Trinity/Whitgift 2020 entry

Does anyone know how the W 11+ Sports Scholarship recalls work? My DS has the assessment today and I was wondering what to expect .....

I did email and say just that politely which I think sped up the no - I have to say I do not like the way they leave you hanging. There’s no excuse. Unless it’s good news for you hope so let us know

Castle my Ds2 has some SEN/mild disabilities and I talked to T a number of times before even entering him for the exam.

I did write a medical note to accompany his application.

I also talked to them again once the offer had been made, before we accepted, to make sure I was happy that they fully understood his needs and could cater for them.

He started in j bugs with an academic scholarship, so it clearly didn't put them off! They have been amazing with him, and I can't really fault the support at all.

I don't know about their dyslexia support. If you get offered a place, you will be asked to fill out a form when you accept to tell them about any SEN type issues, and they are pretty clear that if you don't, then there are consequences. (this is because apparently they have had some boys turn up with unexpected quite major issues that they'd had no time to prepare support for).

castlepanic on my (small, day time) tour of T the head of admissions told us that they screen all boys individually upon arrival as lots of bright kids make it this far using their intelligence to compensate for any SEN they might have, but as they progress through secondary it's harder and harder to compensate/work around the SEN than address the SEN head on (if that makes sense). so they want to make sure all their boys have the best tools and tactics to do the best they can.So it seemed a really positive approach to me (though i've no experience of such things)

FWIW, at our W interview (which was granted for scholarship so may not be the same for every one) the interviewer specifically asked if DS had any special educational needs we wanted to disclose.

So on balance, I think if there is a way to mention it you should even if just so yo can ask what their support is like. I think you can say that he's had this diagnosis but it's quite mild (or something like that).

We just don't know - what is the SEN provision like at T, and what is their general attitude towards boys with SEN?

I believe their general attitude is positive - there are a good number of boys there with a variety of SEN requiring extra time, scribes, laptop use, breaks... they also test all the boys to pick up any that might not have been spotted before.

Hi! No news from W. Aghghghghgh!! I'm going to call tomorrow.

I agree @Invers45 - it's all too stressful! Delices received an email a couple of days ago so I'm hoping we hear soon either way. What's taking them sooooo long to just say NO?! :(

Hi @eagle92 No news from W. Lost hope now so just waiting for the letter! I’m really not sure what we are going to do as we are 300m too far from our excellent state secondary and too far from any other good state ones. It’s a real worry all this!

@T1000 @Invers45 - any news from W?

Hello, we're in a quandary here and would appreciate advice. We were lucky enough to get an invitation to interview at T for 11+. Delighted about that.

Our situation is that late last year our son was diagnosed as having mild dyslexia, and we're trying to figure out whether it will help or hurt his chances for us to share this with T at this stage, i.e. before the offers are made. He didn't have extra time in his exams. (The recommendations in the report from the Ed Psych were that he should have tailored/extra support etc, but he wouldn't automatically qualify for extra time in exams.)

We just don't know - what is the SEN provision like at T, and what is their general attitude towards boys with SEN? I feel like they presumably should not be allowed to discriminate against SEN boys, but what is it like in practice?? On the other hand, we wonder whether it could be perceived as a positive, i.e. he's already done well enough to be called back for an interview, and now that they know about the dyslexia, it would reflect well on him, that he was able to do well in his tests without any targeted support, extra time etc?

Ahh, I see- sorry. That's a bit different to how the other schools do it (in my very limited experience) so didn't realise - thanks for explaining.

We have a letter provisionally offering scholarship

(I was/am also confused by the offer of 15% from RR)

Thanks that’s so helpful I have become addicted to Mumsnet 😑

This is what happens when you post and you're so tired.
@Delices, of course you have not been offered a place yet. Way too early for results.
I think your post when you mentioned 15% threw me a bit. If you do get an offer, then definitely arrange to see the head after half term

@Delices, I would agree with @Frazzledmom. I have also heard anecdotally that T is a harder exam than W.
Also heard people say that RR is not worth the money over an excellent state school.
We know several families who were offered T, W and RR and ended up choosing RR, because it suited their DS best and the boys are continuing to thrive there.
RR is co-ed so it is hard to make direct comparisons to T and W. Not all boys will do well in an all boys school.

