Tormead 11+ results

Hi Parents, I was just having a peek at this thread as I thought the TM results might be out...... however, it seems you have another night to go! I hope you all sleep well!

I'm actually a local prep Deputy Head and i'm really keen to see how Tormead does with respects to admissions this year. The school always did well and produced great girls with excellent results. To be honest, getting our girls into Tormead would always, proudly go on the marketing material and is front and center at open evenings. However, since September there's been a real buzz about the place. There seems to have been a real step change at the school and our 'school gate chat' is nothing but positive, with parents actively engaging with us about it. Parents are genuinely hearing good things about how the teaching staff are going above and beyond at the moment, and it seems what we always knew would was a top school, seems to be finding a new and more exciting mojo. I watch this thread with interest!! Secretly I'm just hoping all our fantastic girls get places too!

I hope you all do well and get exactly what you want for your daughters, as I know this is such a stressful time at the moment. Guildford and Surrey have some outstanding schools - the competition drives us mad sometimes! For them to get into any of these establishments, they will have done themselves proud.

@yossahughes the pandemic has been a challenge for all schools and you shouldn’t necessarily be put off a school purely on the basis that you were disappointed by the testing process which had to be changed due to lockdown.

And thanks to everyone for the kind words - I will be crossing my fingers for you all tomorrow when the other results hopefully arrive!

@nathbiker no offence taken - I thought the pretest was rubbish....to be honest I think it was a bit of a “saving face” exercise to do something and that they probably made their offers based upon school reports and other data points provided. Not necessarily fair but it was the system that lots of schools used 10 years ago before all the pretest madness...

@Yossahughes fab news! A lovely gift for a Friday night! I’m sure she’ll get many more offers and then be faced with the brilliant moment when you get to choose which you want! Keep us posted on how it goes!

@Yossahughes oh fab!! Well done to your Dd! Bad timing on my rant! Sorry! After a shambolic 12 months, it’s still ‘St Cats’ and a great school..... I better call home and get them to check the emails too!!

@Yossahughes thats great news! A massive congrats to your DD. She must be pleased to have a good solid place. I was just reading the posts above about the StCats process, I had heard similarly that is was pants for the kids, so your daughter should be really proud to have done so well under those circumstances! Still waiting for snail mail to deliver a miracle for us at TM!!! again, well done!

Agree with PP, and maybe go further, by saying the StCats protest was naff,no idea how they are going to make educated decisions on their offers. The open day events they did were a damp squib too. If it wasn’t for the fact that we’ve lived in Surrey all our lives and know the school of old, we probably wouldn’t have applied for DD. I think this year they’ll be riding on reputation for sure, as the last 12 months for them seems to have been a PR flop amongst us parent gossips and chatterboxes!

@pollytastic St Cats just sent out their results....DD has a place so I’m really relieved to know she has somewhere!

@pollytastic yes St Cats handling of the pretest process was very disappointing and really put us off the school - which is rubbish for them as I loved it when I went to visit. I think the ways schools have dealt with the pandemic has been quite an eye opener...

@Yossahughes haha that’s a very fair comment! Practically I guess GHS or Tormead would be best for your commute, but I guess it really does depend on those ‘yeses’ coming in doesn’t it! Yeah, it seems the applications volumes really are super high this year for independent schools, we were always keen, but the online learning provision in the sector has just been so much better, which has shone a positive light on private education. I heard that GHS and Tormead are doing an amazing job with online learning, getting some really excellent feedback from a TM mum I know about this term also. It’s sort of out a downer on St Cats for us, as I heard they were terrible last year and despite the smoke screen communications the chat on here ain’t much better. Hummmmpf! What to do!?

....come on postman!

@pollytastic I don't have any information about St Cats beyond end of January so could be anytime I suppose. No favourites at the moment - I suppose our favourites will be the ones that say "yes"! We are equidistant between Guildford and Wimbledon so we have a few choices that are closer to London but not holding out much hope for those as the competition and number of applicants has been so high!

@Yossahughes do you know the date for the St Cats ones? I worries I must have missed something as all I can find is ‘end of January’. At least I know the Tormead offers were posted today.... hate not knowing!
Has your DD decided on her perfect school? I guess you’re hoping for GHS? We didn’t apply to it, mainly because all her year group are either applying to TM or St Johns... plus a few moving to London .

