SW London Girls' Private & Grammar - applying for year 7 in 2023

From some children we’ve met on tours they do seem to travel a long way. The sites not too far from stations would they work? (If SWR behaves grrr)

@KindergartenKop I said exactly the same to my DS about Tiffin second stage. It was always going to be hard. I think it's because he found the maths and English equally difficult. It would be incredible if he was offered a place on allocation day though. We're looking for bursary places with the indies which makes it even more difficult. His sibling is on a bursary at a selective indie but got Tiffin as her state school offer.

@confu5ed I haven't seen the new site for Kneller, only visited the Radnor site. I wouldn't send him to Radnor as it is because it's a bit small, he needs a bigger pond. The expansion is therefore attractive to me and it seems likely that most who apply will get a place because they need to fill the school. Additionally, we have another child so our outlook is probably a 10 year one rather than 5-7 years so the redevelopment is less of a concern.

Trouble is it's a long bus journey from here. It's probably an hour in bad traffic. Is that unfair on a Y7 kid?

@Daydreamscometrue I did tell him that it being hard was the whole point! I wouldn't want him to be in a competitive school like that if he's right at the bottom ability wise so I'm not going to be distraught if he doesn't pass! Although the ££££ back in my pocket would be nice!

Hi all, my DS is sitting 6 exams. He's done one independent exam so far and the rest are in Nov/Dec and one in Jan. He passed for Tiffin but also found the second round hard @KindergartenKop It seems most found it hard. People in the exam with him said the same and left questions in the maths.

@kindergartencop I agree that through to the second stage of tiffin I would think would = an offer at KGS and most other private schools. But that may be wishful thinking as my son sat tiffin and didn't get through to stage 2!

@confu5ed , thanks for the reply. Not ISEB any longer - the website does not give much information beyond saying that there will be NVR and VR, so wondering about format.

@KindergartenKop We are also at a state primary and also applying to Kneller/Radnor. DD is dyslexic (recently diagnosed) and I really liked Radnor for that reason. Did you have a look at the external area at Kneller? I was a bit surprised at how much work is required and how long it may take and that has put be off a little, but the general ethos of Radnor still really appeals to me! We have gone for such a range!

If it's any help at all, DD1 was doing well at State Primary and got plenty of offers from really good schools. If your DS has got through to the second stage of Tiffin then I would say that is a really really good sign that he's going to do well in the other schools, just from experience of DD1 and her year going through the process.

@QuiteAJourney when DD1 sat WHS it was ISEB and I don't think it is anymore? It's not one we're applying to this time around. So sadly I don't think we have any insights that would help.

@confu5ed I have found it tricky to really work out where my DS sits in the cohort. State primary just tells you that they're reaching 'expected' or 'above expected' standard. But what does that even mean? What are KGS looking for? Or other schools?

We are applying for Radnor House/Kneller Hall among others. Is anyone else looking at this school?

@confu5ed , we are in a similar place to you re: number of schools and approach. We have 8 schools, 3 being ISEB.

On a different topic, any experience / insights on WHS tests? I know that they have both NVR and VR. Do they allocate a time to do all NVR and then all VR? Or do they do timed subsets within each category? My DD can get quite panicky on some times of NVR and tends to 'compensate time-wise' with the others where she is more comfortable.

@QuiteAJourney He said the 2nd round was very hard though, so I'm not holding my breath!

@secondaryquandries I now think 6 is too many but it's too late! I have a second child in y3 and will probably play or differently next time. In September I was paranoid about not getting a place at all though!

@KindergartenKop welcome!! We also applied to KGS for our DD. I think it's a bit of a stretch for her but we would be so happy if she got a place, or even an interview to give her a boost for the next lot of exams.

We have gone for 9 schools, which I know is probably too many but we've panicked a bit due to DD being a bit hit and miss with exams. Three are ISEB though.

