waiting list after 4+ assessment

[soundevenfruity]

DS had an assessment to a prep school which is quite highly thought of and has good results. He is on a waiting list but the wording in the letter suggests that there is every possibility that he will get in. I haven't been through the British education system so it's all very confusing. If a firm place offer means "your child is going to fit in" then what a waiting list offer is. If they don't think he will cope at this stage than I'd rather he went to a less academic school for which he has a firm offer. It looked like they were thorough and I suppose that after all those years they will spot the "right for them children" straightaway. Would you wait it out or trust the school's judgement?

There is no way of assessing a child's potential at 4 that is respected by education professionals. In most of the schools that select at 4 there will always be few who don't match the ability of those who join at 7 and 11. Don't worry, find a good non selective prep (or indeed a good state school with some tutoring in the months leading up to 11) and your DC will be joining the majority of those you find in the most selective senior schools at 7, 11 and 13.

I have DDs that have now gone through the indie system and honestly who shines at the end is rarely who shone at 4. Just find the school that feels right for your DC and will value them. You don't mention the geographical area?

Thank you, shooting. It's south London so it doesn't feel like madness that is north London when mothers despair that their children can only read 50 words for 4+ assessments. In an ideal world I wouldn't send him to school until he is at least 6 so any school isn't right for me. I am mostly thinking about DS fitting in not his educational potential. If he doesn't look like a child they normally get than it's not going to change dramatically any time soon.

If he is on the waiting list then they are obviously happy to have him. They just don't have enough space for him.

So if you like the school then keep your option open and wait for a place for him. Others are bound to drop out as offers to other schools are made.

But alway have another back up plan just in case

You nay be reading too much into it. If the school is oversubscribed, the. They have to make a selection somehow. If they have 150 boys and say 40 spaces, then being on the wait list, rather than a no, is good. Usually siblings/staff of teachers will have an informal degree of priority. And whilst the assessments may seem thorough, they're really just about readiness for learning, which aged 4 usually means can they sit still for 2 minutes, listen to instructions and go to the toilet without help.

ladymuck if only that were true but around here, throughout London, there are schools that really are attempting to select at 4 academically, and you have demented parents getting tutors for 3 year olds. I remember being a bit bewildered when my older DD didn't get into a GDST school at 4, and discovered another child had with tutoring. Whilst I would never have tutored her at that age it did make you wonder if that was really what it took, had I let her down in some way? Instead of enjoying discovering the world with her should I have chained her to a desk doing word cards and shapes With hindsight it is absolute craziness, and I am quite sure I was not wrong. And all that discovering the world prepared her for real life, she is now well on her way to achieving her ambition of becoming a research scientist.

However sound I wouldn't worry, if he has a waiting list place they will be happy to have him, and without knowing the school, the list will in all probability move as some children will get more than one place.

Thank you, everybody. In fairness they were quite apologetic and said that they can't possibly guess academic ability of a child at this stage but they are choosing children in the basis of how they will cope with programme. So I just took their words at the face value and thought that if they have any doubts I wouldn't want to risk pulling DS out of school because it's too much for him. He goes to a very simple local nursery. They don't insist on teaching them to read and write unless they express interest. It might not be the best strategy as some children go to school not knowing all letters for example but they do some phonics work. The nursery seems to be quite popular with boys' parents because they do a lot of free play, sport but also some good discipline and DS made good friends there. So I didn't want to put him in a pre-prep school or have him tutored.