All about Latymer Upper 11+ preparation

@Sagegrey I agree that knowing ratio of offers to acceptances is a very good indicator of popularity - but that data does seem hard to come by with any certainly. I'm less convinced that the number who go to Oxbridge necessarily has much relationship though - it indicates that the most academic girls tend to have SPGS as a first choice more often than LU perhaps, but that doesn't mean that overall there are more applicants who have SPGS as first choice than LU. I know of quite a few people with both boys and girls who applied for only co-ed schools which included LU. I have heard that LU is less competitive for girls though than for boys due to the acceptable ratios being very different (fewer boys schools). At this point, everyone who had an interview is in with a pretty good chance I think anyway. Good luck everyone!

There’s always a way! Train to Barnes then bus up to the bridge etc!
Good luck- both great schools- we had a similar choice

Thank you - we are waiting for the offer date next Friday and if my child does get an offer from latymer or Hampton my child wants latymer but worried about tubes strikes etc.

he really liked the teachers on the interview day.

There’s a fair few from Richmond in my DCs year- easy journey on the tube.

Is your child happy do you know if there is a lot of children from Richmond?

I have a DC at Latymer Upper and, while it’s a lovely school, it’s nowhere near as competitive to get into as SPGS as implied here.

The difficulty of an entrance paper doesn’t mean a school is harder to get into. A better indicator is how much a school over-offers and its acceptance rate, which you can see quite clearly from popular feeder prep schools’ offer and acceptance (leavers’) pages. For example, typically sends around 10–15% of pupils to Oxbridge, whereas SPGS is closer to 30–40%.

As others have mentioned, there is definitely a degree of hype around Latymer. Part of this reflects the growing popularity of co-educational schools, but it’s also because Latymer attracts a large number of state-school applicants (we were among them) through its bursary provision. In our state school, nearly half the cohort applied to Latymer simply to see how they would do, given that it could potentially be free. Parents in this group — myself included — I think can be often more nervous and less familiar with the independent-school process, so they tend to seek a lot of information and reassurance online. In many cases, Latymer is the only independent school they apply to because of the bursary option.

Did your child get an offer at the end?
I’m waiting for results next week so nervous!!

Well done on getting through to interview. I think it could be different depending on the school. At ds school the headteacher sends a letter, but they get feedback from the teachers. Some school's requested recent reports, but we had to send those ourselves. I would speak to your head about this. For the references, we spoke to her about which schools we were applying to and I made sure she sent the references.

Good luck! Ds very happy at Latymer.

Can you give an example of this type of question quest uses? Not sure it sounds all that helpful for the Latymer exam (from some that has a dc that just got in). What is helpful is looking at their past exams and practicing similar exam types. English is not too bad. It is the math that is very difficult (dc excels in math and said it was the most difficult math exam he did for 11+)

Hey there! In my opinion, you don't necessarily need a tutor; instead, you can make use of online resources. There's one I've been utilizing called Quest for Exams (saying this from the point of view of a parent who could afford little involvement in their child's preparation). Basically, their practice papers, especially English, offer questions that are relevant to daily life and help the child understand more on how to think creatively and use these concepts in the real world. Quest also has help sheets that cover topics, and get into detail on how these can be applied to real-life situations. Do give it try!

thank you - is this virtual or in person?

This year, LUS and SPGS maths are on par. Neither was more difficult, the same to comprehension which SPGS used to be very hard.

I dont understand the hype about LUS, for us because its co-ed that we want. Every year the peers would decide the bar and exam format could change too. We didnt try Atom. Loads of 11+ revision could be bought from Amazon.

My DD is doing 11+ exams now. Got through the first rounds and second rounds (only some schools have second rounds) on all 7 schools we applied, including Latymer Upper. So can share some general experience on how LU compare to other schools in terms of the exams.

The written exams of LU has an English paper with multiple choice comprehension and a long piece of creative writing (45 minutes). Writing is generally descriptive writing. Strong writing skill, good structure with lots of descriptive details are important. Comprehension, because it is multiple choice, you can practice using online platforms like Atom.

The maths exams is quite standard relative to other top private schools in London. Not as difficult as St Paul's Girls School. The most difficult question this year, according to DD, is an Algebra question.

Hi OP. I may be a bit out of date now, but one if my DC went through LU, What I would say is that it's irrelevant really whether some papers for some schools are deemed 'harder' because, obviously, if do, all students would find it harder and it's all relative. Schools just take the top x% based on exam performance, whether this means this x% are getting 60% in a harder exam or 90% in an easier one or whatever the case may be.

LU is a great school with fantastic opportunities but (unless it's changed with the new head), it can feel quite large, 'uncontained' and a bit like a campus.

I have also had a DD go through G&L which, in my opinion, is a much 'kinder' and much more supportive school.

I would strongly agree with PPs advice to not let your DD become too focused on any one school.

LU is very popular because it's the only co-ed in the area. They tend to take very articulate children - quite confident. The curriculum seemed to be always changing. They don't rest on their laurels, it's a very dynamic and innovative school. But it can be a bit 'edgy' - staff weren't always on top of unkind behaviour from pupils. They do grow into the ethos there but for the younger ones, it can feel a bit 'sink or swim.' But the trips and opportunities are amazing.

I might have misinterpreted that you asked for tutor recommendations for creative writing and I think it's against the rules to publicly mention. So I sent you a private message with information on the tutors with successful track record and that I used to get an interview at LU this year and so far scholarship interviews in other equally highly selective schools.

Just trying to be helpful, apologies

@GentleMintCat I sent you a PM

@GentleMintCat for creative writing check out yellow bird. They do a workshop that my ds enjoyed. If you have time, you could also go through a CW book with him, which I think is helpful. I would check out the sample paper LU posts on their website. We did not buy any additional ones for LU, but did for Tiffin as ds did that....and the first stage also had multiple choice comprehension. If you are applying to other schools that require written, make sure your dd practices that as well. Good luck!