ALL NEW; WHITGIFT/TRINITY/DULWICH/ALLEYNS 10+/11+ 2016

[MrsPatmore]

Thought I'd go ahead and start. Found the old threads really interesting and would welcome ongoing input from those who've been through the whole process.
Ds in Year 5 and we are looking at a mixture of grammar schools and indies for 11+ Whitgift recommended this year - we've been told there is a drive to raise academic standards. We're going to the Open afternoon on 10th Nov.

Interesting. I think I will email them and say it is our preferred (only!) option. He only did DC (rejection) and Alleyn's so we are not blocking the system holding offers. If I am honest though, if he gets into Graveney we will be withdrawing too.

Mrs P just seen your post. So being told you are on the waiting list is almost a polite no?

Radiator please don't lose the faith. I know of at least 3 kids who got Alleyn's wait list places the year before last and that was just from dc's (state school) class. I'm holding out for Graveney as well. Have you had the results of the Wandsworth test yet? I got my dc's yesterday so fingers crossed for 1 May.

Hi Kidstaxidriver

Just wandering what sport did your boy do and how much is the sports scholarship? I am prepping my son in year 4.

Hi
He is a county standard cricketer and also plays rugby. He got a call back for the cricket. I can't disclose the specific amount of scholarship unfort as its a contractual agreement / non disclosable as part of the terms and conditions of having the scholarship. I think the same is true for all scholars across the schools. We were told that performing well in the exams would raise the offer of scholarships even if it is music / sport / drama etc and whilst he passed, he certainly won't have been in the top third. If you son is academic it would certainly help with other scholarships or at least that is my understanding. My experience as well was that there are many very talented kids across many different sports at 11+ so the more sports you can keep up the better! Plus we have a friend who applied for bursary and scholarship and this seemed to stem in their favour. Hope this helps a little and good luck!!

Thanks Kidstaxidriver!

Thank you berora and seeline for your comments. I agree that 30mins travel to school is ok - I used to do it! - but DH is not so sure. But I think that is (a) because he lived in a little village and walked 5mins to his secondary school, and so the idea of "commuting" to school is alien to him, and (b) we live a 5 min walk away from DS1 primary school at the moment, so obviously any journey is going to seem long compared to that!

But the school bus leaves almost from the end of our road, and I can pick up every night.

So it is definitely looking like trinity at the moment, which I am v happy about. I think DS1, being a little quieter/less confident/less good at sports (although enjoys sports a lot) than maybe your "typical" whitgift boy is, would be far happier there.

One question that someone can maybe help me with: if the school bus gets in at say 8am, what do the boys do before registration at 8.30?

BoSelecta - according to DS1 it could be any of the following:

1. homework (if not done the night before)
2. playing games on their phones
3. listening to music on their phones
4. having breakfast in the school canteen
5. general chit-chat and catching up on their social life - 'banter'

Wait list for Alleyn's is definitely not a polite no. I know a couple of children who came off the list 2 years ago, both now doing brilliantly at the school. All the wait list means is that your dc didn't perform quite as well on the day as another child.

Don't take it personally, they are not "rejecting" your child. No one will ever know your child was on the wait list unless you tell them.

Also, some boys may have music lessons and various music ensembles etc.

Thank you berora!

Hi all have just found this thread. DS was offered place on Dulwich waiting list. Wanted it as we want to move to the area. Do you ladies with local knowledge know if this means we actually have a chance? They wouldn't tell me how many offers were made or where we are on the waiting list. Does anyone have an idea of how many offers are made, even if it based on what happened last year. I would really appreciate some feedback.

Halogen - Dulwich claimed to be making 80 offers to fill 70 places..... No idea how big the waiting list is - but if their claim is true then I would assume they will definitely go to the waiting list as most boys they offer to will also receive at least one other offer?

Hi

Are any mums already at W able to advice on what you have to pay for in addition to the tuition fees? Do the kids do music lessons like piano as part of the day or do you have to pay it in addition?

Those would be extra unless part of a music award. Website should give details.

fleurdelacourt - thank you so much for coming back to me. Really appreciate it. Thats promising then. So I guess they probably will get to waiting list then. Just depends were we are on it. Looks like we are in for the wait!!

Thanks Lizs, will check out the website properly.

Sonia992, if your DS is either 10+ or 11+, you will also have to pay for his school lunches, which are compulsory for the first form (i.e. first form boys are not allowed packed lunches, they have to have a proper cooked meal at school). I'm not sure how much it is these days, used to be somewhere between £3-£4. And yes, instrumental lessons need to be paid in addition to the fees, unless a boy has a music scholarship. I think it is £16.50/30 minutes lesson this year. Music lessons are during a normal school day, on a changing rota, so that boys don't keep missing the same academic lesson every week.

Thanks Berora just trying to gather what additional expenses there will be and what day to day life at W is like! Does first form mean year 6 at w? What lessons do they do in year 6? Sorry for all the questions as we didn't do much research first as we weren't really serious but now that ds has scholarship offer we are giving it serious thought!

Sonia992,first form is made up of two year groups: lower first and upper first, which are years 6 and 7. Subjects-wise, this is from a curriculum booklet available on the school's website:
Lower First Form
All pupils study the following subjects:
Art, Design Technology and Engineering (DTE), Drama, English, Games, Geography, History, Computer Science, Italian, Languages Awareness, Mathematics, Music, Physical Education (PE), Personal, Social, Health & Economic Education (PSHEE), Science, and Theology & Philosophy.
Upper First Form
All pupils study the following subjects:
Art, Design Technology and Engineering (DTE), Drama, English, three Foreign Languages (French or Spanish, Japanese or Mandarin Chinese, Latin or German), Games, Geography, History, Computer Science, Mathematics, Music, Personal, Social, Health & Economic Education (PSHEE), Physical Education (PE), Science and Theology & Philosophy.

Games are played outdoors - mainly rugby, hockey, cricket etc. PE is 'regular' PE indoors plus one term (or half a term?) of swimming lessons.

Timetable is set up on a fortnightly rota (this is why you will see weeks A and B in the school calendar booklet) and first-formers have 6 lessons a day, with a 1h45m break for lunch. Their lunch is at 12.15pm and from 1pm they are free to join lunch-time activities. If you have the termly calendar, you can see the timetable of various clubs listed there.

Has your DS done 10+ or 11+?

Just re-read your post - it was 10+, wasn't it?

Berora thank you so much for your detailed reply. Yes he did 10 plus. Wow that's a lot of subjects for year 6 considering in state primary they just generally do literacy and maths!! It sounds amazing though.

Yes, it is true that state primary curriculum seems to have become quite narrow in the last few years. My eldest used to have regular science lessons (and science SATs), some geography, history and even music. My youngest can't even remember when they last did any science at school. I think it's a shame.

It is a shame my ds also doesn't have science lessons so this will be a brilliant opportunity for him. Thanks for your help.

Any ideas about what it means to be on the Trinity reserve list, in terms of odds of moving up the ranks to an offer? That's where we are at present...