We have a jam packed exam weekend at the end of Nov and then a mid week one and then another busy weekend at the beginning of Dec.

DD1 went through the process a couple of years ago and we're definitely finding it more stressful this time around.

Good luck to everyone, it's nice to be sharing the journey on here! x

@KindergartenKop welcome and join us on the 'journey'!
If your DS is through second stage for Tiffin that is already a good sign!
KGS seems to have been very popular this year (I think about 1/3 of our prep must have applied). We did apply too but I am not holding my breath.

We have ended up applying to six too!
6 exams plus one group assessment and one short online exam between early nov - 9th Dec.

If you get through the 5 of the schools have interviews. One in Nov. Other 4 in Jan. One is online and guaranteed regardless of exam performance.

Hi Kindergarten cop- Great film!

I've been lurking on here for a bit. Hi everyone! I am the owner of a DS. I'm hoping for KGS or Tiffin but have applied to some (too many) others as well.

It's a bit stressful and I'm feeling guilty about all the time he'll have off school for all these exams and interviews!

Very happy to be open - whole point of this exercise is to help and support each others along the way ... and sharing information is key to that.
Of course I do not know if we have gone down the right path - only time will tell. But I remember last year reading posts from those people that we open about their options, thinking and ups and downs and found them both refreshing and informative. So hopefully we can collectively do the same for others...

@QuiteAJourney Huge thanks for sharing that. It's super helpful. And I will DM you too now.

@LondonMum20222, very happy to share (also, feel free to DM me)

We are doing 6 distinct processes which translates into

• 3 schools with ISEB (November) and interview and/or group exercise scattered between November and January
• 1 school (Sutton) with one exam in November plus interview (actually in October)
• 2 x school with exam in November or early December and interview in January if you go through the exam filter
• 1 school (Ibstock) with 2 exams, one in late November and the other one in December
• 1 school (WHS) with exam in November and another test (not sure what it would entail as talk is of 'group exercise testing thinking and skills') in January if DD goes through the first stage

So far, DD seems fine (fingers crossed). We have a glut of activity in early November and will have another one on w/c 22nd November as we have ISEB and first stage of Ibstock ...some of our friends have that plus PHS (all in one week).

When deciding we had an indication of when some exams were going to be. Also, she is unlikely to go to second stage with all of them. And, finally, some exams and tests seem less intense than others (not only differences in intensity but also in terms of length of time and even environment, not the same to do a test with another 12 children as to go into a kind of melee with hundreds of kids in attendance).

@QuiteAJourney Today you're a third of the way through, in a couple of weeks you'll be half the way through! I can only imagine how interminable it must feel at the moment though. I'm pretty sure that this time next year, I'll just be wishing the weeks away until Feb half term when it's all over and we know the outcome.
Can I ask your advice re number of exams? Everyone talks about number of schools to apply to - usually 4, or 5 max - but that could be quite a range in terms of actual exams. All those schools could have their own, bespoke, two-exam process, and your DD could end up sitting 8 or even 10 exams (assuming they got through to second round). Or you could apply to 4 Consortium schools and only sit one exam. Obviously those are two ends of the spectrum - nobody wants to put all their eggs in one basket, but equally 8 or 10 feels like a lot. I'd love to hear how your DD is finding the exam spread so far, and whether you feel you've got it about right. (On our current thinking re schools, I think we'd have a similar number of exams to you - min 5, max 7, between Sept and Jan, and never more than 3 in a month).

Just wondering whether others have started exams and how they are going?
We are 2 exams down (Sutton and KGS) and 4 to go (including ISEB), and have also done 2 interviews, one group exercise and 2 creative writing exercises. I feel that we are roughly 1/3 through it but, my, weeks are passing slowly.

Agree, best to take all things into account when selecting the right schools, not just exam results.

Sunday Times groups A-level and GCSE results by multiple grades. If they reported just A* and 9's then the spread would be more noticeable. But really there's so much more to these schools to take into consideration.

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