SW London boys, 11+ grammars and independents

Hampton have said they are delivering results by email at some point on Friday. I hadn’t realised not sure if everyone else had - I had hoped it was all going to be over in one go when the post dropped. I hope Friday isn’t going to be too long a day on the refresh button!!

@totoroxx it’s exactly what it says on the website. There are 3 academic scholarships available and DS won one of them.

Congratulations to those receiving offers, well done! For those with scholarship, do you mind sharing what is being offered?

Got an Epsom 11+ offer with a scholarship too - really pleased! :-)

Well done @Iffiyas that's great news.

@Iffiyas amazing! Well done to your DC 👏

We got it too, with a scholarship! Very pleased.

@Iffiyas we received an email from Epsom a couple of hours ago. We were lucky to receive an offer for 2023 13+ entry. Very pleased!

Good luck to all those that are waiting this week!

I bbq was wondering in what order they may send the letters..

@Iffiyas no very late in alphabet!! Does that really make a difference? Letter said waiting list opens in order of suitability for the school.

Does anyone know what day St George's offers are expected ?

Congratulations! I’m sure there will be lots of movement on the waiting list this year. Is your surname early in alphabet?

We just got email from Epsom. DS on waiting list for 2023 13+ entry. Anyone have any idea how much movement there is on the list? It says they won't start moving itv until 15th March.

Has anyone heard from Epsom yet?

@Didsomeonesay I don’t have a child at Reed’s.

I think if DS wanted to pick one of his "safer" options over a more academic school, I'd be more forceful about telling him why that would be the wrong choice for him. But I do want him to feel he's had an input, so I see it as something we'll discuss together rather than us deciding without involving him.

Fortunately for us, DS has a top three, and we would be happy with any of them, so I think in the end we will all come to an agreement anyway. Although interestingly, where his friends are going doesn't seem to be a factor - one of the questions he asked in the interviews was about how people make new friends, so I think he's accepted that he'll be with new people regardless.

I don’t think DC will have final choice and I don’t think he has a very strong preference yet. This may change as he starts to learn where his friends are going though.

@BookShark that’s a really interesting point you make about your DS being ‘malleable’ with regard to school choices. Are people generally planning to let their DC have the final say (assuming any of us are eventually in the happy position of being able to have a choice!) as to which school they go to? Or will you tell them they need to go to the one you really want? In an ideal world, the two would be one and the same, but life isn’t always like that is it?!

@catwoman1980

I love how passionate you are about Reeds. Your child must love it there for you to defend it and I’m so glad you have. I think anyone having a lovely experience at their school will pass comment on anyone judging from the outside. Unfortunately that’s all most can do given the inability to visit in person. I know at least 4 children from state who started Reeds this year, all lovely boys, all throughly enjoying it.

My DS picked Epsom as his school. We’re not ‘showy money’ and none of the parents I’ve met have been either.

It easy to assume from the outside what a school is like. This forum is wonderful-especially this year- for connecting those wanting to know more about a school and those whose children attend them.

My son joined Epsom without knowing anyone and now has a wee band of boys- all similar in their character- who he hangs out with.

I would say the only downside is that the children all live a fair distance from each other but that is likely to be the case wherever you go.

My son also gets the 7:20am bus and is back by 6:45pm. First week was a shock but after that he sailed in and out.

It’s tricky as the school you pick for your son is half chosen for you by this blasted test system. That said they do always end up somewhere they love as they’ve got invested and caring parents who’ve got their back. Lucky lucky sausages I say.

Best of luck to you all this week. It will all be good in the end (something I struggled to believe this time last year, but now know to be true)

A couple of you have posted about Reeds being glamorous and wealthy. Total nonsense. It’s not at all. At least 50% of the intake are often from state schools and it’s not showy money (that I understand Epsom and CLF can be). Just because it has a green and leafy site rather than an urban setting.

@StarSky149 my kids get a schoolbus that leaves at 7.15 and gets home at 6.45 after prep. They met lots of new boys and girls on the same bus and there's a good atmosphere - lots of fun. The first couple of weeks is a shock to e system - particularly getting up early in time for the bus but honestly that passes by half term. By the end of the term I was offering to pick my kids up on a Friday night as a treat, but they said they wanted to be on the bus with their mates 😳.

So we applied to 4 schools and have heard back from 2. No offence to anone, but Halliford was a backup option and we'll reject that offer once DS has a confirmed place elsewhere (i.e. confirmation of deposit payment and officially given a place).

Which leaves us with Reeds, and Hampton and KGS to come next week. DS is convinced he wants to go to Reeds, but I suspect he'll reconsider that when/if he gets a place elsewhere. I wish they all just offered on the same day - we're all talking about how great Reeds would be in case that's where he ends up, but will probably change our tone if he gets other offers.

The only good thing is that DH and I are aligned, and I think DS is malleable (in the nicest possible way). So I'm hoping that deciding won't be too tricky - once we know whether we have a decision to make!

Been lurking, and will be needing to decide on schools soon. We are lucky enough to have a couple of offers but are waiting for RGS, Hampton and KCS. Like a number of people on here I guess.

We have different favourites across the family - are you all in the same position or are you settled on a preferred option?

Hi all, have been reading this post with interested and would be grateful for thoughts.

We are in the very fortunate position of having offers from both Reeds and St John’s, which we and DS are thrilled with! Both are great schools and choosing between them is proving to be problematic, as 1) we are considering not just DS but also DD who is two years younger and 2) we are also considering a house move in a couple of years (e.g. to Esher area).

I can’t see a clear difference in terms of academics or facilities so the choice is being heavily influenced by travel logistics and sibling approach. A big plus of St John’s for us is the sibling policy, where the head was clear on an open day that siblings were very welcome – this would take away 11+ stress for DD in a couple of years (avoid the need to apply to say, SHS, if DS went to Reeds) and having both DC at the same school must give a stronger sense of community? The negative for St John’s is location, as the train is not an option for the places we would like to live, leaving DS and DD to get medium length bus trip of c30-40mins.

So I’d be grateful to hear from any existing St John’s parents to understand how many DC use the bus to get to school, how they find it … and indeed from any parents whose DC get a school bus and how it impacts on their general school life.

Also would be interested in views about the merits of having DC at the same secondary school and whether it is a big positive or more neutral point.

@BookShark it's not at all that we didn't think Reeds was friendly - we had the same reaction as you, everyone was really lovely when we looked round - but it just felt glossy and leafy in a way that the other two didn't. That could very well have just been our own reaction though. I think more than anything we just prefer a town/urban vibe for a school to a more leafy one, probably because we're all more in our comfort zone in the urban scenario - it's what we (DH, myself and kids) are used to.

I genuinely think you will get a mix of all sorts of families at all the different indies - some families will be immensely wealthy, many others far less so - and you just have to go with what you feel is best fit at the end of the day.