Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Education

Join the discussion on our Education forum.

Original poster

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

967 replies

MrsPatmore · 06/10/2015 10:35

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.

OP posts:
Berora · 09/01/2016 10:25

Thank you, Muminfire, for your kind words! I don't know whether you/your DC are going through exams right now, but if you are, I hope it all goes really well for you. Smile

Muminfire · 09/01/2016 10:47

Yesssss! We've got a call from Whitgift and our son has been invited for an interview!

Berora · 09/01/2016 10:58

Fabulous, Muminfire, congratulations!!! Wine

AnotherNewt · 09/01/2016 11:14

"Gosh phonecalls?? We were thinking we would be notified by post!! How on earth do they mark 500 or so papers by tomorrow?"

They throw an awful lot of staff at them, and keep at it until the evening (as DC has boarding houses, it has a number of staff who are on duty until lights out anyway).

DC phone those they want to interview (which means they are intending to offer place to wait list). Letters take longer to arrive.

And I'll add now, post interview letters: thick A4 envelope means an offer (because it comes in a letter with other bumf and forms that need actual signatures), skinny letter (usually ordinary envelope) could be either wait list or no-thanks.

kidstaxidriver · 09/01/2016 11:19

Well done!! Was that 11+ or 10+?
I'm now wondering if we will get a phone call, will they do it alphabetically? To go out or not.........??

Berora · 09/01/2016 11:29

Yes, they do throw a lot of staff at it - my older DS is in W and he said one of his teachers mentioned a day before the exams that he was going to be staying late on Thursday as all papers had to be marked by the of the exam day. This is probably why they had English essays as the first exam session - they take longest to mark, I imagine, and they can get on with reading through them as soon as they are collected from the boys. VR was multiple choice, so relatively quick to mark - you can check one MC paper in a couple of minutes.

foragogo · 09/01/2016 11:33

So if you don't get a phone call today from W does that mean no thanks or wait list? Or are the eventual waitlists interviewed now as well?

Muminfire · 09/01/2016 11:38

Thank you!!! It's a very very good news for us. It was 11+.
I'm not sure they do calls alphabetically, we are in the middle of alphabet.

Berora · 09/01/2016 11:40

foragogo - I don't have a clue. However, if you read the letter that came from W with the exam details, it says 'Parents will be contacted (...) by telephone, email or letter, with the date and time of their interview'. Based on that, I would assume that no phone call today does not have to mean a bad outcome. In any case, this is what I am trying to convince myself of...

AnotherNewt · 09/01/2016 11:41

I don't think it's alphabetic, or if it is it's enough of a muddle that it's imperceptible. They'll be inviting potential scholars (plus all the runners up) to interviews with particular members of staff, and some schools want to see the parents of bursary applicants again at around this stage.

Then the others might be arranged by score, or by alphabet, and will be divvied up between several admin staff making the calls. And of course if they don't get through, they'll move on to the next one and try you later.

One thing: although they are beautifully mannered and the question is 'would your DS be able to come in for interview at such and such time?' this is not actually a question, as they've already drawn up the interviews timetable and there isn't much give in it. So only ask for a different slot if it is utterly, utterly impossible otherwise.

kidstaxidriver · 09/01/2016 11:41

Well done to you!! And good luck to everyone else. I've got no idea what it means if you don't get a call today, it might be a long day!!!

sissieisstressed · 09/01/2016 12:04

I don't think it means anything if no call from W today, at least based on previous years sessions, although I had the impression, maybe wrong, that this year they would try and call as many applicants as possible today unlike in previous years when it could take weeks before getting an interview call.
I'd rather wait on a weekday than a Saturday as at least I have my work to keep me focused on something else!

Berora · 09/01/2016 12:10

Sissieisstressed - would you know how late they are likely to ring today, if they are to ring at all? I.e. is there still a chance of getting a phone call after, say, lunch time, do you think? I don't remember last time I was so stressed...

sissieisstressed · 09/01/2016 12:29

I don't know for sure as no first hand experience but I have just checked previous years' threads (help me kill time...) and some got called early/mid afternoon so there is still hope...

Berora · 09/01/2016 12:40

Thank you, sissieisstressed, lets hope for the best. Good luck and fingers crossed!

foragogo · 09/01/2016 13:27

Just got a call from Whitgift for interview next week - wow, am so pleased for him as he was not a natural and worked hard so at least he knows he must have done reasonably well in the exam, bless him. Good luck to everyone waiting for news.

Maths007 · 09/01/2016 13:48

Just got call from Whitgift so happy interview next week.

Amazing school

Radiatorvalves · 09/01/2016 13:59

Had a letter from DC this am saying no thanks. I am quite philosophical about it. To be honest I have always wanted him to go to one of the v good state schools near us. Having said that, I don't want DS to feel he's failed.

Good luck to others.

Berora · 09/01/2016 14:00

Wait over, interview next week. We are over the moon. Fingers crossed for everyone else still waiting for news.

Berora · 09/01/2016 14:06

Radiatorvalves - sorry to hear that. Make sure you tell your DS that the competition for DC was extremely high and it was due to sheer number of the boys passing the exam that he didn't get an offer. For what you know, he most likely passed the tests but they have a limited number of places, so had to draw a line somewhere and it is just bad luck that he didn't get in. I know it's not a good feeling to be the one with bad luck, but he must not think that he failed in any way.

Radiatorvalves · 09/01/2016 15:13

Thanks Berora! X

Muminfire · 09/01/2016 16:01

Strange day - "yes" from W and "no" from DC.

kidstaxidriver · 09/01/2016 16:04

Nothing here from W, not sure they will still be ringing now and DS friend from cricket was called this morning. Oh well, what is meant to be..........

NotJK · 09/01/2016 16:28

Just to put your mind at ease, with W they interview for two weeks and think tend to get the ones that they may offer academic scholarships in first. From memory we didn't get a phone call just a letter and were interviewed in the middle section. We didn't go for a scholarship.

kidstaxidriver · 09/01/2016 16:42

Thanks that's kind of you to post! We would never have expected to hear so soon until DS told us that his invigilator had said Saturday! Good luck to all, and hope they get what they're after!

Swipe left for the next trending thread