Trinity/Whitgift 2019 thread

Hi,

Is anyone on the offer waiting list with Trinity? If so have you had any interaction with the school yet? I am trying to work out the likelihood of moving from the waiting list to an offer and have no sense of the chances at all. Thanks.

The exam is harder at Trinity because of the time pressure. It seems generally that academic scholarship at Whitgift doesn’t imply same at Trinity. We certainly know boys who have got into W and not T but W gets good performances out of the boys .

That said we got 25% from W and 30% from T so the difference was significant because W is more expensive.
DS choose T because he felt it was a harder exam and therefore it was a greater prize to get in. Not sure that’s true though.

Actually Ds thought the Trinity exam was harder than Kings college Wimbledon but that may just be him.

Do you think Trinity is more academic superior than Whitgift then, or is it perception and the smaller intake?

when did you do it - in the last 2/3 years?

I must have imagined doing it then.

I have heard of people negotiating (low value) sports scholarships at schools but not academic ones

I agree. If you call Trinity they will politely, and clearly, demonstrate that, whilst your child has done very well, his marks across all 3 exams do not put him in the top 5% in each of them (for academic).

You also have to remember that 100s of boys will be wait listed or not offered places at all.

Over the past few years I have personally known 2 or 3 boys be offered scholarships at Whitgift and other schools, but not Tirinity.

It can be a bitter pill to swallow, but reflects the academic standard there.

Trinity are also expressly moving away from scholarships and towards bursaries.

This is not their first rodeo :)

I don't really see how you can negotiate a scholarship when the school has not offered one at all.
My DS was offered good scholarships from 2 schools and a full-fee place at T. We'd have preferred T and whilst I know that some do negotiate it didn't feel appropriate for us to do this. For me, the point of a scholarship is that that the school considers the child to be very able and/or have great potential and are therefore willing to reduce the fees in order to secure that child. A full-fee offer indicates that this is not how T saw my DS so we accept that and have, with much regret, chosen to decline the offer.
I think it's different if they've offered you a small scholarship as they obviously want your DS and there is possibly some negotiation to be had.

johnsmith75023, as far as I know, there are quite a few parents prepared to ask Trinity to reconsider DC offers without scholarship, including myself.

DS got an offer with 25% scholarship from one school, but full fee offer at Trinity. I called admission team and the answer was all scholarships have been allocated and only offer at the time of entry. I got the feeling that someone else has tried before me. Anyway, worth a try!

Unlike Whitgift, last year DS got 10+ offer without scholarship and they said that after 2 years they could reconsider it if DS performed academically very well. We didn't accept the offer though.

Who do you talk to at Trinity and is it just a matter of being honest?

I wrote to the (previous) headmaster and was honest, although I didn't come right out and ask for a scholarship. Things may have changed.

I felt there was nothing to lose.

johnsmith75023, I’m sure there is no harm in asking although trinity is slightly cheaper than whitgift so 20% off whitgift isn’t more cheaper than Trinity without scholarship. Goodluck

We have 20% scholarship at Whitgift but none at Trinity.

Has anyone managed to get Trinity to match a scholarship offer from Whitgift?

Who do you talk to at Trinity and is it just a matter of being honest?

We would prefer Trinity as it is closer and his friends are going there.

Has anyone managed to increase Trinity scholarship offer in the past and if so how do you go about it.

Thank you so much.

That's interesting Lemonandgingertea. We have scholarship at W and 3rd choice and full-fee place at T which was our first choice. However, I can't see how we can go from not good enough to be considered for a scholarship to getting a big enough one to make the 2 financial situations equal so we're accepting the W offer. It is quite painful to turn down lovelyy Trinity though.

sparklingnotstill we're in a very similar situation but the opposite way round. Offers at T&W - T is 1st choice but scholarship offer at W. And also scholarship at 3rd choice. I think we are going to have an honest conversation with T next week and see if there is any possibility of a fee reduction/ reassessment for a scholarship. Nothing to lose I suppose. But again if anyone has any advice it would be very much appreciated.

W used to tell you where your DS performed against the cohort sitting exams, particularly. Scholars are usually in the top 10-15% of performance (I think).
I would assume waitlist places will be offered in order of exam performance?
@SheWhoMustBe69 the week after national state offer day tends to be when big shifts happen - kids accepting grammars release multiple offers that they’re sitting on. My understanding is declines that have scholarships aren’t reoffered....but who knows what really goes on?!
Hope everyone gets the place they need/want.

Can anyone give me some advice how much is too much? As you know my son is on the waiting list for W. I spoke to the admissions team and one lady in particular who was lovely. I followed up with an email and she replied saying to keep in contact. I phoned again on Monday spoke to another lady she was ok but seemed slightly irritated. I would like to know how many more times should I contact them without being deemed a loon, a stalker or a complete nuisance???? They did say it would be March before I knew. Does anyone also know traditionally how many they take from the waiting list? There does not seem to be a hierarchy on the list but I wonder if you're not taking/wanting any form of financial assistance, does that fair you better? Any advice anyone?

Thanks Yey22

As well as the scholarship size there is also the £2.5k difference in fees between T and W. If the scholarship is substantial then the total difference in outlay for the 7 years will be very significant. There is a good chance that W will match your T scholarship offer.

Hi sparkling. Do you mind my asking what size scholarship T offered?

A number not another

SparklingNotStill I would phone Whitgift and say that you have been offered another scholarships but Whitgift is your first choice and may not be able to accept. I know another of boys who have declined W scholarships this year so there may be some flexibility. Good luck

I meant scholarship decision reassessment

Morning All,

We got offers for both T&W. However only T offered a scholarship. W is our 1st choice but no scholarship offer. We also have scholarship offers from our 3rd choice. However, we are conscious of the difference in the school fees and the additional financial relief a scholarship offers. Does anyone have experience in negotiating a fee reduction/scholarship reassessment? DS had Fallen in love with W since Year 4 and is over the moon about his offer. Getting some sort of fee reduction would make the choice all the more sweeter.

centreohwill - Reeds School struck me as a caring, genuinely happy environment. If you can get to Clapham Junction or Wimbledon you can get there fairly easily on overland trains to Oxshott.

Is your son quite independent? Whitgift is the more academic school, but I have heard that Oxbridge entries have dropped. What sports is your son into?

Would he strive in a larger, more robust environment (W)?