No offers for ds

[vivat]

My ds has had no offers from the four private schools we applied for (despite passing the Latymer exam he didn't get offered a place). Am now in a complete panic - would rather he went to state school but we are in a black spot and unlikely to get any of the four (over subscribed) state schools we applied for. Have been looking at prep schools to do 13+ but it seems that most of the big London day schools have closed their entries for 13+ entry in 2014 already !! Can anyone guide me on options ? We really can't afford £10k per term boarding fees. We are in West London. thanks

S Bush v easy to get to Fulham Prep. Call them. Or Hill House?

vivat - I have pm'd you

In my experience some parents hold on to as many places as possible until the beginning of the term that their children start. Not fair but they do.

are you wedded to private OP? i know there is a shortage of spaces for boys this year or a higher than average number of applications (in W London anyway) due to some bulge i think but surely someone has got those places and they must all or mostly have applied to state too - so therefore will on March 1st be turning down offers to some of the popular comps...or so i would think?

I know that HP and WLFS are hugely oversubscribed but presumably most people apply to both and others and some out of area grammars and indies too.. at some point it has to settle down (she says hopefully - we are Y5 so watching with interest..)

Hello vivat. All my sympathies for your situation. I have pmed you.

(moominatrix - great name!!!)

You poor thing - the whole business is so grim. Two children in similar positions at our school last year headed to Newton prep and Thomas's Battersea, but you are right that it buys only a little time, and certain 13+ schools are already well into pre-selection by then. However, some of them (eg Westminster and St Paul's) may not have been on your target list anyway, and they do mostly have some places done by free competition at 13+, rather than pre-allocated, although of course this may be a tougher option.

Also, it really feels as though there is a boys' school missing in West London at 11+ - perhaps the half of Laytmer that went over to girls.
In fact the whole boys' independent thing in London is a mess, the way one has to, ideally, decide 11+ or 13+ and thereby knock out half the options in one fell swoop.

I completely agree with the lack of schools for boys. Where is the equivalent of Notting Hill & Ealing or Francis Holland more centrally. Also, the whole timings of transfers are a mess, particularly with 13+ pre-tests starting in year 6. I don't want my sons (or me) having so much stress for almost 3 years just to get into a secondary school and almost immediately having GCSE choices to make.

Thanks for everyone for their pm's, help and guidance. My story has a happy ending as we got our first choice state school in the lottery. We are all very relieved. Good luck to Azure and others.

I'm so pleased Vivat what a relief and you don't have to pay! I'm dithering about my ds and what to do if we don't get any of preferred state options but like you worry about the selective nature of the private boys' schools (in n london for us). Do you mind me asking at what sort of level yr ds was at? My ds kind of top table but not top of the class in a not partic high achieving state. Got all 3s in ks1 with no additional work and weren't considering tutoring until y5 and then only for test technique.

Very pleased for you and your DS.

PollyP, I have pm'ed you.

There's radnor House in twickenham - is that too far for you?

Have you contacted kings wimbledon juniors - I think they are still accepting (judging by the warm reception I got when I inquired for 11+ entry there for 2013.)

Duh, sorry - just read your post. Great news. Good luck!

has any one heard from st pauls for sept 2013 (reserved list)...
has there bin any movement in the reserved list

Thank goodness. I'm really pleased for you. Reading posts like this make me feel very thankful we don't live in London. We live in a rural area and I only applied to one high school for DD, which she got into without any problem, as it is the only feasible school she could have gone to anyway.

Hammersmith Academy & West London Free School both seem to be schools where parents are very happy with their children's educations, even if they are only 2 years old. I've only heard good things about both.