11+ Exams - Are we being realistic? / Waiting List offers

I honestly don't think there are any back up options these days.

Yes thank you @LoveMyADHD!

They did say though they get about 600 applications for about 45 kids (girls and boys) so it’s very very popular ! Definitely not a back up in a any way!

@QuiteAJourney good luck hope your DD gets in!!!

@secondaryquandries oh yes.. think marble bathrooms for the kiddies! 😂

@LoveMyADHD thanks for sharing your views.

Ooh we're nowhere near Harrodian but I like the sound of a spa school , for me that is, especially after all this 11+ malarkey!

Also and I really hope it doesn’t come across in a bad way but for us it felt like a salon/spa rather than a school

Nor for us but definitely an amazing place for other families x

It looks lovely and has some amazing facilities but visiting it and also knowing two families that go there , it wouldn’t suit my son who needs pushing .. if left to himself in a chilled relaxed environment he ll do Nothing! Nada!

also I spent a whole hour going around the school and it was clear it was lacking the presence of a variety of cultures .. it also gave off the “lots of money” feel which is just not us.
It was though a lovely, caring school so definitely worth visiting …

Interested in views on Harrodian too. ISEB was a big factor for us but we actually liked it on visit (our DD is quite into music and art, sports not being a big thing)

That’s what a lot of people say about it. We didn’t apply based on what DS said and now sort of regret it as it’s fairly local. I’d be interested to hear more too.

KGS for us. Then Emanuel, then tricky but prob Kew...

What are everyone's to choices at the moment?

We have also applied to Harrodian, mainly just because it's ISEB and it's fairly local. I couldn't quite put my finger on how I felt about it after visiting. What specifically about it didn't you like?

@Twickmum1 probably wiser choice you made as your kid can focus on them rather than a batch of them . I’m pretty sure you’re doing more than enough for him!! We are doing what we can for them, and no one has a clue if we’re doing the right thing… we just get on with it … it’s amazing to know we re not alone though , it’s such a crap process , it’s just so hard to explain to anyone who hasn’t gone through this 💩

@Geville i love your DS! My son (shallow as he typically is) loved Harrodian and how the lady was going on about the pool parties 🙄💃

DS played Harrodian recently at football and said the same thing. "I'm not going there Mum". He said the cafe was great but everything else was awful. Good to know he is a good judge of schools at the tender age of 11 😂

Just 3 for us - KGS, Radnor and Emanuel. I thought I was doing DS a favour - but now starting to panic that I haven’t done enough. But I think the panic is a natural part of the process and fully believe that all will unfold as it’s meant to. Just hard to hold your nerve!

@Claphamrise 9 for us but some under same ISEB … We re quite central (Kew House, St Benedict) and sadly competition is fierce even for these type of indies 😞

we saw Harrodian the other day and was so taken aback by the whole setting we pray to God he doesn’t get in (can’t believe I’m saying this!) 😖

Thanks, seems a lot! So many exams for young children and I am sure they stop feeling any adrenaline after the first 2-3. We are no different and applying to more schools than I would like, but nothing seems a certainty this year.

Going by the conversation in the threat on SW Girls Grammar and Private (which actually also covers boys!), quite a few people are applying to 6, with most people in the 5-8 range.

www.mumsnet.com/talk/secondary/4643252-sw-london-girls-private-grammar-applying-for-year-7-in-2023?page=14&reply=121550387

How many schools is everyone sitting? We had two last week, two this week, and another 2 in January. Seems like a lot but at least they are very spaced out.

@Geville you obviously hace some inside knowledge that I lack...

My comment was just informed by the fact that even very popular schools get rejections - children getting offers from WHS, for instance, may also have offers from LU, SPGS, and the like. Going by my DD's indie, only some 50 percent of offers from even very popular schools get accepted. Whether that means the school offers more at the start or offers less but dips into the waiting list, it means that more than the number of spaces available get a chance (eventually).

They’d over offered a year previously and had to put on an extra class. it caused much annoyance with the parents so such a generous number as you’ve stated didn’t apply. Very few were taken from the waiting list and so there were a lot that never had a chance. Of course you can’t know this until it happens but with very popular schools they aren’t going to run deep into their waiting lists as they don’t have to. For many applying it’s their first or second choice.

If they had 60 spaces they would hace probably offered some 120-150 places, so 250 interviews actually gives you quite good odds of an offer.

Thanks for lovely messages for DS all - I warned him he has to firmly refuse any juices or fruits at Emanuel 😭

we d love to sit for Claremont but we re bit too far ….

good luck for all those sitting Friday!
we still have 4 schools to go with Ibstock on Wednesday as we couldn’t sit it this weekend and from what I hear it ll be another disaster - who the hell knows what to do to survive this crap!

Our only hope is that they said in the video for Emanuel they invite back 2/3 of the candidates - so that would be what - about 700 kids?! Really? (I'm assuming 1000 are applying or more). That's a lot of kids to run group assessments for.

I remember some years ago WHS did something similar - they invited back 250 girls from 750 - so top third - but they only had 60 spaces - and they chose mostly, apparently, based on the results of the test. The bottom 190 never really stood a chance.

So perhaps this is just false hope again on my part....

Que sera sera...