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.

supermummy - I'm not sure what you mean by your DS being sensitive, or why you would wish that to change. I think T is very good at encouraging boys to reach their full potential, and to become rounded people. They have recently been looking at emotional intelligence and resilience, both of which are important. Personally, I don't think a little sensitivity is a bad thing.

Berora - when you say the worst case scenario is the same offers on the plate again next year, that might not be strictly true. Offers at 10+ declined one year, does not automatically imply offers the next year. Offers not only depend on how well the individual does, but how well the competition does. Also, competition is greater at 11+ and 13+.

Does anyone know if the scholarship of W is negotiable? Who should I contact? HM or admission office?

Seeline, yes, you are right and I didn't mean to suggest that aworkinprogress's DS will automatically get an offer at 11+ just because he got one at 10+. I can see my wording was not ideal, but my thought was this: if he was offered a place this year, with only very little preparation, then he should be able to pass well enough at 11+ to be offered a place again, even with higher competition for places; I assume he would spend more time preparing for 11+ than for 10+. My impression from aworkinprogress's earlier post was that they weren't that inclined to take up a full fees offer and if that is the case, they don't really lose much by trying again at 11+. But, as you said, there are no guarantees of an offer next year, it was just a hopeful assumption on my part.

Does anyone here have one DS in W and one DS in T? We had one DS in of the schools already and might send the younger one to the other one. What makes us a little bit undecided is we don’t know what activities might clash between the two schools, such as, parents evenings, concerts etc. Or does any parent that has their children in two different secondary schools that can share their experiences? As with most parents, we enjoy and would prefer to attend the children's school activities together.

Hi,
I realise that this is the boys thread but could not find a corresponding one for girls. My daughter has been offered a place at OP with a scholarship and I also am 99% sure that she will be offered a Wallington place (based on her Nonsuch score and distance to school). Does anyone have any experience of Wallington girls vs Old Palace Seniors? We are in a real dilemma and don't want to make a wrong choice! If anyone can offer any wise words it would be greatly appreciated :) Also to mention that she is currently in a prep school (not OP).

Girls thread:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/2419877-Is-it-too-early-to-start-a-2016-girls-11-W-SW-London-thread?

thank you so much :)

worriedmummy786

worriedmummy786 - my daughter is at wally girls she's really happy there. The only thing not many extra curricular activities. The school is very academic so it depends what you want from a shool. They want children to b getting A's & A* ideally and it can be pressured in grammar schools.

Seeline - I was Tring to find out which school would suit him better and whether he would ft in to W.

When you say that your son is sensitive, what does that mean?

Supermummy - if you're unsure at this stage - why not consider you and DS going to visit the schools again on a normal school day. Nothing helps more than to be part of the environment; speak to as many boys as possible. We were very comfortable with the fact we went to open days both with and without our DS for YEARS so that by the time we got to crunch time we had a lot of "mental data" on each school and this helped us to ignore the marketing hype and see the school for what it is.

For example, we were actually surprised at our decision NOT to apply to Whitgift (our nearest school). Even though we were sure my son would do well academically - the fact that STEM wasn't even mentioned by the headmaster in his speech nor on the DVD had a tremendous impact on us in 2015. We only noticed on our last visit and once we did - it was clear that sport was way valued over science. Its not just a matter of what is said - its also what is NOT said too that matters. WHITGIFT IS A GREAT SCHOOL (my cousin went there and I know lots of people with their boys there) - no question about that - but it just wasn't the right fit for our son.

Does anyone know if the scholarship of W is negotiable? Who should I contact? HM or admission office?

I'd like to know this as well.

If you have a better offer from another school than W, then you might be able to negotiate with W. You will need to talk to admission but the finial decision is up to the headmaster.

Supermummy1674 - thank you :)

Trixus - thanks
You mentioned abt sport and science my son actually loves science and want to in the medicine line. I was told that the academics work hand in hand with sports as it keeps boys more focused on their studies after they have played some sort of sport this was said by one of the chemistry teachers. Is T better for science? Sorry what did u mean by STEM?
I think I will go again for a tour this will help me decide. Thank you again

Ladymuck - I'm not really sure just trying to figure out which school would b best for him T or W
He is quite not rally out spoken is considerate of others and some times too tolerant.

Trixus... It's interesting what you say bout STEM because we found the EXACT OPPOSITE! In the Open Day that we went to in 2014, STEM was mentioned non stop, especially highlighting the schools excellent record in this area and the future proposed innovations (e.g Biodomes). I would also say that W spent a LOT of time trying to play down its Sports-mad reputation (they were at great pains to say that it's an "ABC" approach... Academic, Behaviour THEN Co-curricular). Now that my DS is actually in the school (Lower First), I would say that the Sports reputation is somewhat overblown... Yes many of the boys participate and are W does crow about sporting achievements, however, it's focus in STEM is very very strong (this is DS's passion).

In the end, as Trixus says, go see the schools as often as you can/like and get a feel for them... It'll mean you end up being very comfortable with your decision.

Congrats and Best of luck to all!!

supermummy I would say that my Dc is not particularly outspoken and is quite sensitive to others needs. He is certainly not the sports mad, testosterone stereotype boy, and he has fitted very well into T. There are the full range of boys there, but they all seem to find there place.

Thanks seeline

Does anyone know if he would fit in to W too

Seeline he's exactly like u described

hi all just wondering if anyone knows of anyone who is turning down a offer from dulwich college. As I said before we are on the waiting list. Just trying to work out if it is worth hanging on...

Hi Halogenmum, it is probably too early to ask people this question. There may be some people turning down DC if they get a grammar school place and they will not know that for another two weeks. I'd say definitely keep your waiting list place if you like the school, it may easily take a couple of months for all the movements to take place.

If you really have a strong preference for DC, then yes it's worth waiting. There's very little predicting year to year how much the waiting lists will be used, but you could always ring to ask (or have someone from your school find out) if they expect to go to the waiting list this year.

But do relinquish all but one other offer whilst you hang on. As that'll let other lists move help other families hanging on for a different preferred school.