The head at RR is really nice, and out of all of the Croydon schools who say "they look at the "whole child" I do believe this is more the case at RR. Everyone who sits the exam, also has an interview on the same day.

If a boy is a grade 7/8 musician at 10 years old, then Trinity will probably give him the most support, (and a decent music scholarship) and he will flourish in his musical education, whereas if a boy loves football and hockey, (not rugby) maybe plays an instrument to grade 2-3 level and is pretty good academically, then RR may prove to be the better overall experience.
Have a look at the following if you need proof of the music exam grades at RR. No body is Grade 6 in year 7. They just don't compare to the musicians at Trinity.
www.royalrussell.co.uk/MainFolder/Documents/Russellian/Royal-Russell-Russellian-2019-min.pdf (p68)
It's not a bad thing. T, W & RR all have their pros and cons. Only you know your son, and will honestly have a feeling for where is best for him.
We all have our favourites for different reasons, but it ultimately it is all about our children.
Did you say that you've been offered a place at RR?
If you've got doubts about RR, make an appointment to see the head. Have another visit to the school.
Best of luck in whichever direction you choose to go.

@Delices, I have heard anecdotally T exams are much harder than W. DC is also a tough one as is KCS which is quite an academic school. I don't have any experience of any of them just what I've gathered from mumsnet and friends whose DC have sat.

I don't know anything about RR so can't comment on that.

I hope you make the best choice for your son...

Yes I think some exams are definitely harder than others.
Wish you luck in your decision - I don't know much about RR I'm afraid.

Thanks everyone not sure whether RR is worth the money over an outstanding local school as we have a schlorships but only 15% and no news of whether he’s passed exams until 13th March - do people think some entrance exams are Harder the others ?

Commiserations Delices. Must be tough but looks like you have some other great choices. Good luck!

EccaMoldcan - 3 out of 4 years!! Crikes. We had to do it 2 years in a row and that was bad enough! Kudos to you.

@Delices, my eldest son took the 10+ 3 years ago (for T) from state primary with little prep - and did not get an interview. We thought about trying again at 11+, but decided to go for different schools (including RR). He got into all 3 schools he applied for at 11+, and is now very happily settled in year 8 at a school that is perfectly suited to him. We barely remember the painful 10+ experience and it certainly didn't affect his confidence. Now going through 10+ with second son, who's quite a different character...Realised it means we've done this 3 out of the last 4 years, so I really hope this is it this time!!

Re: W 13+ I’ve just called them, we haven’t been scheduled for an interview. Unlikely we will get called for sports assessment.

Hampton, yes, we had a Saturday interview at T for DS1's 10+ place (he is now a very happy 3rd year there, so places are definitely offered from Saturday interviews!)

There will be lots of boys all being interviewed while you are there, so it will seem very busy with lots of parents anxiously waiting for their sons to reappear.

You won't be able to talk to anyone about your son's individual exam performance, but he has definitely done well enough to have passed the exams and to be seriously considered for a place.

There will be lots of staff around that you can ask general questions, though. We asked things like how many boys sat the exam, how many interviewed, etc, and they were very happy to answer these (as well as more school-life related questions, of course!)

Just make sure that your son sounds keen in the interview - I know that sounds obvious, but it definitely makes a difference! ask my friend, she'll tell you.

This thread takes me right back and makes me very glad that the 10+/11+ days are behind me. Good luck to everyone still waiting, and for interviews, and commiserations to those that have had no's

@Delices thank you for letting us know. So glad the wait is over. I wish you and your son/family all the very very best. Take care.