The Trinity-Whitgift-South London school 10+/11+ thread of 2014

[Ladymuck]

A few days early I know, but most of the entrance exams will be out of the way in a fortnight or so, and I'm sure there are a number of us who are in need of or or as we watch our (still very little) boys forget everything that they may have learned over the last couple of years. And there are many veterans of the process who will hopefully be around to reassure us that we will all come through this unscathed.

Yes, even my DS was fairly upbeat. He finished all the papers except maths (usually his best subject) but found it quite hard and didnt get to the last 3 questions (out of 18). Really proud of him though and relieved it wasnt a total train crash!

Does anyone know (for DC): (i) how many sat; (ii) how many might be expected to be intereviews; and (iii) how many offers there. obsessed, me?, no

For the life of me, I can't even remember how many places there are up for grabs.

yikes; SPaG. Will try again.

Does anyone know (for DC): (i) how many sat; (ii) how many might be expected to be intereviewed; and (iii) how many offers there might eventually be?

I think that last year DC interviewed 160 then made 120 offers for 80 places. Can't remember how many sat but think it was 400+

Those numbers seem a bit thin given a lot of people sit 3 schools, especially Dulwich and Alleyns? Given that there will be an overlap, and people won't necessarily give away their preferences in advance of offers, I would have thought that the interview and offer numbers ought to be slightly higher?

Yes, I was hoping more than 160 from 400 would be interviewed (to get the better odds in DS's favour). We are sitting 4 - although not alleyn's as it happens. LadyM you have been around these forums a fair amount, I think, do you knwo the numbers for W and T?

Yes I know, I was surprised by them too. But that's what Ian Scarisbrick said last year when I was chatting to him at interview. He said they didn't expect to have to go to waiting list either. Not sure what happened in the end as we didn't take the place.

I would expect that all the schools other than say Westminster or KCS have to interview at least 3 times the number of spaces (so 210+ for DC). The offer ratios may well vary from 1.5 to 2.5 or more, and schools will definitely keep that number as secret as they can.

Is there anyone here with a dd sitting PHS? Have you had the info about the exam day yet? We've not had anything and are wondering if they still have a problem with their computer system like they did for the interview information

Well, maybe he got his figures wrong (can't see why he would though) and I know 3 boys who didn't get interviews at DC but did at Alleyn's, so events backed up what he was saying. I think it's all part of the drive to up the academic standard, which both he and Joe Spence acknowledged had slipped over the past years. One of the boys who didn't get called for interview at DC went on to get a place at Trinity.

The top 50% of boys with offers are likely to be boys with 3 or 4 offers, so all schools get rejections, even scholarship rejections. Any school would be taking a significant risk in interviewing a low number of boys, as you need to have a healthy waiting list just in case trends change. And a significant number of parents change their minds as to their preferred school from October to March.

W/T usually use the 3 to 1 approach, so I would expect W to interview 300, and T 210. Historically (say 10 years ago) they could assume that if a boy had applied for one, then he had also applied for the other, and the schools would share information. In more recent years I sense that a large number of boys who do not live in the immediate area will be drawn to one or the other but probably not both. I don't know whether they still share the information as closely - perhaps one of the parents who has been through it more recently might know?

MinesACuppa - yes we are, and no we haven't. Slightly concerning, but at least it's not till next week...

Thanks Clara, good to know we're not the only ones although it's a bit worrying. It looks like the tests are 1hr 15 each for maths and English and that's it.

Anyone with a dd sitting SPGS tomorrow?

Sorry MinesACuppa for blatant lack of originality but just off to start a school specific thread now exam is out of way. Time to stop lurking people.

peppersaunt, we are sitting SPGS, but it's very much a blue sky option for us. DD's English is passable rather than brilliant and I expect they want brilliance across the board. We are almost treating it as a mock as so unlikely - we are using it as "this is the most difficult exam she is likely to encounter so nothing should freak her out after that." We kept if very low key unlike a lot of West London parents I know for whom it's SPGS or you are a failure in life. And I know she'll really get the kick out of the Science Comprehension paper and to some extent maths.

No problem off to do similar

I'm interested to know how tired the children are after one of these days. One of the reasons we decided not to sit Whitgift was that we didn't want 3 days of tests in a row.

We are facing 3 in a row from Thursday: St Benedict's, Trinity and Emanuel. Can't be helped.

DS is not tired at all, surprisingly. Augurs well.

Re Dulwich interview numbers, Dr Spence is very particular about not over-offering, from which I can only assume he's very, very keen to keep class numbers down. I am certain that the interview numbers at Dulwich are significantly lower than other schools - in fact, I thought I heard Ian Scarisbrook say that they only interview about 120 for 70 places, though it seems more likely that Marni above is on the money with 160 interviews for 120 offers and I converted that to 120 interviews.

Thank you Mrs Steptoe, I was beginning to think I was going mad! As I am sure you all appreciate, I was desperate for any information at this stage last year, so the figures are burnt into my brain!
According to Mr Scarisbrick they tried making 100 offers for 80 places 2 or 3 years ago but didn't get quite enough uptake and had to go to waiting list, hence why last year it was 120 for 80 places.

cuppa and clara I received an email today saying they were posting the letters today for PHS and to call them if not received by Thurs. pm me if you want more info. Good luck x

I certainly can believe that some schools will present data in the best possible light. But statistically in that area of London you couldn't offer the top 120 scorers only and be certain of 80 acceptances. There are too many competing schools. Presumably they must use parental interviews and other info (address, previous school, siblings) to look for those most likely to accept, or at least rule out those for whom Dulwich would be a third choice. So of 120 offers say 60 go to the top scorers and the next 60 go to the highest ranked who are likely to say yes... Which means that the parental interviews will matter a lot for those ranked 61-160.

Thanks Roaes, I've had the email now

But there aren't parental interviews at DC; only meetings in groups of three families with Dr Spence - which sounds like part of their sales process rather than info gathering on their part.

Then I'm very curious about the stats. 120 offers made to boys, most of whom have 3 offers. Alleyns will also offer say to 60 boys (with an overlap of say 40). How do DC guarantee to fill their spaces when some of the boys also have offers from City, KCS, WUS etc, as well as others who have grammars, or equiv local school (Hampton, Whitgift etc). What am I missing? Is there some Foundation rule that only one school will offer?