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

I think we all agree that it is a family decision - school can provide (just) guidance, both in terms of ambition of different options but also what you might be able to mitigate risks (e.g. expanding list) and also addressing concerns.
Hopefully you get support from the school.

@Justonecat Can I just ask, is DD at prep school or state primary?

We are speaking with the school this afternoon but it is a family decision above all, we have to do what we think is right for dd

I believe these exams measure the level of preparedness above all and dd simply isn’t there yet regardless of whatever potential she may have. I don’t want to set dd up for disappointment. We will probably keep one of the Hammersmith schools just so dd feels we still believe in her, which we do - it’s not her fault that we haven’t been able to provide her with the level
of support required. We were naive in thinking her cat scores and some encouragement from the school was a reliable indicator of success in the more challenging 11+ exams. We have friends who are similar to
dd AND who have several different specialist tutors who are guiding them through this process - we can’t possibly match that.

I am not suggesting this level of preparation is necessary, you can probably do it yourself if you know what you are doing and have the time do devote to it, but we didn’t start in time

@Justonecat Definitely worth liaising with the school before pulling out of any schools, especially if the exams are coming with others. Sorry if that is not the case, but quite tricky to comment without specifics on your list / what you are considering adding.

@Justonecat I definitely wouldn't be junking any schools at this point. And definitely not without liaising with the school first. I totally understand if you're panicking a bit, and do understand how you feel, but if your DD ends up sailing through the exams she sits, you'll forever regret pulling her out of the Hammersmith schools exams.

Thanks, that sounds like a really sensible plan. We’ve also decided to add more consortium options and will scrap at least two of the Hammersmith schools, there is no point pursuing them at this point.

@Justonecat stay strong.
We have also found useful to do less formal learning and variety of things which might be 'learning in disguise' (e.g. brain puzzles, which my DD really likes, or reading The Week Junior together). We have kept some activities going but not too much as this whole period is quite tiring.
Rooting for you and your DD and already looking forward to a message from you some months down the line telling us about the offers.

Thank you!

I think you have had excellent advice here. I would add, do not panic! You said your daughter had good CAT scores and that your school suggested Hammersmith schools. They would not have done this, if they did not think she had a good chance. Schools looks at tests scores, school reports and interview. It is a bigger picture.
As long as you have a range of schools on your list, she will get a place. Work with her, keep her calm and encourage her (I'm sure you are already doing this!).
Wishing you daughter lots of luck. X

@Justonecat Also, if you have a range of schools /exams remember that not EVERY day will be an off day...

Agree but if the day is not fully off, a range might help. Also, different schools give different weight to exam vs interview / other assessments vs school report. We are following that approach with the ISEB.

@Justonecat Notting Hill and Ealing High School. Obviously all consortium schools will look for different results on the exam, and NHEHS won't be - I suspect - as hard as G&L.

Which school is that, I can’t figure out the acronym 😊

None not nine, sorry!

We have a range of schools but if dd is having a really off day nine of it is going to work. We will focus on supporting her as best we can in the remaining weeks, and will keep our fingers crossed

@Justonecat Not sure where you're based by NHEHS would also be a good Consortium school to add - not least because they interview everyone, and it's less competitive to get into (fewer applicants) but had great results this year. I went on an open day and thought the girls seemed really nice!

@Justonecat if doing Consortium, have you considered St Augustine Priory, SJSS and/or FHSS? Sorry if they are already in your list (I could only see a reference to the Hammersmith schools).

I can’t figure dd out, I think she is capable on some level and I think she will do fine over time but to be honest I am not convinced she has the necessary level of polish and preparedness to be successful in the more competitive exams. I think putting those schools in the mix may have derailed dd slightly. I will definitely have a word with the school to see what they think.

@Justonecat If she's already doing G&L, I would put down one more Consortium school, just for peace of mind. Hopefully you won't need it. You haven't said yet whether you've shared concerns with the school? They will have seen this ALL before and I would be amazed if they don't have some strategies and advice to help you and DD through the next couple of months. If they're suggesting she applies to SPGS and G&L she must be very capable, so will want to help you both navigate your way through this blip.

We did not keep that pace, from September and on it’s been mainly school homework with a few extras on the weekend, but I suppose it all adds up anyways.

That’s really interesting, thanks for sharing

We always thought that aiming for realistic options is the way to go, perhaps add a stretch option, but otherwise we don’t want to aim wildly outside of our children’s comfort zones. Our older children all got in to the schools we were aiming for - it sounds very silly to describe any central London school as less academic as they are all excellent, but our other daughter is in what some would refer to as a less academic school. It’s great, it’s perfect for her and what we had at the top of the list at the time. The other exam prep process was relatively pain free.

Dd2, who is sitting exams this year, is a funny one, she is a good student who works hard and is also good at cats, but now that we are doing practise papers at home I have realised that her performance is incredibly uneven (until recently when it seems to have stabilised at an atrocious level…). The school suggested she try the Hammersmith schools as they think she would thrive so we fell for the temptation and registered her for those but now it looks like she would be lucky to get into her backup options (hate calling any school a backup but you know what I mean).

@LondonMum20222 thanks for the tips, we will try doing a couple of exams with her, that makes a lot of sense. It’s also hard to fit in the time as she is tired after school and her activities, so it really only leaves the weekends.

@Justonecat the chat with the school is crucial. Have they done any mocks at school and, if so, how is she doing there? And also, what is the relative standard of your chosen schools? My DD's teacher for instance mentioned that, although a certain (rather academic) school has challenging papers, a 70-75% mark would usually take you through final interview... used to Bond papers where 80% seems to be the benchmark, that was quite eye opening.

@Justonecat One other thought then. My DD also suffers from careless mistakes. The thing we're finding helps is rather than leave her to do papers by herself, to sit with her and do them with her, so we are making her pause and read the question carefully, effectively "training" not to rush and to check answers etc. She's found it super helpful and - more to the point - enjoys it much more than being left to plough through papers on her own. At this stage, I would just spend a couple of weeks building your DD's confidence. What have the school said?
Really interesting re Atom. It's so frustrating that they have the monopoly on so many school entrance tests when the platform is so flawed...