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Original poster

Is Alleyn's harder to get into than Westminster??

27 replies

noworklifebalance · 14/02/2020 07:29

At 11+?

I am asking on behalf of someone whose son is at a private school that doesn't prep for these exams and would like him to move at 11+.
She knows of a couple of boys who got offers from Westminster but not from Alleyn's and doesn't know whether they are anomalies or if Alleyn's is really that difficult to get into. She wants to be realistic in expectations and hope! She is also considering some other schools.

Before anyone says, she has visited them and spoken to current parents.

TIA

OP posts:
dinosaurinmybelly · 14/02/2020 08:59

I would say that the process for these schools is very different. Having looked carefully at Alleyn's as a teacher of Year 6 children - if you want to go to Alleyn's you need to perform really well in the test. I compare it these days to the Tiffin schools. Other schools will interview children before their test (Emmanuel), or take co-curricular achievements into account / head teachers report. That's fine of course, except that their test is very prescriptive and there are many many tutoring companies who are making a fortune preparing kids for that very test.

It's mindless exam strategy preparation which takes them away from meaningful learning for those last few months of preparation in my view. You need to really really want to go to Alleyn's and have some money behind you to go this route but it can absolutely be done.

In my classes it is sadly the children who have been tutored who get through to interview, whereas my top students who haven't the money / parental support do not make it through to that stage.

It feels like Alleyn's are also standardising the scores in the actual exam for a whole range of factors including whether you are applying from a state school or a prep school (I'm not sure if this has been publicly stated, but I've watched over the years and believe this to be the case) so you should also take that into account. It's a great school, but there are lots of good schools out there with a more meaningful assessment process in my view.

BrownAjah · 14/02/2020 08:35

We applied for Whitgift and Alleyn's this year. DS was assessed for scholarship at W and chucked out without interview at Alleyn's! The letter we got said they tested 800 for 100-something places so the expected level is just very high

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