- did your DD have to do the Group Assessment thing at Wimbledon High? I wonder how much they take that into account.
I don't know how any of these schools work out who they take anyway. I know someone who turned down KGS for Ibstock which in Mumsnet world would be considered lower in the pecking order and someone who chose Emmanuel rather than Putney High. How they decide how many places to offer must be a fine art....

We also got the marks for one of our DC who didn't get into KGS so yes, it does happen. They also told us it was results only based. I believe this is also the case at most SW London selectives despite what well-meaning heads tell you. WHS for example had a cursory 2 minute interview with my DD. No reports from current school so they knew nothing about her. From this I would conclude, again, purely results based.

The fact they rejected your sister's DC for those scores chickindude is terrifying. Makes me very pleased to be out of it all now but, as I said in my previous post, everyone seems to get somewhere. I don't know anyone who didn't this year.

ah ok thanks.

Marist isn't really selective either.

St George's is ultra posh and has a boarding culture (day school till 6.30pm). They play lacrosse. They have girls who are polo internationals. Their socials are with Eton. You don't get this at Marist.

Most independent schools have assessment days but this doesn't mean they are selective.

how does it compare to The Marist in Ascot GinandJag?

St Georges Ascot is not really academically selective, just economically.

maybe it was the VR? DD said it wasn't like normal VR

Totally true it was in fact my sisters DC. I phoned on her behalf.
They were very nice to me ( especially as my own DC are at the school)but said decision was purely on exam marks others did better, I specifically asked for the results & they were given without quibble.
For what it's worth my kids & my sisters were state primary.
God I have probably said too much, hope I'm not recognised.

Surbiton High/Emanuel/Ibstock/St Catherines do not look for top 10%. The only way they'll get them is with fat scholarship. These are really the 25-30% of the cohort (based on standardised ability measurements, e.g. CATs, not top x% in a certain school).

In our non-selective prep school Emanuel/Surbiton High/St Catherines would all be choices for middle set. Streatham and Clapham would fall into this category.

The top of the bottom set/bottom of middle set - Woldingham

The bottom set would be thinking about Portland Place, More House, Royal Russel, St Georges (boarding) in Ascot

There are plenty of schools around

And I don't believe KGS would release the precise percentages on results to pupils who didn't get it. That's like opening a floodgate. So I wouldn't put much faith in the "friend's child got 80% and 89%" and didn't get in. The fact I don't believe if doesn't make it untrue, of course, so if those are true, you can't still have an explanation - e.g. the kid could have gotten 50% on VR. Or couldn't string a sentence together at interview. We don't have all the information...

KGS is a funny one and often throws a few anomalies.

i know of 3 last year who didn't get KGS but did get Hampton/LEH. the exam was a bit weird.
others got KGS but didn't get the others.

*chickindude- did KGS say why the child didn't get in- was it just that they didn't score highly enough or was there something else as well? I may be niave but I do think that a lot of these schools do place value on other things apart from the exams. The head at Wimbledon high said they take a lot of time looking at the school's girls are coming from, head teachers reports etc etc, how they come across at interview etc. I was talking to one of the governors at our (state) school and she said said they regularly talk to the admissions of the senior schools. She has frequently been told that they like pupils from Dcs school as they have been well taught and have enquiring minds and said that this can sometimes be preferable to a child that had spent the last 2 years being drilled by a prep school in VR and NVR. That's not to say they don't need to be academic but it's not the whole picture. I also know a couple of exceptionally bright children who were turned down from particular schools because they came across as just too arrogant. I don't think any school that is completely full of alpha children excelling in everything is going to work- there must be a bit of balance. However I have another year to go before the nightmare process so maybe in just trying to reassure myself!

and from our non selective state primary last year EVERYONE who applied privately got a place. really don't panic.

5 years ago people thought of KGS/Surbiton high as back ups to LEH. It's not like that anymore.

I should have added St George's to the above list at the same level as say Surbiton High.

the other 70% go to

St Catherine's, Radnor House, Sir William Perkins, Claremont, Marymount, Notre Dame

and that's just the SW London/Surrey border ones. there are plenty more deeper in Surrey.

One of my DSs got 25% extra time for one of the North London selectives because he was dyspraxic ... perhaps you could get it for processing issues?

Does the school go to 13+? Would you consider sending her to a school that does to 'polish' her up? There's a big difference between 11 and 13 with some children.

What does your school advise? There must be a member of staff who manages the leavers.

Is she good at sport, arts or music? I know a few children who aren't brilliant at exams but were offered places on the basis of their art, music, sport or even dance drama skills.