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.

... and peel off DS's skull patterned fleecy onesie.

DS's DC interview is on a Saturday, and they still said school uniform - but then they also said uniform for the exam, so I think they prefer uniform overall. I think it's quite levelling where you have varying financial backgrounds (obviously, you've got prep vs state, but state doesn't get subdivided into Abercrombie and Fitch versus George at Asda)

The poor sod has been going round collecting "colours" and "badges" just for the sake of the interviews, though perhaps that is more of a Surrey thing. I was taken aback by how few badges were worn by those who sat Alleyns in prep school uniform.

Heard from Trinity yesterday, it seems that non-scholarship interview this week and next and separate interview/assessment for other sports and music scholarships. It sould be that you need 2 days if you applied for scholarship if the 2 interview dates do not fit

Many of the colours / badges at DS's school are only given out at the end of Y6 so no chance of showing off badges and colours for 11+!

Seems odd to only give them as they leave the school.

Just chased our (once) preferred school. They would appear to have lost ds's cocurricular application. It was hand-delivered...

Yes it is odd, I guess it mainly applies to sport rather than School council or choir but still.....

It sounds as if Trinity has spoken to all the prep school heads, so they know who will be on the list for interview.

OK, I'm bored. I would like the results now please...

I want results now too, then I can get on with the other things on my massive new year todo list! Just can't think of anything else at the moment and need to stop comfort eating!

As each hour goes past ds becomes more positive about how the exams went, and I become more pessimistic.

Got the call from T today for music scholarship audition next tues. Still no main interview though but I'm hoping that DS can't have completely messed up the exam or they wouldn't bother having him in at all but maybe I'm clutching at straws.
Still no news on Art scholarship times.
Had enough now!

MotherOfSurburbia that has to be right. Why waste time with auditions if the test wasn't up to scratch. Good luck.

MoS, everything has been marked, so yes, you should get an interview call too.

Lady muck I thoroughly agree with you had enough I've been a pain to work with this week so far luckily only 1 more day to go then I can spend Friday by the phone so if there is no letter by Saturday is that a 'no thanks ?' I'm resisting the urge to call admissions ....

Unfortunately Whitgift is slightly less civilised that Trinity in that respect. Trinity will send out a batch of "thanks but no thanks" letters tomorrow, which will put some of us out of our misery. If you don't get one by Saturday then it usually, but not always, means that you should eventually get an interview call. In previous years Whitgift haven't adopted that approach, so you could be waiting for an interview call for at least another week. And for Alleyns we know they won't start ringing until next week.

I hate the fact that the primary school head knows before me....

And I hate the way that I'm having to answer the phone even to the overseas sales calls "just in case". I missed a call earlier which now will bug me...

agh, now worried I've been watching the wrong phone - will they call my mobile, DH or landline? Can't remember what I wrote and where.

Ds sat 10+ at T last year on a Sat and I didn't get "the call" till Friday. So for those that haven't heard from T, it's not over until a letter is received stating otherwise. I for one haven't heard from T even though Ds was offered a place at 10+

The post here is absolutely notorious for late or non arrival. Pigeon post would be better. So if I don't get a letter by Saturday, I will still be sitting wondering if the letter's lost or if he's going to get an interview. I really wish they'd move into the 21st century and use email or coded access to a network to see your result or something. Stupid exams. Stupid schools.

Totally agree with you MrsSteptoe

I assume it is perverse marketing: in 4 weeks time we'll have been broken down and be pathetically grateful for an offer and write out our four figure cheques with gratitude...

They've actually got a frightening amount of power now that places have become so very competitive (I'm new to this process, but my understanding is that it's changed quite dramatically in recent years). I spent most of today worrying about whether I should email Alleyn's to say that we can't do 1st February, and worrying about whether that would affect DS's chances. DH quite reasonably pointed out that they want, over the next 7 years, well over one hundred thousand pounds of our money. Of course he's right that I shouldn't worry about 1st February, but my point is - we're terrified of putting a foot wrong, even over irrational things like not being able to do an interview on a certain day. And I can't believe we're the only ones.

I constantly lament that education shouldn't be like this, meaning that we should have more good state alternatives, but it shouldn't be like this, either.

It's still too early for me to have a view one way or the other as to whether the level of competition is that much greater than previously. I guess that the one local trend seems to be that it seems now much harder to "pass" Trinity than Whitgift certainly as a full fee payer. I think that the independent schools are still worried about losing boys to the grammars (who are increasing their spaces) and all schools seem to be varying the tests to try and differentiate between the ever-more-prepared children sitting. It was only a couple of years ago when the idea of children doing more than 30 minutes a day in the Christmas holidays was viewed as near cruelty, whereas we seem to know relatively few who didn't work through the holidays. I think that the one thing that continues to surprise me is that the girls schools locally aren't seeing a similar level of demand.