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Original poster

11+ or 13+ for boys

29 replies

11or13 · 08/01/2022 11:10

Hi, I’m sure this has been asked before but wanted to ask recent experiences of choosing whether to send boys to senior schools at 11 or 13. Any advice, regrets, things we might not have thought of?

DS is currently Y5 at prep school and we have to decide a) what schools to apply to and b) whether to go at 11 or 13.

He’s academically very capable, CATs around 133, so will likely go to quite a selective school. Our focus is on day schools, probably quite big ones, and we are wondering about advice on going at 11 v 13. Most seem to take around 15% of their total intake at 13.

Some of the benefits of going at 11 we’ve heard include:

  • Better socially to settle when everyone starts at 11, also good to get into sports teams etc
  • More diverse and engaging curriculum as not restricted by need to study for CE, good for children who enjoy learning
  • Better teaching as secondary teachers more equipped to deal with older children than prep
  • No need to take another stressful set of exams at 13
  • Broader range of facilities, clubs, teams and activities to get involved in before the hard work for GCSEs set in around Y9 (most of the clubs at our prep school aren’t great tbh)
  • Avoid the “big fish / small pond” syndrome that sometimes happens at preps when they outgrow the school

Benefits of going at 13:

  • Better for late bloomers (DS is not one of these, he’s doing really well now) especially as tend to stay in small groups for longer
  • CE a good chance to develop exam skills
  • Entrants into day schools at 13 often well academically prepared so go into top sets etc
  • Opportunity to be “top of the school” at prep school with responsibilities eg head boy, common room, prefects etc
  • Keeps them a little more nurtured for longer
  • Easier to get a place as less people applying

We’d welcome any suggestions. Of course we’ve talked to the school but they are very pro boarding and pro Common Entrance, as you’d expect for their business model, so to be honest I find it hard to believe they completely have our interests at heart. They are very anti 11+ and in many cases anti-day schools as a result.

Thanks in advance for any help that people can give!

OP posts:
Original poster
11or13 · 08/01/2022 13:31

@sunshineclouds24 that’s really interesting thank you, how did your DS find the entry there at 11? Did he find it big, or easy to settle?

OP posts:
sunshineclouds24 · 08/01/2022 12:10

It's very difficult but I can say my ds is at Hampton, he went there at 11 because his prep finished at 11. The ds who joined at 13 fitted in straight away and with in 2 weeks you couldn't tell who had joined at what point. The main pointers to the prep school 13 boys were better at Latin and took places in the cricket teams.
In my ds's year at Hampton there are 12 x ds from 1 prep in Richmond that joined at 13.
Tiffin makes a difference at 11 because so many offers Hampton makes are turned down for Tiffin so you get more movement on the waitlist.

Original poster
11or13 · 08/01/2022 11:28

We are SW London. Our school told us it’s easier to get a space at 13 than at 11 as there are less people applying for places at 13. They told us around 5:1 people per place at 11 and 3:1 at 13. Although that could be part of the incentive to keep us there longer!

Also the only grammars are Tiffin and Sutton, I don’t know anyone applying for them but maybe that’s as we are already in independent sector?

We have realised that our school is almost entirely 13+ focused, they really don’t ask very much of the boys at the moment at all but seem to have all the right relationships in place to get the places at 13.

My question really is what best for our child though, I think he’d have a very good shot at getting a good place at 11, so would it be better for us to do that than stay to 13? Interested in experiences people have had at both entries.

OP posts:
sunshineclouds24 · 08/01/2022 11:20

@11or13 , it would help if you can say where you are based. In SW London there are some preps that are really 13 plus focused as their whole business model is based on it. It's quite hard as a parent to go against their teaching structure. The preps also have links with some of the secondary schools to ensure there will some spaces at 13.
But yes it's easier to get a place at age 11 as there are more spaces and also In SW London Tiffin & the other grammars taking the top ability dc at 11 out of the pool of candidates.