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

@EmotiveBubblez We did not look at NHEHS (we are South more than West, if you see what I mean) but have heard good things about it.

We are not applying for scholarships - DD quite musical (good singer, 2 instruments) but I think that the grades required means a small chance of scholarship plus prep and auditions would have added to the stress. Similar story on the art front. I know that some parents are applying for scholarships not so much because they think that the DC will get them but because they want to signal the other interests / abilities that the child has. We are relying on the interviews and reference letter from the school to do that. Hopefully that works.

@secondaryquandries agree on Epsom seeming quite traditional. We also rules out St John's on that basis. Luckily, DD was very much in agreement and was not swayed by the Harry Potter-esque setting!

On the prep front, we are trusting our indie primary and complementing with some Atom Learning / 10-minutes tests (1-2 hours over the weekend). I am loathe to do too much as I think that it is about getting into a school that is the right sustainable fit for her (including on the academic front) rather than getting into a school because of extreme tutoring or preparation that you won't be able to sustain.

@EmotiveBubblez I think that the title can only be changed by the Mumsnet administrators - worth dropping them a line (I think it will have to be you, as the one that stated the thread)

On the GSTD, I agree that they have much going for them (we are applying to 3!) but they are also quite distinct in character (we found Putney more traditional and rigid than WHS for instance, Sutton is very focused on pastoral and individuality, SCHS was quite diverse). We did like WH but not sure how DD will do with their assessment - it is generally considers as the one with more "surprising" results (the first round does not have any English or Maths, just verbal and non-verbal reasoning)

Yes Sat school put us off too. Also got the impression that Epsom is quite traditional, which is not really right for my son either. I loved Emanuel but the work like commute (it would be national rail for us) put us off in the end. Can't wait until this is all over! What are you doing to prep?

@secondaryquandries I so know what you mean.... we are not doing grammar so quite similar to you in numbers, I think. And, like you, a mix of co-ed and single sex [we found, for instance, Woldingham and Ibstock quite similar in certain ways, despite very different location and ethos].
We did consider Epsom (had forgotten about it) too but decided that the whole Saturday morning thing plus the distance put us off. We had almost disregarded Emanuel but ended up liking it more than we thought and it is very close to us, so ended up adding it to list

Quiteajourney we're going for (in addition to grammar) mixed schools KGS and Ibstock. We considered Emanuel and Epsom also but I don't think we will. Then boys only Hampton, KCS Wimbledon and Reeds. It seems a lot but really don't want to end up empty handed!!

@secondaryquandries we have added Emanuel, Harrodian, Streatham and Clapham and Wimbledon High to the list.
so 6 exams - ISEB plus Emanuel, Ibstock, Kingston Grammar, Sutton High and Wimbledon High.
Any one of them would be a good outcome (we agonised other Putney High as very close to us, but decided that we needed to limit exams to a maximum of 6) so all 'favourites' of sort. My daughter is particularly in love with Woldingham and Ibstock (which we both really liked) but we are trying to keep her and our minds open so early in the process [some of my friends have experienced favourites going down/up the list because of the experiences during the selection and offering process]
Have you finalised your list now?

Glad it went well quite a journey. Is it a favourite? Have you decided on your other schools yet?

@1forward2back And thanks for asking, really appreciated. 🤗

@1forward2back It was very informal, like you say, and quite reassuring. A good sign that DD though that it had been shorter in time than it actually was. A good first experience so hopefully helping in getting more confident for others. Next thing we have coming up is interview and creative writing at Woldingham.

@QuiteAJourney How did it go? Was very informal when we did it!

First interview today (Sutton High). DD seems relatively relaxed about it ... it helps that it is online (hence in a familiar environment) and they have made clear that some 10 minutes. Keeping fingers crossed that the first experience goes well.

@secondaryquandries , I personally see no problem at all (in fact, the more, the merrier, imho). @EmotiveBubblez and others might have views and the title might need to be changed by the site moderators.
I think that in previous years there was much more traffic with lots of people sharing views and experiences and there was a case for separate threads, which @EmotiveBubblez kindly mirrored. I see that this year there is less participation, so we might want to reflect that in expanding the thread.

Can boy parents join in here too? We're applying to KGS and Ibstock too! Also some boys only schools.

@hello555 We are still finalising. We are definitely applying to Sutton High, Woldingham, Ibstock Place and Kingston Grammar.
Have visited / considered but not applying to: St John's in Leatherhead, Epsom College and Surbiton
Still considering: Streatham and Clapham, Putney High, Wimbledon High, Harrodian and Emanuel.
We are clear that the upper limit is 5/6 exams (some of the schools we are considering are ISEB)

@QuiteAJourney do you mind saying where else you are applying - your list looks like ours and im struggling to finalise it!

@notputtingtheheatingonyet That is reassuring. As it happens, one of the schools that has asked is a GDST one that may seem less desirable than others, but we really liked it and it has quite a lot going for it, as far as we are concerned (including on the logistics front) so if we got an offer, especially if there was a scholarship involved, it will leapfrog other supposedly more desirable ones!
We have been honest and put all the schools that we were sure, at the point of writing, that we applying for.

I think asking the number of school things is more that the registrars need an idea of how many offers to give out. In past years when children maybe applied to 3 schools they would have a rough idea of how many offers they needed to give to fill their spaces. Now lots of DC apply to 6 schools and up to 12 in some cases (!) it makes it harder for them. They do talk to each other about application numbers in general. My DC were only asked about other schools in one interview and they just said they weren't making a final decision until they had actual offers but that the school in question was 'one of their favourites'! I also know DCs who said that other schools were their favourite in interviews and they still got offers.

@bjmin , one hopes that they only do it in terms of trying to estimate the number of offers over spaces in the school. Interestingly, it seems to be the GDST ones asking (at least as far as I know), so I wonder whether there is also something in it as they are part of the same 'family'.

Rightly or wrongly, they will often rank them academically and if their school is on the bottom of the list, they will assume they are the safety. I completely agree with you and I do not think they should even ask that question. I think it's even worse when they ask the kids during the interview. That said, I've had admissions office people tell me this. Frustrating.

@bjmin , I appreciate that this might be their thinking but I that it makes quite a few assumptions. All our applications are genuine (we would not be spending over £100 applying otherwise) but it is fair to say that like others, some are our favourite. I cannot see how anyone can see from a list whether a school is a 'back up' or not unless that they assume that the less academic ones are the ones that are bottom of our list - which is not the case!