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

Good luck to everyone’s DC waiting to hear about Alleyn’s interviews today. It’s my DD favourite but I think also the hardest on her list to get into.
It’s going to be a long day!

DD had 2 completely different interviews today .
A short very informal LEH and a long 45 min WHS . She quite enjoyed both but they were left with a smaller group in WHS as the internet connection failed for some of the girls . I’m just worried how it would have affected the group dynamics as they still continued with the process .
Nail biting times continue !

@Corblimbea , sorry I can't help with this year but in the past KGS hasn't used their waiting list that much. 3 years ago they had the "exploding offer " paragraph in their offer letter, it's since been withdrawn but due to their limited school space they can't put on a bulge class so they are careful with offers and small WL movement.
Best of luck to your dc, in the past the interview has been very straight forward - 3 words to describe you, favourite book, hobbies, why do you want to come to this school etc.

Just wondered if anyone knows how many KGS are interviewing and if it will be like PHS/WHS where everyone will get a place/waiting list!

@warmandco2y oh no!! That’s so annoying to be stalking the postbox and nothing arrives!! So frustrating! They don’t make this process very easy for our nerves do they!

I’m with stircrazy on this one, not brave enough to order preferences yet. We have a reasonable offer in hand. But waiting to see what else comes through.

Speaking of which, postie has been, but nothing from our non-ISEB school. I honestly wish they had not sent the silly email yesterday. I don’t know why they couldn’t just send the results by email and put it in the post. In this era of covid, we tend to leave our mail for 48 hours before opening it ( I think we might break the rule for this). What is more frustrating is that the school is less than 10mins from us

Oh well, if it doesn’t come tomorrow, we’ll call on Monday as suggested in the email.

Also can I suggest we try not to make this supportive thread a state vs independent school argument/divide. Every individual has been affected one way or the other and as lots of people have said, there are independent schools that have been way below par and state schools that have been very resourceful. It’s a difficult and challenging time for everyone

I’ll add that add hasn’t seen any of the schools and seems to be quite influenced by the school videos! Her preferences seem to be dictated by what the sixth formers are wearing and how impressive the facilities look!

@patopato your comments resonate with me...I was really clear on both DS’ school choice and they both have a pretty long journey to school...it’s the perfect school for them and I can just about cope with the fact that their social lives take them pretty far afield....I am not sure i would be so happy about that for DD so I think location will play a bigger role. Also, many of the girls schools do seem quite similar in ethos...

@PatoPato whew! That’s good to hear!

@Yossahughes we also have almost daily swings between preferences. I think we’ve pretty much discounted co-Ed (and they might discount us!) I like all the GDST schools. But JAGS has a far bigger campus.. journey times all pretty similar for us.

I’m not sure I’m brave enough to start listing preferences until I know where we have offers!! (If any!!)

@Yossahughes I have no idea at all which was not the case with DS 2 years ago. DS is at the perfect school for him but it's a long distance albeit on a cosy school bus. I definitely want DD closer.
DD has not visited any of the schools. I've only visited a few of them. Our impressions are being heavily coloured by our experience at interview but I'm not sure that's a fair measure of the schools themselves.
What I'm trying to get to grips with is whether the schools we've applied to live up to their reputations. @slipstitch1's comment about PHS only taking or suiting a certain type of girl is not the first time I've heard that. Our teacher said it to me 6 months ago implying DD was not that type but she recently U-turned and said it would really suit DD.
It's the grapevine negatives about each school that I mull over as they are all great schools.

@Stircrazyschoolmum - the tech held up! Yesterday's FHSS glitch was definitely their end. There was one girl who could not read the screen share so the lead teacher pasted a copy of the sheet in the group chat which worked for her

@Yossahughes, I remember it was painful to make a choice with DC1 and at the time we were able to see all schools (several times actually) and attend all offer holders events. How to make a choice this time without having visited several schools? My DD progressed to interview stage with all the schools she applied for but she likes all of them and doesn't know which one she likes more. I have my priorities for her, she has slightly different ones, each day that change...

@PatoPato glad to hear your DD is having fun. Very reassuring! A group of 5 sounds manageable. How is your tech holding up?

