Part 2: SW London Girl's Indies 11+ Pandemic Panic!

@DrRamsesEmerson @Oceane11Plus could not agree more about the virtual circle of confidence. I’m looking for that more than anything else - where will DD feel confident? I was middle set in a very academic selective. Destroyed me, confidence-wise, in spite of great results and uni. I’d rather DD was in a school that saw her and helped her feel good at something! That’s why we avoided some of the more selective schools as she is upper average, but not amazing! I don’t think enough is made of the link between confidence at school and future success - especially in self esteem. Seven years in a pushy hothouse did nothing for mine! Just worried that all schools in SW London are now like this. Hopefully I’m wrong.

Thank you @stellagibbons depending on Friday’s outcome I might need to do that!

@Stircrazyschoolmum JAGs is 5 forms of 24, occasionally 6 (we watched the open morning video again a couple of weeks ago!).

Happy Monday ladies

@PatoPato well done on your offers. I’m glad you’ve put SPGS behind you, although I’d imagine a natural, quirky answer is far more memorable than a rehearsed wooden one.

@Trialsat11 I’m sorry to hear of your experience. I can only guess the schools put you through to 2nd round to guarantee you were waitlisted and they knew you were very likely to get a space that way?

I’m trying to keep myself busy with practical info between now and Friday. Suddenly making a choice (and a large financial commitment) seems quite daunting!

So far I have..

Form entry.. PHS and WHS 4?? Not sure about JAGS and Alleyns.. bigger campuses?

Sports.. PHS play lacrosse rather than hockey.. SCHS have teams down to E (Is this standard across all GDST schools? Jags and SCHS have facilities on site, PHS/WHS have to travel.

Drama.. New facilities at PHS and SCHS, massive theatre at Jags.. Emanuel’s also seem good. SCHS state anyone brave enough to audition will get a part, not sure if this is common practice?

Building work. PHS and WHS largely finished. Emanuel due to start large project. No clue about Alleyns/Jags?

Heads.. New ones at Jags/Alleyns/WHS Is Suzie Longstaff likely to move?

Class size/school day/lesson length - all broadly similar? Commute for us all broadly similar..

What other things are useful to consider?? (I

@DrRamsesEmerson I could not agree more as this is also my experience. I went to a similar school (albeit in a different country), there was no such thing as pastoral care and pupils’ wellbeing and they would kick pupils out to maximise their results. I did well as I am quite resilient but remember being quite stressed at time (and some DCs taking their own lives ). I swore to myself not to replicate this experience with my DCs. That’s partly why we turned down SPGS for DD1, I knew she would do much better in a slightly less academic school. For her as for many DCs it’s all about confidence and happiness to fuel a virtuous learning cycle.

Agree, @Oceane11plus. I went to one of the schools in this thread (not fair to say which one as my experience was more than 30 years ago), and it was an academic sausage factory. It was very effective, I got fantastic exam results out of it and went to Cambridge, but it wasn't a particularly happy experience even for me (sixth form was better). It was really rubbish for anyone bumping along in the bottom sets.

Asking about personal circumstances during lockdown was just PR. Most of these very academic schools want to come across as inclusive and caring but this is far from their number 1 priority. Exam results and marks is what matters. I wish we could opt out of this system but unfortunately it’s not really possible where we live.

Yes, well, nobody really believed a word the schools were saying, did they? They’ll do what makes their lives easiest, fills places and keep their results up. They are businesses, after all.

How do interviews rule out anomalies if you can do brilliantly in them and still not get over the line?

Hmmmm I'm remembering all of the carefully worded communications that were coming through in November which suggested the schools really were taking the lockdown learning situation into consideration and wanted to make this process as fair as possible... the ISEB was the fairest way of doing that etc. etc.

The WL at the SW schools will certainly move. A lot of the same girls have offers for both WHS and PHS for example.

@dinosaurinmybelly I can't tell you how gutted I felt when it was relayed that she had done brilliantly in all aspects and it was just a reasoning score .
Feels so unfair especially when it might have been a one off day as she excels in that area at school and the reference would have clarified that .

That's disappointing to hear Trialsat11 ? Can't believe they would admit that a small difference in reasoning score was a deciding factor? It seems short-sighted not to give more weight to interview while using the scores just to check a child would thrive academically. Several schools detail in their open days what kind of learners they are looking for. You don't get that information from ISEB scores, but from interview and to a lesser degree, reference.

@PatoPato many congratulations on such wonderful offers.I'm sure you will get G&L and will release the PHS and WHS places ;-)

Thanks for the encouraging message . I'm keeping my fingers crossed for DD and hoping there will be someone up there looking out for her !

