Acceptance to private school

[Rhiann]

My little girl is going to be called for an interview and 'test' to decide whether she will get a place at reception next September )when she will be 4). Places are very limited because most children started in kindergarten at 3 years old. Can anyone advise me what to expect and how to prepare my little girl so she has the best chance of being accepted? Thanks

We went through this last year. First, I would speak to the registrar and ask what sort of child does well at the school. Then ask her to tell you a bit about the interview and what to expect. She may give you some usable hints. I would also ask about practical things such as: how long is the interview? will your dd be interviwed with other children or on her own? Will you be allowed to stay with her? Speak to your dd about these things in advance so she knows what to expect.

On the day of the interview, I would make sure to arrive in plenty of time so that it is as stressfree as possible.

In my experience, they are looking generally for a child who is eager to learn, who can join in with other children in a group setting, etc. We went through several interviews. They varied, but were fairly similar: asked my dd to write her name - mainly I think to assess her pencil control. She was asked to identify some written letters/numbers, did some matching games, was read a story and then asked a few simple questions to see if she'd paid attention/retained anything, asked to identify some basic colours/shapes, shown a picture and asked to count how many balls/stars there were etc.

Do you know other parents who already have children at the school? Could they do some informal lobbying on your behalf - perhaps in the form of a letter. Don't know if it helps, but it couldn't hurt I don't think.

It is a nervewracking time. If I were you, I'd think about a backup plan in case she doesn't get an offer. By being prepared, you'll celebrate if she gets in, and won't completely panic if you're obliged to look elsewhere. Good luck.

Hi Rhiann

My DD did an interview and 'test' for a place at her school.

It involved sitting in the window seat of the heads office with the head and deputy (deputy was there to take notes) I was present but expected to sit quietly and just observe. Head worked though a book of tests which examined lots of different things. For example naming objects, colours, numbers. Used coloured blocks and was asked to put them into the same order as they were printed on a card. Looking at pictures showing an action and asked what was happening/ might happen next. There are always things in that they don't expect them to know, these are in so they can see if they remember what they've been told later.

It's quite scary but what they seemed to be mostly looking for was that the child continued to pay attention for the whole duration and remembered things that they had been told and was interested. Theyshould take age into account, my DD was only 3.5 and they didn't penalise her for not knowing her numbers.

Obviously it will depend on the competition for places and they are going to choose the kids they consider brightest.

I think that the best thing you can do is to make sure that she is not fazed by talking tonew people and to practise by talking to her about lots of thing and engaging her interest. It's not something you can really coach for. My DD loved jigsaw puzzles and I think that this probably stood her in good stead.

DD's school invited the kid's on the waiting list into the school for 20 mins each week for 3 months prior to the test so that they could familiarize themselves and the teachers had a chance to see what they were like on an ongoing basis. If the school does this attend religiously, it will show the school you are taking this seriously and that you are committied to your daughters ed.

Sorry it's so long, best of luck

Don't know whether I'm reassured or not but thanks for your responses.

My ds went through this some time ago. One of the things they did was read a short story to the tots - observing those with the concentration skills to sit and listen for 5 minutes rather than wander around the room!

They then asked the kids a series of questions about the story - mainly to see which of the tots could work out the broad structure - i.e. that stories have a start, middle and end.

Parents were not allowed in the room - but this was what the assessing teacher told me they did.

Good luck

apparently they also make them draw circles and things on paper to "test their pencil skills"

oh and if she can't write at least the first letter of her name she is history

all a bit silly I think but I know lots of places do it, mostly in london

DD2 will be doing it in Jan 06, DD3 in Jan 08.

DD1's school doesn't give any preference to siblings of existing girls, I think DDs2&3 will be ok as they are both bright girls but have made my mind up to just accept that if they don't get in then it isn't the best school for them. The school run will be a nightmare but hey that's life. Non-selective RC school is my contingency plan. I'd recommend that you have a plan B just in case.

Don't know whether it is different for boys, but Ds1 was also assessed on playground skills and independent toileting. I guess the school was looking for evidence of readiness for school. I would agree that name recognition, and better stilll being able to write their name seems to score points, but colour recognition etc and ability to sort and match were also on the list.

I think that age does get factored in, otherwise these schools would only ever have autumn born children. It isn't quite as straightforward as being able to do the most.

Talking to parents already at the school may be the best preparation tbh.