SW London boys, 11+ grammars and independents

Congratulations to you and your DS, @Sterou. Glad it worked out in the end!

@Sterou huge congratulations! We also have a Tiffin offer but have decided to take KCS. Will release our Hampton offer tomorrow.

@FlyingPandas; @Goingcrazy101
Thank you both.

I am not going to lie, I had a little cry at 5pm today when offers were released. I was so relieved - after Hampton ISEB saga - I really doubted the DS ability and everything we had been told / seen.
Thank you for putting up with me :-)

On another note, just heard that my DS’ prep school “had issues with ISEB”. Trying to find out more.. as not sure what that means !? Technical issues? or ISEB format not well prepared for / or suitable to school tutorin ?! oh dear ..

*DS not Das

Trying to type too fast

Well done both! @Sterou you must be pleased after the ISEB.

We are on a wait list for Tiffin but probably turning down Hampton in favour of another private as we also have a sports scholarship there.

I don’t know if this helps anyone on Hampton waiting list

@Sterou and @Esher2021 brilliant news! Sterou so pleased for you in particular after all you and Das have been through. Hurrah!

We got the state school place we more or less knew we would get (didn’t do grammars), state comp is excellent which we always knew. But that makes the indie decision harder in a way.

Hope everyone waiting on state offers got good news today.

We had a offer from Tiffins. Very proud of DS, Though I think we will stay with our decision and take RGS over KCS and Tiffin. Hope there was good news for others.

Evening All !
Any good news on Grammar school offers today that you’d like to share?!

I wanted to thank you all for your support thus far, DS was offered Tiffin today so we are absolutely elated. Absolutely made my day :-) and a HUGE weight off our shoulders. I had lost faith in the system ...
#proudmum

I think we may be one of the very few that are still deciding between KCS and Hampton! The VR headset definitely did the job with DS!

DS didn't get a headset or any offer holder invites - clearly my attempt to do the right thing and deduct quickly so we could turn the offer down to help those on waiting lists has cost us there. Fingers crossed nobody tells him he's missed out!

@goldil0cks yes we’re going with Hampton too for non sporty DS

Did you book an online ‘chat to a Hampton teacher’ session? We did, and this was the first question I asked. The teacher was very much emphasising as others have said upthread - they have every type of boy there, a real mixture, and it really is not just a school for super sporty boys.

The sheer range of clubs and opportunities on offer has outweighed my concerns about sportiness tbh (plus we really like the idea of all clubs being during the long lunch break so they can all get to do lots but still leave school at normal time) and I have also been very reassured by some lovely posters here - who have both posted and sent me PMs about happy non sporty boys there.

I agree that their online offer holder stuff has been brilliant - I do appreciate that a lot of that is skilful marketing (especially the VR headset gift, they know the way to a 10/11 year old boy’s heart ) and that of course they need to ‘sell’ their school but it does feel very vibrant and welcoming.

@goldil0cks , I have a ds at Hampton, as others have said it's a lovely school for all sorts and you definitely don't need to be sporty or interested in sport. It's a really great school and I'm sure all the recent events for those with offers have reflected this.

@goldilocks
My history , classics and English loving boy loves Hampton .
He was the only one from his primary
The boys are rounded and grounded -
There are so many different types of boys everyone can find there niche .
He can’t wait to be back
The open space and fresh air -
I could go on and on ....

My DD is at KGS and I have a DS starting in September. I think it's diverse for the area, much more so than their primary school just over the border into Elmbridge. There are children of various different ethnicities in her class.... I'm not sure how it compares with the demographics of Kingston as a whole but there are lots of non-white children. It's a very inclusive school too in terms of curriculum, art topics etc.

We started at KGS this year, and have a very happy ds. Due to covid I haven’t had a chance to get to know the school well, however I do believe that there are kids from lots of different nationalities. I hope this helps a bit?

And sorry for cross postings. I created a new topic for my question in the Secondary Education area for as much feedback as possible!

We are back and forth trying to decide on a school for ds. He has a spot at Hampton and we were all impressed with the virtual events throughout the process and the school in general. The staff make a great deal of effort explaining it is a school for all boys and there is something for everyone.

Yet I still waffle over whether or not my son will settle there and find a nice friendship group if he's not into rugby/football (or sport in general) and is on the gentle side. He has spent a lot of time at primary school with the girls; boys also but never the football crowd.

Our mixed options aren't as inspiring academically, so Hampton is our preference as far as that measure goes.
Are there any other parents of decidedly nonsporty boys in this thread going with Hampton that could reassure me?

Hi just wondering if anyone can give any insight into ethnic diversity at KGS please? My son has an offer there and he is of dual heritage and I’m wondering if he will be the only one

*hindsight
(I need to take the 11+ exam myself !!)
lol

@FlyingPandas, thank you.

And thank you to those who PM me yesterday. Really sweet.

Someone who is interested for next year's process, asked me if we had the right "strategy" in place, and in insight, possibly not!

If DS is in prep-school in year6, you have the choice for 11+ or 13+ but you can't do both for the same school. You also have the choice to apply to as many schools as you wish ( or as your DS will stomach), and of course you have the choice of all 11+ Grammar Schools, as long as you don't live >1 hour away... as the distance could be a factor. (and who wants to commute for that long at that age)

So in insight,
*headmaster had recommended a fairly long list of Indies, we only applied to 1, fairly local.
*we also only applied to 11+ and not 13+
*we kept states schools to within 1 hour catchment areas only, did not chance any others

Let's review on Monday :-) it's going to be a long weekend again !

Good luck @Sterou - I hope you and DS get good news on Monday. It does sound like he was just unlucky on his ISEB day. I am sure there will be movement on the waiting lists once the state offers are out, if not before. And some people will have already released offers - we released our RGS place earlier this week and I’m sure we won’t be the only ones.

Hope everyone is doing well.

@Iffiyas - thank you, we will update on thread next week, I do hope some positive news come through for my DS, it’s been a tough enough year as it is! Good luck to everyone

@Sterou your son is clearly a very bright boy who maybe had a bad day at ISEB. The CATS are really good predictors of GCSE outcomes so he will do well wherever he goes. Really good luck on Monday with the rest of the results.