If it helps anyone , the interviews are just to rule out any complete anomalies missed out in the process.
We have had interview feedback on all our waitlisted schools and one thing which struck out clearly was that DD had very impressive interviews but lost out because of a few marks less on a particular reasoning score .And there I thought that we had crossed the hurdle when she got the interview call !

DD made an almighty mess of her LU interview. It started with an ice-breaker question about how she spends Saturdays, and she managed not to mention her Saturday morning music school (which does still exist, albeit on Zoom) and have the impression she just sat around looking like a zombie. Then there were some academic questions which she thoroughly fluffed. So unless her ISEB result was outstanding, it'll be a no for us this week.

@PatoPato I overheard one of DDs interviews and was horrified ... all her answers about what she is doing/want to do were linked to seeing friends and family, to the question what do you like about your school she said the online learning because there is actually one now... not a pip about all the exciting activities, sports, music she is involved with, projects she has..I was horrified but then I now thing these are honest answer of a young 11Y old who is a little fed up with lockdown, lacks stimulation. clearly she did come across as untutored ...

@MumsRule20 No tip unfortunately but seriously considering taking a sleeping tablet on Wednesday and Thursday
First choice is JAGS, results are due on Thursday. I believe all the others (Consortium, G&L etc) will be Friday?
What about you? I remember you are waiting for City, any other Indy?

@dazedandconfused11plus I fear these five days are going to feel like a month. Unfortunately I finished my project at work last week, if only the deadline had been this week, time would have continued to fly...

@PatoPato I totally forgot to congratulate your DD for such a great result already. She's done amazingly well and I suspect a lot more offers will be coming your way at the end of the week.

Wow, what wonderful news @PatoPato on WHS and PHS!!! Well done to your DD - such a confidence boost! I imagine that also bodes well for G&L

The more I see of this process, the more I'm convinced that the interviews are not as significant as they are made to appear by the schools. Probably useful for making decisions on borderline cases, detecting the kids who just aren't interested in the school (where they inadvertently mention it ranks as their bottom preference!), and eliminating those where there are serious behavioral issues.

This year parents have had the unusual experience of hearing the interviews first-hand which de-mystifies what has previously been a rather opaque aspect of the selection process. But then - as alluded to by Oceane - sometimes these interactions shape our perceptions of the school, and not necessarily in a positive way.

Anyway, hope this week brings good news for everyone! I feel like these last five days are going to drag horribly though

@PatoPato Glad you're back, I was missing your epic tales Your description of the car crash interview at spgs takes me back a few years with DD1's spgs interview. I was obviously not able to listen but judging from the length of the interview (well over 30mn, maybe 40mn) and the sombre look of the interviewer who took her back in the waiting room, I knew straight away a disaster had just happened. DD's recollection of the Q&A and interviewer's body language during the interview confirmed my fears. The good thing is we laugh about it today - both of us burst into laughter the other day when she was reminding me the answer she gave when asked to react to some arty picture (we were then briefing DD2 with answers NOT to give during her interviews). She was still offered a place albeit off the WL but we didn't take it up (she felt pretty bruised after this interview and we concluded it wasn't the right school for her).

Good luck to everyone waiting on offers. I recall being in this situation so clearly, and we are just about out the other side. Dd about to finish at spgs and with the benefit of hindsight I really don’t think it’s as great as so many believe it to be. Dds friends at Putney and Tiffin and especially Kings Wimbledon have had much happier school years and achieved the same Uni offers .

Hi All - long time no post.
Massive congrats to all those with offers & and a virtual hand squeeze to anyone who didn't get the news they wanted. I'm sorry not to personalise but I'm still in need of that cheat sheet!

I freaked out 10 days ago after a car crash interview at SPGS which, in my heightened emotional state, seemed like the end of the world at the time & still does if I'm brave enough to relive it in my head (shudder). When asked what her aspirations for the future were, DD had to first ask what aspirations meant then answered 'maybe relax a bit'.
What. The. Actual.
At least they know she's truly not been tutored but I think it's safe to say we've said goodbye to that dream. Honestly it knocked me for days and I just couldn't face posting. I've been running a lot instead.

Anyway, fast forward and she's been offered places at WHS & PHS, both with academic scholarships, which was a wonderful surprise. I'm so thrilled for her - she's been bouncing up & down all weekend like a pogo stick. It's been joyful.

I'm acutely aware that we're in an exceptionally lucky position and that others are nervously hanging on wait list places so I want to add to what many have already said here which is that those wait list places will come into play more than ever this year and there will be huge movement in half term, the week after half term (our last school announces at the end of half term!) and again after national offer day. So anyone who feels like they are well & truly hanging right now (looking at you @Trialsat11) - well just hang on in there & have faith.