Upcoming girls’ independent SW London schools 11+ exams

Happy Tuesday everyone!

@MarshaBradyo hang in there.. the end of the month is fast approaching! I think ISEB takes about 2.5 hours to do so with comfort breaks I reckon it will take pretty much the whole morning?

@Corblimbea I’m sorry I can’t help you either.. the schools you mention are too far away to be on our radar. It may’ve come up on the ISEB thread as I remember there being discussion around CAT scores. Someone on the boys indie thread might know for Kingston?

@WarmAndco3y wow!! So glad she had a good experience, I think they are quite adept at choosing teachers who know how to interact with kids. Ours is next week, it will be nice to have it done with.

@stellagibbons I feel for you. I have days where I’m perfectly fine and others where I feel like I’m going to start hyperventilating! DD’s school seem to have given up on work this term.. she’s having a lovely time making Christmas Cards, tea towels, calendars etc but very little work and no homework at all?!?

I’m going to be doing a little happy dance after 3rd Dec!

@stellagibbons, her interview was within the time slot she was given for drop off and pick up, if you see what I mean. She did her creative writing straight after the interview, while she was in the exam frame off mind. And we dropped her off to school afterwards.

Sorry to hear about the maths situation. If it’s any consolation I think number of people will be in similar boats across the subjects tested in one way or another. I just want February to come, so I know the outcome of all of this.

@WarmAndco3y Glad the interview went well - DD's is later this week. Was the Zoom time the same as the time they were supposed to be there when it was going to be in person?

I'm stressed about ISEB again - we had parents evening last week and DD's teacher confirmed that, because of the way they teach maths at her school (they teach the whole school broadly the same topic at the same time, but at different levels) they won't be covering the areas missed in the summer term until later in the year - which is fine for SATs but a massive PITA for us. She'll effectively not have been taught some areas since Year 4. Obviously, we can cover these areas at home, but it feels quite stressful!

I feel like we are starting really late compared, nothing until early Dec

That was meant to say the teacher who interviewed her was amazing.

@Corblimbea, sorry I don’t have an answer for your query, someone else might be able to give you an answer.

DD has done her JAGS interview, I was listening from the room next door. The tea he who interviewed her was amazing. Interview lasted around 20 mins or so. She has also done her creative writing task.
We also now have an ISEB date confirmed. Slowly getting through the process.

Does anyone know what sort of scores Surbiton and Kingston Grammar would be looking for (CATS)? Last year we didn’t know anyone who didn’t get Surbiton at our prep - they seem to be so big now that most get in, but is KGS more selective?

One down!! DD just sat GHS exam. She seemed happy when she came out and we have a rule not to dissect the exam so I have no idea how it went.....just glad to have one finished....ISEB next!

We finally heard re ISEB date but still waiting on the time

@dazedandconfused11plus I think the weighting on interview depends very much on the school and whether they interview all applicants or only a selected few after a first filter.

Emanuel has always interviewed everyone and has a form you fill in to structure the interview / encourage longer answers. I believe JAGS would usually only interview after their online VR/NVR test but could be wrong. They are interviewing everyone this year so they must put some weight on it! (My guess is it’s the tie breaker though?)

I think it’s worth doing a practice one over zoom (or whichever platform) so you can see how they come across, although most schools say not to over rehearse answers as it can trip them up. Another OP suggested listening outside the door to the first one so you could see how they were coming across.

I’m betting half the time the kids are more acclimatised/comfortable with the technology than the teachers!

@Gladtidings1 you are right.. it’s a whole extra job! We are lucky our school is hosting the ISEB which cuts down on both travel and exams. I’m glad your DD is keeping her cool, mine has up and down days.. a bit like her mother!!

Hi, I'm in. We're doing Surbiton, Wimbledon, Epsom, grammar schools, KGS, St Cats Twickenham. I wish I could fast forward a few months and see that it would all work out ok! DD seems quite relaxed so far but sorting all of this out seems like another job with all the additional disruption of covid etc. Am also curious about interviews as we have a few via zoom. I'm hoping that telling her to smile and be friendly will get her most of the way!

@Stircrazyschoolmum - 3 of them do ISEB so actually only 4 exam processes in total, and most done by Xmas hols

How much weight is normally given to the interview? Is it to determine borderline cases and/or the disruptive kids, or is it genuinely another stage of the sifting process?

Interviews just seem so subjective! I think my DD is going to find that part difficult as she's quite shy and I can see monosyllabic answers not going down so well... which would be a shame having reached that far.

WHS deadline today and I think most have closed now. @Stircrazyschoolmum

Thanks for the encouraging words @Yellownotblue and @volpemum it’s always reassuring to hear from those who survived the process!

Hello @dazedandconfused11plus that’s a good list of schools you have!

Are most of them doing ISEB? I remember several posters saying nice things about LEH last year. It’s not on our list due to distance but it sounded like a lovely school.

Does anyone know if all the application deadlines have passed now? I think WHS was one of the last?

But in a few months’ time, the roles are going to be reversed: each of you will likely have a handful of offers, and for many parents and girls, the decision-making process is not going to be dictated only by rational factors - you will go for the school that made your DD feel special, where you feel she is going to be recognised and welcomed, and her great potential will be fully fostered.

I remember when we got offers in February/March, and schools started sending weekly emails asking us if we had made a decision, whether we needed any more information, etc. All of a sudden, it was like “oh, NOW you want us!” 🙂 Any school that had made us feel like a number in the application process, or where things had not run smoothly, was immediately discarded.

having gone through this prices with 3 DC, all now at 3 different school I can safely say that PH and Emanuel were the two school that made the most effort to make the whole process as nice as possible. Alleyns probably the worst. And out of the 3 schools we have experience of (although I won’t admit this to my DC) PH is the one that I love the most! We are debating whether to move DD2 there for 6th form. Good luck everyone I remember the whole process well and I can only imagine how much more stressful it must be in these uncertain times. I pop on this thread once in a while to see if anyone has any questions as I remember this was a bit of a lifeline for me at the time. Good luck everyone xxx

It’s just a well done on doing your interview thing.. generic but sweet for her..

@Stircrazyschoolmum
What’s the Emanuel postcard like ?
We only got the one from PHS so far.
Thanks

As an aside DD has really appreciated the postcards from PHS and Emanuel. Perhaps they always did this (?) but in a socially distanced world they are nice to have and on the fridge! 🤣

That’s really good to hear warm. I think it’s easy to school bash (not this thread!) but actually it’s quite amazing what they have adjusted to in a few short months.

My friends two daughters are at Wallingham and highly rate it. It’s a bit too long commute wise for us but a great option to have.

@Tabitha957 We are not doing any CEM schools so I’m sorry I can’t add anything. Hang in there.. nearly over!

I know this is an independent school thread, but I just wanted to say, I was very impressed with he organisation at wallington girls’ grammar yesterday. There was no chaos at all. DD1 sat the same 11 plus exam a few years ago.
Social distancing was really good, and DD2 was in room with only students from her school. And her school is not even one where lots sit the exam.
Drop off and pick up were seamless. I know a lot of organisation has gone into this. It just makes me wonder, if this whole process will change up and down the country once we’ve got this pandemic over and done with.