The Trinity-Whitgift-Dulwich-Alleyns 10+/11+ thread 2015 PART 2

[Firefox1066]

Part 1 of this thread can be found here:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/education/a2258026-The-Trinity-Whitgift-Dulwich-Alleyns-10-11-thread-2015

This is the follow on...

Aha! Thanks BB! I racked my brains as to what they could be... I was confused though because I saw one that said "Hockey" but another that said "CCF".. So didn't put the two together.

Anyway thanks for the clarification, I can now go back to thinking about uniform appointments and preparing myself for a £500 bill at the uniform shop

Hewitts are helpful but run out of very small and very big sizes. Shirts (white) and trousers (charcoal/black) for T can be bought anywhere (M&S, BHS, ASDA). Sports stuff is specific to T so you have to get it from Hewitts. Get a big size then it will last for yrs. Our DS wore his shorts for 4 yrs! You must get a lab coat or DS will not be able to do science experiments.

T is a wonderful school....we are so sad that oir eldest only has one more term.

Hope we are all enjoying the Easter break or wishing the little monsters would go back to school . We received the "starter pack from W on Friday and DS has been excitedly trawling all through the various bits. DS was very interested in the Newsletter and of course extremely excited about the Lake Garda trip. Somehow I've got to try and keep him focused for the last term, but watching him proudly wade through the pack was extremely pleasing.

A question for current parents....I assume it's best to choose a uniform date in July so as to postpone the paying of £600 ensure getting the right size?

Firefox - we went in May last year and the lady in the shop was very sensible about sizes allowing for summer growth. Also, the cost wasn't close to £600 more like £350. I have bought a few more sports bits since then but only if he really needed them. Still wouldn't be a total of £600 though.

Thanks Dippingback, that's very helpful

I would also add that once they start there is zero need for you to go the shop again! We live miles away and DS just goes in, tries stuff on with the lady then I call up and pay. That is my kind of uniform shopping!

Hi everyone, I am selling a complete Whitgift junior school uniform kit worth £395 for less than half price, used but in very good shape, some unused bits. If you are interested please pm me. Thanks!

Firefox - if you haven't bought all your son's sports kit yet - you don't need rugby/football boots from the school shop. My son is in W (year 9). In the first year I got him black rugby boots from the school shop but it turned out there was no rule about it, so now he (and his friends) wear sports boots in various colours, courtesy of SportsDirect (bright pink and yellow included). Indoor trainers just need non-marking soles and you can buy them wherever you want. My son didn't use his swimming kit bag, or valuables bag and after having ruined the school-logoed expensive pencil case, he opted for the 30cm long see-through plastic from WHSmith. A useful thing to buy is base layer - both the top and shorts, so that they don't freeze playing rugby in November/December. These are good quality and reasonably priced in the school shop, but you can also get them from SportsDirect (we have used NikeProCombat and Under Armour base layers). A spare pair of navy games/rugby shorts are very useful. They are very thick cotton and take for ever to dry, which can be an issue if boys have training on a Thursday and a match on a Saturday (they do get vey mucky). Rugby shirts are quite quick to dry, but a spare is always useful.

On a slightly unrelated topic, brace yourself for steep increases in school fees. When we applied, the fees were £14.2K, a few weeks after we had accepted the offer, a letter came through setting the fees at £15.3K, and from next September they will be nearly £18K. The fees have been going up between £800-£1000 each year, at this rate they will be over £20K by the time my son finishes school...

Firefox - re. the cost of uniform - it depends what you buy. I've just checked my receipt (yes, a bit odd I still keep it) and my total spend on the 'kitting out' day was £510. This included all uniform, bags, school shoes, indoor trainers, rugby boots, swimming shorts, track suit jacket and bottoms etc - pretty much everything they suggested, I bought. You can spend less if you buy just one pair of school trousers and one pack of shirts. Even better - buy school trousers from M&S, Next or BHS; as long as they are charcoal, they will be perfectly fine and quite a bit cheaper.

July fitting date is not necessarily the best idea, as they may run out of stock in some sizes - it does happen. As somebody else said earlier, the ladies in the shop are very sensible about allowing for growth. We bought the uniform in early April, probably about two sizes bigger than needed, and it still had plenty of room to grow in September. Good luck!