@pollytastic yes we did St Cats and GHS too.....wish I knew when the results were definitely coming as its going to nerve wracking every time the post comes!!

Waiting on results too, hoping Royal Mail does it thing and they arrive tomorrow! Got a St Cats one to come too @Yossahughes , so hoping to hear from them by end of January. Did you do their 11+ too? I think it’s a shame it wasn’t brought forward like Tormead’s, I think DD would’ve got more out of it. DD did her best, so keeping fingers crossed for the elusive ‘two offers’.

@Yossahughes Not sure. Probably on their websites.

I think TM definitely se d results today for tomorrow’s post. Does anyone know what the timescales are for the other Guildford girls schools - GHS and St Cats?

@GuildfordMum77 agree they’re different, or at least that’s the perception! GHS obviously get better results at GCSE/Alevel as it’s self fulfilling that good results attract clever applicants, which then get good results, who attract more clever applicants, etc!
That being said Tormeads results, by independent school standards, are also pretty damn good, and when I tried to
Interpellate their league table position last year, they’re appeared to sit in the 60’s in the league tables, which is great considering their are many, many hundreds of independent schools in those tables.

So with the results being pretty eve between the Guildford schools, I guess it all comes down to where your DD will be happy, where she fits in and where you think she’ll be herself and grow.... sounds easier when it’s written down, doesn’t it! Good luck making your choice... surely it’s results today/tomorrow?

@GuildfordMum77 same here, lots of excitement and 'planning' going on about who's going to be in who's class..... oh dear! fingers crossed. We're prep also, theres about 10 of them, from what I can tell, that have applied from our school to TM, a few have obviously applied elsewhere too, as you do! Yes not long to go, post is going out as planned by the look of it, it now says it on their website when you sign on. We managed to blag a place on a online open day the other night too, as my husband didnt get to go to any of them before - they are staring to do a few for those looking for the following year. It was a nice reminder of why we liked the place so much, just keeping positive that DD has done well!

@Rosesurrey We’re also at a local prep school, no scholarships for dd unless she pulls a surprise academic out of the bag! How about you? Certainly trying to shield dd from my nerves, although the online chatter between the girls in her year group is getting louder, so she must be aware. Not long to wait now...
@Strandguildford not sure what we would do if we got both - two quite different schools in many respects!

@GuildfordMum77 I know how you feel, although I’m far more nervous than DD!
We’re at a prep school in the area and DD and all her friends are waiting to hear on TM too. I hope they all get to go to the places they want (wherever that’s TM or elsewhere) and take at least a few mates with them too! There’s plenty of good schools locally so they’ll do right wherever they go I’m sure. I have to say though I have been really impressed with the Tormead 11+ process this year, super proactive and professional, makes a couple of others we applied for feel a bit shambolic.... plenty of COVID excuses, but if some got it right, why didn’t the others? If you get into TM send me a PM, in case we do too!
Good mood music about the school at our prep, so fingers are crossed. Are you coming from a prep or state school, are you applying for a scholarship as wel?

@GuildfordMum77 It's been quite a stressful year hasn't it! Don't fret! You could end up with offers from both, and then you'll have another hard decision to make! I guess GHS would be your/DDs favourite if that ends up being the case, given its academic reputation?

@Strandguildford thanks - things can definitely be read in two voices, don’t want to upset anyone in what is already quite a stressful time for multiple reasons! DD has sat Tormead and GHS which in an ordinary year would have been fine, but the goalposts have definitely moved this year. We dropped a couple of others in September, when all looked a bit more predictable, but regret that now. It’s made me super twitchy for the post arriving on Saturday!

@GuildfordMum77 I don’t think anyone took offence to be honest, so don’t worry! :-)
Which Guildford schools have you applied to? Are you just looking at girls’ schools or co-Ed too? You seem keen on Tormead, which (bias alert -my daughters went) is the best balance of city centre school, good results and lovely community.... but the other Guildford girls’ schools are also great in their own similar/differing ways. I’m sure your DD will do well!

Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend by flippantly saying ‘free pass’. I think it was absolutely the right thing to do for the girls, and would have really appreciated the thought process had I been an existing Tormead parent. It affirms my view of the new head, and the school ethos in general, as being fair, measured and supportive - all excellent and appealing qualities that any parent would look for in a school!