Anyone heard from Tiffin Boys Sixth Form - interviews?

I believe everyone has received a wait list letter. So in reality,there is no actual waiting list in any sort of order. They will just see if there are any dropouts or under performing applicants after GCSE results and offer up some places based on who has applied with highest actual grades in available subjects.

" I can’t actually believe every child who has been offered a place obtained all 9’s in their mocks?"

They didn't need to. The criteria is predicted grades, not mock grades. (They only ask for the mock grades to help validate the predicted grades).

Although my daughter has been waitlisted she won’t be going to Tiffin. She is keen to stay at her school. I can’t actually believe every child who has been offered a place obtained all 9’s in their mocks? My daughter obtained all 8’s and 2 9’s. Yes she was keen to study maths but also French and History 🤔

Hi, we also got the waiting pool email. Yes, will be interesting to know how many people usually get in via the waitlist pool? DD's choice is Maths plus 2 humanities

I know three other local kids, one girl and two boys who got the letter, all in our school - not sure if their parents are on MN :)

It's frankly all too subjective... teachers and schools are so different in the way they predict grades (e.g. we have one teacher in our school who won't predict 9s on principle, to keep students motivated. He does predict 8s :)). Tiffin Boys should really consider changing their admission policy and base it on actual grades, like Tiffin Girls does. Send grades in August, rank kids based on that, make firm offers, etc.

On the plus side, my DD was not too disappointed yesterday... she said 'well, at least I'm waitlisted' and went on to practice for her German speaking exam which is today :)

Waitlist offer here too... Sciences and Maths also... definitely the toughest A Levels to get onto there it seems, clearly just no spaces available for those subjects!

The same for us. Looking at maths too.

Anyone else got the wait pool letter today? I'm wondering how many places will be available in August for science and maths subjects... probably just a couple.

Yes, it seems pretty certain from everyone's feedback here that it does down to which subjects they have room for first and foremost. So even with a high set of predicted grades, it isn't necessarily a given for getting an offer. We wouldn't change A level subject choices just to try and get Tiffin though, as we are set on a path for a university course that has specific STEM requirements at A Level - but I concur, that it is certainly worth being open minded to subject choice if going to Tiffin is more of a priority for your child than the exact subject combination. Good luck to all applying, there is still time yet and once the results are out, there's always a final shot at it as some may not take up their place or meet the entry requirements anyway!

People always talk about children tutored from year 4 to get into Tiffin.. well the same children that did not get in, were also tutor from year 4 or whatever, and end up somewhere else - I honestly don't get that point?

I have a dd in a state school, not grammar and many of her friends are tutored now that they are in the GCSE years.. I don't think being tutored is unique to grammar schools it's very common across the middle classes.

While there is a very good case for saying at school there are also some advantages to going some new -for instances going to college is much more like university than school is - so much better preparation at being independent. At the end of the day it is a difficult choice and we are all lucky to be able to have it.

"Do they prefer certain ... subject combinations"

It's not a preference for certain subjects, no. It's simply that there are more vacancies for certain subjects. There's nothing wrong with that.

The issue with the policy is the use of predicted grades (which are subjective) and the line in their policy that says "our assessment of' the predicted grades. As far as anyone knows, their "assessment" might include things like their opinion of the reliability of some schools' forecasts over others, opinions about whether predictions are achievable given a child's individual circumstances, etc. It's just not transparent. They're acting like a university admissions department, not a state school.

For parents whose kids have already got such good grades in GCSE, there is a good case to let them continue with A levels in existing school. Too many comprehensives lose their best students to grammars. So the great results in grammar schools are more a reflection of the selection process rather than the value added by school and it's faculty.
Eventually the outcomes will depend on the inherent aptitude of the kids and their motivation, as well as support from parents at home.
I know many kids in Tiffins and none of them has said that the school faculty has helped them improve. They were tutored by their parents since grade 4 to pass the 11 plus. Now they get pressurised to get higher grades, with those scoring less than 7 threatened to be removed at A levels. So many of them are tutored at home to maintain top grades.
My son has very good predicted grades as well and he hasnt had any extra tutoring outside of school. So I give credit to his teachers and the hard work he puts in. That's why I am no longer discussing Tiffins admission with him, just let him focus on GCSEs. His current school is excellent as well and they would be very happy to retain him in A levels.

@safaristar WOW! all 9s and yet no offer - proof, that decisions are #non-linear ☠ We all try to teach our children that hard work pays off and yet, instances like these can really demotivate children and makes our jobs so much harder to keep our children motivated. But on the positive side our children will be taught resilience in the face of rejection, however I would much rather my DD feels she is actually rewarded for her hard work. Makes fundamental sense that offers based on prediction is unfair. Would be interesting if one could put in a freedom of information request to actually see where their biases are because my conclusion is that there are definite biases in their selection process. Do they prefer certain schools, backgrounds, subject combinations etc etc... All in all super disappointing but as mentioned by @Vive42 at least threads like these will open other applicants' eyes. I cannot imagine this can be good exposure for Tiffin.

When the rejection letters come out they should include information about how to appeal. The attached paragraph about the right to appeal is from the national admissions code.

It's a bit confusing for sixth form though because none of the offers are confirmed until August. However, when predicted grades are used to decide who gets a conditional offer, someone with a conditional offer is in a better position than someone without a conditional offer. This was mentioned in the Twyford school adjudicator decision, which ruled that use of predicted grades was a breach of the code: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/twyford-church-of-england-high-school-15-july-2022

Hi! I've been following this thread as I am also very interested to see what is happening regarding interviews and offers and would love to understand more clearly how it all works as it does seem to be rather ambiguous! My son has applied with a full set of predicted level 9 grades (he's predicted to get 10 GCSEs at level 9 and 1 at level 8) - Level 9's in the subjects he wishes to study at A level. We also haven't heard anything yet, other than they generic email to say they are still looking at all the applications, so it's not looking promising for us either, in spite of the high predictions of grades. We live very near to the school - 1 mile away - so can only presume it's because my son has applied for STEM subjects, which are more heavily subscribed to by the existing cohort and leaving little to no room for incoming students??

Gosh , it is so confusing . I guess we all have to wait and see . My husband thinks it is crazy analysing it as it appears luck of the draw apart from those with straight 9s & potential Oxbridge students .

Do they not use predicted average point score? Seems quite clear to me. The popular courses (maths, physics, chemistry, economics etc) will fill up quickly with internal students, so to get on those courses you’ll need a much higher APS. You’d probably get in with quite a low APS to do languages, English, music, RS etc.

From page 7 of the national admissions code:

"She said things were not so definitive-she kept using the phrase 'non linear'!"

Non linear = "our assessment of" the predicted grades = subjective, and therefore in breach of the admissions code.

Sorry perhaps I should be as clear as possible, I had asked that an interview was unlikely given my daughter had not 9s only 7s &8s in her mocks. I asked this more than once and she kept saying it is non linear dependent on a few factors. I asked if this included reference from school , she said ermm not really. Then I asked if subject choice was a key factor, then she became animated and said there woulld be a clear explanation from April 30th. I reitterated my daughter's grades once again asking if it was probable that she would not get a place. She said things were not so definitive-she kept using the phrase 'non linear' ! She did say children get in once they have their results each year.

"not linear" that sounds like it could mean anything - e.g. if we like the look of your child and school... 😉

Hi, just asked my DD again to be sure and I was actually wrong about her friend. Her friend chose Maths, Biology and two humanities. So very similar to my DDs choices although different humanities choices yet she got in and assume my DD didn't so still super confusing. The lack of clarity of criteria is super frustrating. and her DD has lower marks.