Any experience of Kings Maths School vs LAE for 6th form?

My son thinks it will be this Friday. Apparently it's been two weeks after the interviews in previous years 😊

The waiting is killing me now! Anyone from last year remember when offers were sent?

Re safety of the area - South Lambeth Road is quite busy, then if you’re going to Waterloo through Westminster Bridge Road and Lower Marsh there are always lots of people around there. Most of the kids leave at the same time, so in a fairly big group. Neither of my two ever had any trouble on their route at all. They were much more annoyed by delayed trains from Waterloo!

Assuming it's a state school, they can't push him to make a decision. He has every right to accept and hold conditional offers for as many sixth forms as he wants until after he gets his GCSE results. Only then will he need to decide which one to register for.

Anyone else on edge today waiting to hear? They said beginning of February, which suggests this week!

I know DC who have been there and I've never heard of safety as an issue. Good luck!

@Dangermouse999 it seems fine in daylight hours but when it's dark my DC doesn't walk to E&C alone. DC will wait for a friend or go to Waterloo which has a better lit busier route. This is similar to secondary school for us as the quickest route home was considered dodgy if alone

It's 5 mins from Waterloo Station, so a very busy area. Unless your child is pre-disposed to hang around local estates looking for trouble long after the school closes, I wouldn't worry.

We’re not at the school but based in London. But when DS was looking I was more interested in the potential for arguments with the Oasis Academy pupils near the tube. In “office hours” when I pass through the area around the school for work they’re more visible than any gangs. If you’re applying to Cambridge then your DC might have to pass through kings X? Not so many tricky people around there these days but it’s a huge busy station and easy to get confused. I assume you’ve done a few travel runs and worked out alternative routes for disruptions? Even with a journey of only 50 mins we had 2 alternatives planned as there are fairly frequent breakdowns/signal failures etc. Not trying to put you off but do think all that through if you might be coming a long way. Good luck!

If you did ask, and assuming they even have visibility of the information, I would expect them to decline rather than breach confidentiality.

I'm interested in anyone who has a child that attended Kings and what they thought of the 'urban' setting of the school as mentioned by Needmoresleep.

DS had an interview there last week and I noticed when looking at Google maps for directions that the school backs on to the China Walk estate. This had a notorious reputation for gangs a few years ago.

I did ask DS whilst he was waiting in between the interviews to ask current students how safe the area was but he was so engrossed in general chat that he forgot.

Any thoughts? DS has also applied to Cambridge maths school and the setting couldn't be much safer in comparison.

Admissions policy just says offers are made in 'February' so not too long to wait really!

Good luck to everyone ☺️

Not much feedback from mine. Ultimately they are all very talented and have worked so hard to have done so well in the admissions test. From here it'll be about best fit and weighting for widening participation so no one should take it personally or read too much into it if an offer isn't made.
Do we know when they'll notify us of the outcome?

Good luck to all your DC. Don’t stress about the second interview - they’re not looking for kids who are international geniuses and read maths journals in their spare time. Nor do you have to come off like someone on The Apprentice. I think it’s mostly about checking that you are ‘teachable’, generally in line with the school’s values (ie not aggressive or unpleasant), prepared to knuckle down, and not going to be disruptive.

Also if there are SEND or other issues that the report from the current school may have flagged up, KMS will presumably probe and it might be worth having answers prepared.

I posted earlier so the thread pops up.

Why not take the 14 year old to the War Museum? It is good. Or if you are heading into China Town, what about the London Transport Museum. More time and a boat trip down the river, or a walk along the South Bank.

In terms of interviews, the general one will probably be about fit. Some schools and some children will be the right fit for each other, others not. Those interviewing will have an idea why some previous pupils have struggled and know what they are looking for. I would not worry about preparation, and trust them to work it out. Your son thinking there are right and wrong answers might cause him to be nervous, whereas the school will want to see him as he normally is.

A teacher at DCs nearby private school once commented that their experience was that urban children were more likely to thrive, presumably because they were used to the setting and because they had shorter commutes. (Though we know of one KMS former pupil who did very well despite commuting daily from Hampshire.) I would simply get him to think around why he wants to go to that school and about his love for maths and where he hopes it might take him. He might also think about the commute and why for him it will be manageable.