SW London boys, 11+ grammars and independents

@Thisonesfortheroad we had a email saying Wednesday next week but that was for 11+, but it implies not too long for them to turn around the marking and decision making.

@FlyingPandas yes we have KCS and RGS interviews to go. Waiting for KGS.

Is RGS your preference? Good luck for today

Hope everyone doing ok and surviving the madness that is home schooling / 11+ stressing!

RGS interview for DS today. Anyone else still got exams or interviews to go? I’ve kind of lost track of where the different schools are at in the process but good luck to anyone whose DC still have stuff to do!

Hello! New to this thread but enjoying the open and honest vibe here.

We sat 10+ KGS last week, but a bit of a baptism of fire for us - The whole online QR code submission thing threw us a little. As did the fact that English was a whole 10 mins shorter than expected. I don’t think the school’s emails/ guides were as explicit as the could have been about the differences between 10 and 11+ papers. And the fact that our exam timing notice clearly states 50minutes for English- but hey ho!

Noted some angst re: sharing of the exam Hadn’t appreciated that kids were doing the exact same test on different days. To try and reassure anyone, I’m guessing most parents are like us i.e even if we had known the papers were the same, it wouldn’t have helped us in anyway as we don’t know anyone else who may have sat the exam, and again, even if we did, we’re pretty sure they’d honour the system by not sharing.

Anyone know when we’re supposed to hear back? I’m not that hopeful but knowing approx timelines means I have to go crazy checking email junk everyday!

I also considering helping your child at home with Bond, GCP books etc to be 'tutoring'. Some parents are naturally better at helping their DC in this way than others (some have family members who are teachers - still 'tutoring' in my book), some have more conformist kids who do what they're told, others may not have and so would therefore choose to go down the route of having a tutor for 1-2 years, especially in a state school.

I would argue that the most exceptionally gifted child would not pass the 11+ without some sort of preparation. Especially if that child is in state or independent through-schools - not preps - where they do not work on VR/NVR.

That's just my view and, for what it's worth, I think we should all be supportive of whatever route we decide to take i.e. home or external tutoring. It's a stressful enough process as it is, especially during a pandemic. :)

Sounds great. Good to hear he came out happy - think some of the schools are handling this better than others.

It is clearly possible to have a tough interview and still leave the child feeling good about themselves. A last impression that will factor if we are ever in the fortunate position of having a choice.

Just popping back to say DS did get an interview at LU, and bounced out of it feeling very cheerful. I resisted the temptation to listen at the door, so don’t know how it really went, but the interviewer obviously did a good job of putting him at ease. Results in mid-February.

Thanks, @HappyNY. We know that now, but always good to get a confirmation from an actual school parent. Tthis was just my impression early on for no particular reason (as impressions sometimes are).

DS has a nice singing voice and a good sense of rhythm (which I particularly marvel in, as I have neither), so our secret desire is for him to get involved in the music side of things in senior school. We watched the whole of Christmas Carols video that was sent round in December with great pleasure.

@Growupsofast, well done to your DS! Hopefully, February brings good news now.

@Queenofhearts1, sorry to hear your DS wasn't successful. Hopefully, other good options are still on the table. I was certain the Hampton interview invitation boded well for KCS, but I realise now what people mean by this whole process being a rollecoaster of emotions (it's a first one for us, and we aren't particularly plugged in into the "scene", so I am learning as we go along).

@JustJuice187 oh yes, agree and we were pretty proud. He sounded so much more grownup than on our typically family setup - where DS is the youngest. Makes you think

So it is painful but we did listen to the interviews. In the end I resolve to not over analyse as there is nothing we can do, but....

It was nice to tell DS how great he did and which answers we found the funniest/ most unexpected etc

Secondly, this is the first time he has gone through this so I think it was helpful to give some tips. If I’m honest, mainly things like he forgot about a load of his activities because he hasn’t been doing them during covid, and that he probably needs to explain his answers. He had a habit of thinking for a while and then giving a very short answer - I was like - umm, you know they were probably more interested in why you picked football than the actual answer football!

However, definitely each to their own.

Flying very true. I’m usually a leave him to it type

I’m now torn between ignorance is bliss and curiosity re what goes on in these interviews

@FlyingPandas yes ignorance is definitely bliss- although I was outside the door in case of technical and my gosh was it stressful when he took an age to answer one of the questions!

However, I did come away feeling incredibly proud of how well he did in such a stressful situation!