Berora...you are a superstar! Thanks to all who have helped out a noob like me!! DS's appointment will be during the next half term in May. It was always my intention to get boots and trainers from Sports Direct and I'll get spares from the next uniform sale.

Regarding fees, one of the most difficult things we had to contend with originally was whether the extra couple of grand over Trinity was "worth it". Thankfully DS got a scholarship that rendered the difference negligible but even so, with W seemingly aiming to break into the Westminster, St Pauls & KCS "tier" (and I use that term VERy advisedly!), I think we can expect future fee hikes to be significant.

Firefox - you're very welcome

I think you are right about the fees, W has already caught up with KCS's fees for lower school... Brilliant your DS got a scholarship, well done!

I am getting a bit panicky now, because my youngest is in year 5 and unless he gets into a grammar, we will be trying to get him into W. I can't send him to T, because it's bad enough with boys supporting different football teams and I couldn't cope with them squabbling over their respective schools as well! Plus, T doesn't have much basketball going on, which W does, and basketball is my youngest's thing.

BTW, assuming he passes the grammar tests (which may be just wishful thinking), do you know whether it's better to disclose on W application form that we are applying for grammars as well, or is it better to keep it quiet? It's hard to decide how to go about it - we will not know until March whether he got a grammar place or not and I don't know whether admitting grammar applications is likely to diminish a chance of being offered a place at W... Do you have a feel for this sort of thing from your interviews?

Berora My DS sat W & T 10+ so grammars arent an issue for us. However, My DN is at T and he did do grammars when he did 11+. My personal view based on my sisters and other friends' experience is that T are more understanding/accommodating when parents are explicit about applying to grammars, whereas W are at best suspicious of how much a parent really wants W, where they have also applied for several grammar schools. For that reason, I probably wouldnt explicitly mention it on the form, but I also wouldnt lie about it if asked IYSWIM.

Hope that helps!

That's really useful to know, Firefox, thank you for your advice :)

Hi Trinity mums, just wondered if it's worth making an appointment at the uniform shop soon or waiting until the second hand sale on 13th June. Would there be good sports kit there at good prices or is it best to get the items such as spare ties/ lab coats at the sale? Thanks x

Depends what sizes you are after - they put out an appeal for items in small sizes so I don't know if they are short on these, or whether it's just to cover the rush! Personally, I bought so big when DS started in J Bugs that now at the end of Y2 he still doesn't need sports kit or blazer replacing
Lab coats have only been a requirement for the last year or so (previously provided by school to borrow each lesson) so I don't think they'll be many of those.
I didn't get DSs uniform until the beginning of the summer holidays as I didn't want a late growth spurt to ruin my buy-big policy and Hewitts were still able to supply everything I needed.

Help! Help! Does anyone know if you just lose the deposit if you back out now or is it a full terms fees as well? No real help on the website.

Very big dramas here sigh.

Next W uniform sale
Saturday 6th June from 10.30am – 12.00noon in the Concert Hall.
Agree with those who recommend extra PE kit and tie, mine have never worn the school jumper or used the valuables bags.

Sorry to hear that OMni- check the terms that came with the offer - will be set out there. I suspect it will be full term if fees but each school may vary.

Thanks! Yes that is what I am worried about but with the lists still moving there must be wriggle room. I am resigned to losing deposit obviously just hadnt thought a terms fees before someone else mentioned it.

Talk to them Omnishambles, it will depend on your circumstances. If your DS has been offered another school or changed his mind, will be looked upon differently than a change in financial circumstances etc. No harm in talking.

it will be a full term's fees but do talk to them - as you say the lists are still moving and they will almost certainly be able to fill your ds's place

do you have an alternative you're happy with?

I have no idea what is going on tbh. And probably wont until next week when apparently I may or may not receive an email from the local authority. but none of it will be our fault, thats whats so galling.

Is your Ds involved in the WCGS saga Omnishambles?

Yes Ladymuck you have hit the nail on the head. We are totally gobsmacked. What the hell is going on?

They need to work on their maths. I assume the only benefit in having a 2nd pass mark for the second round exams is to try and keep the wait list manageable, but this year they have run out of boys who passed, and they still have empty seats. Of course boys who passed SET but not the 2nd round didn't name the school on the CAF, so now parents are getting calls inviting them to apply. Bit of a mess really, with knockon consequences to parents who have accepted private school places.

I can definitely understand why they've dropped the 2nd round.