SW London boys 11+ 2022 entry

Good question @Gettingcloser21 my DS sat it last week at his school, but we have friends whose DS’s are sitting on the 6th at the school. I’m estimating before Xmas hols? Gives some notice time before the second stage?

Hello all, did anyone sit the Hampton 11+ today? ds had his heart set on the school but found the maths paper hard and missed a lot of questions, which I suspect will put him out of the running as it’s so competitive! Sounds like they really made it a supportive experience for the boys though. Wondering how others found it?

Does anyone know roughly when St Paul’s issue the stage 1 results? There doesn’t seem to be much news on this although I know the latest date for completing the ISEB is 6 Dec.

Suspect they will make quite a few more than 75 offers for 60 places. Despite being ‘top tier’ they are still competing with quite a few other schools.

DS finished the ISEB today. Not sure NVR went that well, but he did feel he got some challenging questions in the others, which I’m taking as a good sign.

Thanks @Jumpalicious, that makes sense - I assume they make say 75 or so offers, so call back about twice as many.

@Gettingcloser21, I agree the English is not easy to do well. I suspect it’s not just about the marks, but also about how they express themselves and convey their ideas.

Also, it’s possible the VR paper could contain some of the types of multiple choice questions others include in their English papers, given that they set it themselves.

I believe around 150 are called for interview. Ultimately, 60 boys join in year 7.

I don’t think the English is easy. I think it stretches the children on vocabulary and understanding of the text. I am doubtful as to whether KCS expect full marks on any of their papers. The benchmark will surely depend on how the cohort performs. Does anyone recall how many pupils are called back for interview? I recall 600 odd usually sit the exam.

For instance, Dulwich and City of London Boys are both much more difficult (even city of london english exam is multiple choice, many answers are very similar and hard to pick, while KCS paper is more about retrieving facts/words etc, and seems easier to grasp).

City of London Girls' papers are even far more difficult. Wonder what scores are they expecting, or do they expect girls to do much better?

@WCC1985, which schools are you comparing it to? While the maths wasn’t as hard as I (or DS) was expecting, I didn’t think it was easy either. I think the English paper is actually a good test of understanding and analysis and the long answers would give plenty of room to differentiate between boys.

Thanks for resurrecting this thread, slight name change I can't work out how to get back into the other account. We've got Hampton coming up this weekend. Then Emanuel and KCL next week. Whitgift the week after. Only KGS left to do in January and that's done from home.

I have also looked at the English paper of KCS. It is also relatively easy compared with many other schools. Given KCS is in the top tier, wonder what mark would they be expecting ?

I have looked at the KCS specimen math paper. Is it a bit easy compared with most other schools, and so does it imply they expect almost full score?

Thanks for responding. 20 minutes is short to think/plan are write. I think the specimen only required two paragraphs to be written which should be doable in 20 mins…I hope.

We also have ISEBs this week and then on to KCS on 3 Dec and Latymer on 11 Jan. I agree re the gap before the Jan exams, although most are doing theirs in December I think.

@Gettingcloser21, hope you found the answer to your question when KCS published their specimen papers. I think the creative writing is only 20 mins, but balanced by some rather long comprehension questions.

Hi. As the boys start their entrance processes, I thought it would be a good idea to revive this thread.

How are your DS’s doing? My DS is writing the ISEB this week, then has the KCS entrance tests in early December. I think the fact that some schools are doing Nov/Dec assessments and some reverting back to early January makes it really tough on the boys.

We are applying for the SW London independent schools and I wondered if anyone knew how long the composition/essay writing for KCS is. Having looked at some of their older specimen papers, is it only 30 mins?

Ooh and she’s female!

@0ldandgrey good tip regarding exam technique - our DS was (in hindsight) ill prepared with regard to such things. I think we will have to do some practice papers over December to refine this.

I’d like to think our primary will cover the syllabus by the time of the exams, however due to lockdowns and homeschooling, they only started Yr 5 syllabus for maths when they returned in March. At parents evening recently, our class teacher was clear that they were still behind but were planning to catch up by the time the SATs come around. So I think there will be some topics to cover. It may depend on the school however.

Anyone considering the state Grammar schools in Sutton/ Kingston?

Hi @Sweetnhappy put it this way, we haven’t discounted yet as an option. We’re prepping (still DIY) with a slow and steady attitude and will take a decision based on where we are nearer the application deadline. In the meantime I’m trying to learn more about the whole process from other MNers as none of our peer group has experience and we were quite naive!

One of the biggest revelations has been the level of tutoring, but aside from that has been the fact that the academic level required is higher than DS will ever cover at his state by the time the exams come round.

Hi @Sweetnhappy, thanks for starting this thread.

We’re also considering schools in SW London and Surrey. It has been very difficult to get a feel for the schools from virtual information sessions, so would be especially helpful to hear from current parents. RGS Guildford is also on the list, so would be good to hear from parents there too.

We finally had an in person tour this week (Reigate Grammar School). It was a parent leading us round, and she was too on message for us to get the sort of feel for the school we’d have got from a current pupil, but it was still so much better than anything virtual.