We tried a test run of teams last night (not something I’m familiar with) and had major delays when trying to share pictures/slides or use the whiteboard. I’m going to reboot the computer today and make sure it’s had all its updates as our wifi is ropey at the best of times..

Hoping it won’t be a repeat of our JAGS interview that glitched repeatedly..

@Yossahughes we do have a firm top choice, and a very close second choice that we’d also be delighted with. There are things I love about all the schools we’ve applied to and I know DD would be happy at any of them, but for various reasons after the top two there are some downsides to the others, mostly to do with location and commute and in some cases I don’t think the facilities are as good as our top choices.

It’s hard though because DD has only been able to see two of the schools we applied to (we applied to 7) and I’ve only seen 5 of them. If we find ourselves making a choice between schools which aren’t our first or second preference it’s going to be really tough to just go off the website. I was really hoping they might still be able to hold offer-holders days before the acceptance deadline but I think that’s extremely unlikely.

[quote montlieu]@JavaTeak thanks for sharing! we are not but that is interesting to read.
as my concern is the lack of accuracy and reliability of the ISEB results (in not giving a picture of what a child is actually capable of), this is reassuring tp know they are looking at the big picture.
the fact kids can't show their workings, they can't go back to previous questions... really is a downside. without mentioning the secrecy surrounding the point system versus the difficulty of the questions, and how scores can spiral up or down quite quickly.
thank you[/quote]
it isnt just secrey re the exams .. the whole process is too secret

what also concerns me are reports given to private schools from state schools. I assume the state schools are basically lying about the amount of education they gave in the first lock down thus giving the wrong impression to private schools. a state school kid getting the same mark in an exam as a private school kid is a far superior result. state schools should have not been allowed to keep their reports secret

Not wanting to get ahead of myself but also knowing that many of us have a big long wait coming up before we find out the results, I’m curious as to whether or not anyone has already got a firm idea about what their top choices might be? With boys schools there really does seem to be a universal packing order of desirability but I’m not sure it’s the same with the girls schools - maybe as there is so much more choice? I know that personally for me I am more concerned about my DD having more local friends than I was with my DS and so location is a big factor for me....I’d also be interested in finding out why you like a particular school - some of us may have to make choices without actually seeing a school so it’s good to get some views?

@sanam2019 - there are a lot of girls due to sit it today & tomorrow so I don't want to spoil it for anyone else and get my post deleted by MN which has happened on this thread a few times. I'll come back when the process is over & elaborate.

I can say that DD was in group along with 4 girls, a fab, fun lead teacher and an observer. I wished I'd had that info last night as DD hates huge group video calls and felt sick with nerves at bedtime
She loved the experience & is literally bouncing up and down in the kitchen right now
It is useful to have a pencil & paper to hand though this was not mentioned in the email.

@JavaTeak thanks for sharing! we are not but that is interesting to read.
as my concern is the lack of accuracy and reliability of the ISEB results (in not giving a picture of what a child is actually capable of), this is reassuring tp know they are looking at the big picture.
the fact kids can't show their workings, they can't go back to previous questions... really is a downside. without mentioning the secrecy surrounding the point system versus the difficulty of the questions, and how scores can spiral up or down quite quickly.
thank you

@PatoPato thanks for your honesty! Any insights? DD is in y5 and will likely do WHS next year, although I hope under different conditions! This year must be tough. Good luck everyone!

Hands up who's trying to listen in on the WHS team assessment
Guilty

[quote EITEL]@blackheathdad, yes it is a scandal. What makes it so frustrating, is that in other walks of life, there is usually some kind of independent body you can air your grievances with and make a formal complaint. With the eleven plus entry to independents there is no such thing so basically you just have to suck it up. Hard to do when your child has worked her arse off![/quote]
the 11 + exams have just been ignored by the media and gov

@Tr0ubled, we didn’t apply to Emmanuel. That’s interesting. Have they postponed until 2022, as well?

Did WHS ask for any pencil or paper in their group interview ?I have checked my mail but just wanted to be sure I haven't missed anything as it is 45 min