The Trinity-Whitgift-Dulwich-Alleyns 10+/11+ thread 2015

[Firefox1066]

I thought I would take the plunge and start early the 2015 T/W/DC/A 10+/11+ thread that has become an annual staple MN!

This thread has been inspired by the likes of (among others) Ladymuck, Seeline, SoupDragon et al, who have been an amazing resources to people like me in previous years' threads.

Although T & W tend to dominate, I have also included DC and Alleyns as I know a lot of parents these days have DC's sitting for some/all of them.

I hope this thread will continue in the spirit of previous years' thread, with the support, hand-holding and knowledge that has been the hallmark of MN generally but this thread in particular.

Let the fun begin....

neanananaweek1972 - I am with you on worrying about travel and although many said it is not an issue, I think every child is different and you really need to trust your gut feeling in what would work best for your child and as for the whole family as well for many years ahead. I know that for our DS1 travel & distance will be a big problem and it will stress him (and us) a lot therefore I'm considering distance/commute as fairly important factor in making a decision.

We were thrilled with DS being offered a scholarship for W10+ but have in the end said no... long commute was one of the concerns but more generally feeling quite protective as we'll be moving countries as well as school. It was a difficult decision to make, but as a parent, I think sometimes you just have to go with gut feel... and as many of you have said, only you know your ds.

Well done to your DS suerte, been looking out for your news as I know you've been anxious about the big changes for your DS. I'm sure you've made the right decision for him and things will work out well. All the best with the big move and everything else

Relieved Alleyn's sounds a good bet then. I was slightly worried that it was a bit nouveau riche but it doesn't sound like that at all. Not wishing to offend I was also worried that it might attract slightly 'spoilt' girls but it sounds like that isn't the case at all. Thanks for your positive reply. Always good to get it from the horses mouth as it's easy to fall in to the trap of believing stereotypes. I'm hoping to get her to a school that is full of great opportunities, where she can grow as a person with 'normal' girls. Really not keen on the thought of the whole OTT birthday parties/going to the caribbean/skiing set.

Thanks for the kind words Somelikeithott. So grateful for all the support and excellent advise this board has given us. Good luck to everyone with all their decisions too x

I'm sure there are some very rich girls at A but so far all dd's friends are very normal and down to earth - some live in bigger houses than others but she's also got friends who live in tiny inner-city flats. Dd and her friends are not at all 'cool' and definitely not spoilt. What they all have in common though is they're very bright and motivated :)

Sounds perfect, just the small matter of getting in now :)

Hi all! I've been stalking the boards for a while in preparation for DS 11+. Having done the rounds of the 'great and the good' schools for 11+/13+ coming from state school, we put in for City and Whitgift to see how he would get on as a test for the following year to apply to the Sutton grammars, day and boarding schools.

We were really taken aback by the welcome we received at W which far exceeded anything we had seen previously. I knew a little about the school (mainly about its sporting prowess) but not a sufficient amount to consider myself informed, save for the old thread here with a spat about Dulwich and Whitgift's relative merits .

At the outset I was very keen on finding DS an academic environment with somewhere reasonably traditional but also sporty (he is an enthusiastic joiner in). As a 'first time buyer' I was thoroughly impressed with not only the recent sporting accomplishments but also the rising academic standards, facilities and the warmth exuded by boys and teachers alike. As others have experienced also, they had arranged for a former boy from DS state primary to show us round on the interview day.

Although DS didn't get an offer from City, he and we were very much (inspite of ourselves) waiting on the Whitgift offer. It is fair to say that he has outgrown his vastly oversubscribed state primary school and the prospect of staying for year 6 is not a good one. DS was slightly concerned about leaving behind his friends and missing the year 6 residential but soon perked up on hearing about the trip to the Italian lake district and Venice . I am certain that 10+ entry has come at the right time for DS who has so many interests that he can't currently pursue in school.

Since the letter arrived we have been pondering this mammoth decision which goes against what we thought would happen during the process of 'testing'. We have finally decided that W is the best place for DS, which ultimately is the true goal for us. That he is happy, challenged, engaged and exhausted by home time!

Now comes the simple matter of having to stump up the cash for the deposit

So, in short, DS is going to W in September and we can't wait!

Welcome to "the club"!

Does anyone know why W has increased its fees by a whopping 9.5%* for September 15?? Is this a normal increase to fund all that bird seed?

*14/15 fees £17,340 from website; 15/16 fees £18,988 from offer letter

Good grief

Just for comparison, when he started (nearly 8 years ago eek) a full fees place at W was £11,000 per year ...

Our letter says £17,988. I calculated a c.3% increase.

Southlondonmummy My letter says £17,988 ...cant fathom why your's is something different?

3% is a lot more usual ...

We've just left after 3 years at Millfield and a decent scholarship to join Whitgift - very happy my DS is joining this school :) well done everyone with their respective choices

Pretty sure the Whitgift foundation (ie T and W) strive to limit fee increases to no more than 5% a year.

Think the offer of 18988.00, needs to be re-read.

Though if you decide to give them an extra £1K I am sure they wont mind!

You're right, all, offer letter does indeed say £17,988. Sorry for confusion slinks into corner mortified that she can't even read a letter correctly

Received acceptance letter from Whitgift today, outlining when the induction days, Lake Garda trip etc will be. DS very very excited now...Im going to have a job getting him to remain focused on completing the rest of year 5 at his prep!

Lol Firefox, we told DS his offer was conditional on him doing well in his last 2 terms in year 5.

Lol somelikeithot ...I may well need to do something similar!

Firefox just sending in our acceptance today. Do you remember when the inductions days are? Am booking summer hols and don't want to overlap. I know the 28th was one but can you advise when the others are? It will be a good week before we get our letter...

ladymuck, I've pm-ed you. i am sorry if I confused you for another person.

It turns out I did mistake you for another person... Will re-write the message.

My DS has been offered a 13+ place at Whitgift, Trinity and Reigate Grammar. All wonderful schools. For my DS his favourite from the get-go was W (although we could all take or leave the wildlife!) He said he just felt at home a W more than at the other two schools - despite the fact his cousins are at T. He can't wait to start in Sept. I'd better get the cheque book out tonight and pay the deposit - gulp!

the induction days are the last week of August (so presumably 25th, 26th, 27th) then the new boys go in for an induction afternoon on the Friday before starting school properly the following week

it will be really weird that ds won't be going back in September