Sorry to hear about KCS, @GrammarHopeful and @Queenofhearts1 and well done to your DS @Growupsofast.

All of our DC have done so well, just to get as far as they have, tbh.

We also have RGS interview this weekend and then it is just the wait game for us. Completely agree about feeling sorry for admissions teams. They’re in for a stressful few months I feel!

@MarshaBradyo good luck to your DS, I can highly recommend not listening outside the door! Thing is there’s nothing you can do even if you hear them come out with a complete clanger, or really struggle with a question, it’ll just stress you out. Ignorance is bliss, I say!

We’re SE and not doing grammar as too far but have one interview coming up and waiting to hear on the other

I wasn’t going to listen in on it. Think it might be better to be in the dark ;

@GrammarHopeful
You don’t have to be sporty to get an offer from Hampton eg the music department is incredible as are the theatre productions for which they - at times - collaborate with LEH. Look on Youtube when you have a moment.

@GrammarHopeful @Queenofhearts1 - all the best, stay positive and, this year of all years there is going to be change, I’m sure it will work out.

We had positive news from KCS, tbh DS has done better than we expected so he was pleased. Not sure if or how we would prep for the written English component.

Plus the RGS interview, then that is all we have left. Just waiting for letters to arrive after that. I don’t envy the admission teams over the next weeks, it must be crazy. For us just anxious and quiet.

@GrammarHopeful we are in the same boat. DS also not invited for an interview at KCS.
Onwards and upwards!

Had received an email from KCS earlier today. Sadly, they won't be inviting DS to an interview.

Hope others have better luck than us!

@BookShark, @EnolanotAlone, @Growupsofast, @dazedandconfused11plus Thanks very much for your kind words and support.

@PatoPato, @NoToMisogyny I am not even going to dignify this with an answer. Trolls hate that :wink:

@Jumpalicious We should hear back from Trinity and KCS this coming Tuesday re interviews. Fingers crossed!

We originally thought Hampton may be too "sporty" for us, but then I had a very positve converation with the admissions team there, so we decided to apply, particuarly given they went ISEB. I and, more importantly, DS liked Teacher 1 a lot yesterday, but Teacher 2 and him just didn't click, on reflection, so who knows what'll happen...

Teacher 2 was an older gentleman, so DS asked him "You've obviously been here for a long time, how does the school make a new boy feel special, like a real Hamptonian?" (he has this somewhat idealistic fairy tale image of independent senior schools at the moment, where everyone is very well-behaved and wants to learn all the time...). To which T2 said "You can be good at whatever it is that you like to do, as we have huge number of things on offer: for example, we even have a bee keeping club!" Cue DS2: "Oh, no! I am TERRIFIED of bees!" :fgrin:

Sorry gramnarhopeless but I think criticising other posters and saying we should all be 'sparing a thought' for any DC on waiting lists etc is a bit rich. Any child who is in a position to potentially go to one of the schools on this thread (or any other independent school) is in a very fortunate position compared with the vast majority of children in this country, and I'm sure the parents on the thread all realise that.

We're applying from state primary for independent secondary (not one of those mentioned here), we have a naturally bright child who hasn't been tutored, we will have a grammar place if it doesn't come off, and we consider ourselves incredibly fortunate to be in this position. Hopefully the school will recognise DS's potential in his forthcoming exam and interview even if he isn't as prepared as some of the other candidates. If he ends up on a waiting list because of other children getting multiple offers, then so be it - presumably it won't be long before those places are released and re offered, once deposits are due and parents have to make a final decision.

I agree with you @knowtomysogyny
There is a big difference between a state school kid getting a few extra lessons during lockdown to make sure they've covered the whole curriculum and a child that has been hothoused by their pushy parents and tutored for 2 whole years!

It's the children I feel sorry for. No wonder they buckle under the interviews if they have been put under so much pressure and made to sit for so many different schools.

@GrammarHopeful - popping over from the girls' thread, but been watching your journey through all this and wanted to say something as today's trolling from @grammarhopeless is vile. It sounds like your DS has coped amazingly and also worked tirelessly, so I'm sure he'll find just the right school and will be fulfilled and happy. It's a stressful process for everyone but people should be able to lay down their emotions and concerns without judgement, and not be met with derision (or envy!).

I hope you feel better having for having got that off your chest @grammarhopeless.

Maybe spare a thought for the ‘poor DC’ at state school who hadn’t even heard the word ‘algebra’ before lockdown started