SW London Private and Grammar - applying for year 7 in 2023 (part V)

Leh waitlist here too! Hopefully things will move a lot after the Tiffin results.

Feeling a bit despondent tbh. After Putney and LEH waitlist think it’s highly unlikely we will get WHS or Tiffins.

@Gumps I will call for feedback later today.

I know I need to get a grip as we do have Surbiton but still feel a bit sad to let her down.

We do really like Surbiton. I suppose it’s just not nice to get a no….

I think that's a fair post. I only mentioned the maths because I think that was mentioned in the earlier posts. My DS has also been very happy at his school and they have a rich and broad extra-curricula offering but can't match the facilities or some of the provision of prep schools. He's been bored in maths since year 4 since there is a lot of repetition, but he's continued to love many of the other subjects like history and the various special projects they do from time to time. Just like with secondary, unfortunately the state primary experience is quite dependent on the individual school. We're switching to private for secondary now and I frequently question if it's worth it - I hope so because it is a lot of money! Whether it is or not, I expect I will convince myself that it is because the thought of throwing away close on £200k is too unbearable (or twice that once you add his sibling 😅)

@GQ22 Ah in this bit I think is the main difference:

"But the support we've received from the school, even the simple fact that all of DS's friends are going through the journey together is a huge factor."

At state primary there is absolutely no support whatsoever from the school. In fact almost active resistance in our case (to missing a bit of school here and there to sit exams etc). And no one to compare notes with. But that's not really an issue going forward, just for the meantime.

@drizzledon Yes that's fair enough I think!

@Ernern Tiffin is what we are hoping for too. Never mind the wait until this week, March 1st seems absolutely ENDLESS wait no!?

@SamPoodle123 Ditto with the SAT top marks. I had to laugh when her last report had her in "at expected standard" rather than "exceeds expectations" when she literally gets 100% for every maths and arithmetic test... Again it's the school state system isn't it? Have to show improvement, so it's no good being there already...!

Different strokes. It depends on where you see the value add and if it is worthwhile. I definitely agree you can do all the 11+ yourself on top of a state primary education. I will never disagree with you on that. My point is that it's reductive to put it simply in terms of Maths and English.

We've come out the end of this experience (well... the end is tomorrow hopefully but still...) thinking that we probably could have done the academics side ourselves at state, it would definitely have been cheaper!

But the support we've received from the school, even the simple fact that all of DS's friends are going through the journey together is a huge factor. The biggest thing though is DS's experience, within two terms he loved the school. His descriptions were that his previous school was always "boring" and now, even though the prep is "still school", there is always something to look forward to. He's massively developed his confidence, now performs upwards of 10 times a year in front of a public audience through the school and values learning more than he did before.

Is that worth £14k a year and the risk of him becoming a self-entitled brat? Everyone will have their own take, for us right now it is a yes, but ask me again later as I'll probably change my mind on it every 10 years.

Already done :) I only live round the corner so I might go and camp outside!

Yes, this is so boring for my dd who already gets perfect scores for SATs mocks they do at school.

Ah yes, I agree with this. My dd prepared for the 11+ so closed the gaps needed.

Sorry about your WL but the list will definitely move, write them and tell them how keen you are.

And I agree about the unfortunate drilling and focus on prep for the Sats in year 6 which is why we've opted for a secondary that starts in year 6

While the teaching will depend from state school to state school, my point was not that the teaching at state and private is the same but that state school children entering academically selective schools will not be behind their private school peers given they've had to pass the same exams to get there.

You do need to prep with a tutor for state secondary to get familiar with exams and the types of Maths questions they will confront. But that is all. The prep school students are getting tutors anyway most of the time. The Maths at state primary covers everything and then it is just exam practice that's needed. Prep schools are way overrated.

Thank you.

For LEH, it definitely has more to offer in terms of the school resources, financially we will be extremely stretched though it's not impossible.

Tiffin's Girls is free and the school does seem to be doing progressingly well in all fronts including pastoral care (from hearsay). So we definitely will wait till 1 March...

I wonder if any parents would have two daughters studying in both schools before and are able to share their real experience.

I would agree that State (where DD is) are far more focussed on the basics and on getting the less able kids up to a standard that then reflects well in their SATs, which is the primary focus of Y6 teaching. That is important for the school, if not the actual kids.

Where DD is, she's not learned anything new really in maths for several years and is bored out of her mind most of the time. She's lucky that recently she's had a great teacher who gives her "stretch" work and the 11 plus tutoring she had got her up to scratch and on a level playing field. Without that, she would not be.

It's not that the teaching is worse, it's simply different priorities. As someone else said below, for the prep school kids who we know, many of them basically finished the curriculum in y5 and spend y6 focussing on 11 plus prep (not all, but certainly vast majority). Whereas in State it is not considered in any way their job or responsibility to coach 11 plus (as why should it, when most kids won't even sit one. My DD is the only kid in the entire of her two form entry school who sat a private school exam, and only 3 or 4 sat Grammar exam.).

The email didn’t fill me with hope. No personalisation or idea of where we are on the waiting list. Too early to ring?

Just got out waitlist email too

Our state school is a year behind. It is true. We had to get a tutor to fill the gaps for math and do some Atom learning. All the dc have to do some sort of prep to pass the exams. It would be extremely rare for a dc not to prep for the exams at all. And our my dd state school she said the repeat a lot of what they have learned.

Got it. Wait list here. Tbh what I was expecting.

No email or post here. Presume the emails were a yes and everyone else still waiting?

State school parents do not worry about Maths. I have experience of an average state primary and a super academic prep. Hand on heart the Maths taught in state was superior as they introduced Maths Mastery in 2016 and this provides excellent grounding for deeper Maths work. It's showing in my now year 8 child who is at a state secondary in top Maths set. The gap is closing between state and private schools in primary and secondaryies. If your child ends up at a private secondary school they in no way will be disadvantaged amongst prep children. In fact they did not have the hassle of disrupted schooling in their later primary years.
Good luck everyone!

Ask the Dad to check his email.

It's an awkward one really. We moved from state to prep in Y4 and regularly compare notes with parents from the previous school. Some things are very different, other things are not.

In terms of curriculum I don't think state kids are taught less than prep kids for Maths and English by the end of Y6. But in our prep they finished the Y6 curriculum in Y5, and then spent the last term of Y5 and first term of Y6 massively focused on 11+ prep. They've not so much moved on as have just drilled the KS2 curriculum into them. I agree it's not what many would want for their child, but the key is in the name - it's a preparatory school, to prepare them specifically for these exams. What we have heard from our old friends at state is that their kids are all now being drilled for SATs though, so I do wonder how different some of these schools are on Maths and English.

All that said on other subjects, personal development and co-curricular pursuits the difference is honestly as stark as they come, almost incomparable. Maths and English in the end only comes up to about 2 hours of the school day.

congratulations 🥳. Are you going to wait for Tiffin result?

@Workhar no emails here so I’m guessing another waitlist 😞