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Original poster

Entrance exam for West London schools - how hard?

28 replies

Hihellohi · 03/03/2023 12:26

Hi everyone

my Daughter will be applying for Sept 2024 entry to a number of schools in west London:
G&L
Latymer
NHEHS
Francis Holland
LEH

for the girls (boys who did Latymer too) how hard is the exam?
Do you think these choices are all too intense?

I would really like my daughter to get into the first three, and she’s really smart but makes silly mistakes in homework/workbooks which she only she’s after and that costs her marks.

are these too ambitious?

TIA for any advice

OP posts:
SamPoodle123 · 03/03/2023 13:20

My dd will be going to G&L this September. My advice to you, is have your dd do atom learning to get an idea of her mock scores. Even if you only do it for a couple months, it will help you get an idea of where she stands. Also, just because she does not reach the scores at the start, does not mean all is lost. It really depends also if she is prepared or not. If she comes from state school, she needs a tutor to help cover what is not being covered in time for the exam because state schools are one year behind private (my dd is in state school). We got a tutor end of May in year 5 and she start atom learning at the same time. Atom suggests mock scores of 125+ for G&L and I think it was 122+ for Latymer?

justanotherdaduser · 03/03/2023 13:16

This post has the average cat score of DDs who received offers from various London girls' indies. (Scroll up for coed data)

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/4749433-cat-scores-required-for-sw-london-boyscoed-independent-schools?msgid=124146983#124146983

Even if you don't have the average cat score for your DD, it will give a rough idea of how selective the school are relative to each other

It's three years old data though and some places may have become more competitive, but relative position in table hasn't changed much probably

justanotherdaduser · 03/03/2023 13:04

I am unfamiliar with Latymer and LEH, but based on the others, I think it's a good list due to the range of selectivity covered

G&L is probably the hardest (about 1 in 10 get in I think?) - so let's say that's your 'aspirational' choice. Probably Latymer too sits here.

Target schools then are NHEHS and FH. Though NHEHS is more selective I believe (sorry, don't have the numbers, they don't publish how many apply). NHEHS reject a lot after interviews which are bit of a hit and miss and luck plays a role there. And both the FH schools have become much more competitive in recent years.

I feel you need a banker choice, a good school where your DD has a very high chance of getting a place. Will St Augustine (in Ealing) suit? It's less selective than NHEHS. We didn't consider it because it's a faith school (catholic), but otherwise there is a lot going for it and I have heard very good things about it.

Is LEH your banker choice? (Sorry, don't know anything about it)

Lastly if you have a cat score for DD it's easier to decide, but I am guessing you don't since you are posting here?