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.

Foragogo

Last year DS went in first for about 15 mins... Was asked about hobbies etc and then he asked a couple of questions and that was it. He brought in a couple of medals and was asked about these purely as an ice breaker. As such, it might be wise to avoid bringing in 6ft trophies!!

It was then our turn to go in and we were told that DS had impressed them and that they thought he would be a great fit for the school and take advantage of what it had to offer... We were asked if we agreed. We make a big point of making it clear that W was our school of choice. We were then asked if we he any questions and that was it!

All in all it was done in 30 mins and was a very smooth process. We came out very enthused about the school and hoping for an offer.

Firefire1066 - our 10+ with W 2 years ago sounds exactly the same as yours, interviewer said pretty much the same words. We didn't bring ice breaker, think our letter said not to bring anything. Though I did see a boy there with 6ft trophy!

And agree it was a very smooth process, and we hoped for an offer too ad thankfully got one.

Good luck to you all! I'm going through it with DD, off to an exam in a few minutes, agh!

Just to say good luck to all - and hang in there! The invitations for interview go out over a couple of weeks at least.
For those of you interested in T, the school diary indicates that Admission interviews begin on 15/1 and continue through to 3/2. Saturdays are usually included.
Music scholarship assessments are on 18 -20/1, drama scholarship auditions on 19/1, art scholarships on 20/1, DT on 21/1.
Sports scholarships are 18/1 (11+) with a recall on 25/1, 19/1 (10+), and 26/1 (13+).
Hope that helps!!

Has anyone else heard from W? A friend's DS heard by post last year a week after the exam date, so still trying to be hopeful!! However, no post today...........

Still nothing to us from either DC or W!

It's rubbish isn't it, particularly when your DS's friend got a call on Saturday and has an interview in 2 days time! We also applied for a scholarship and some of the dates are next week so if we haven't heard by the end of the week then I guess it's a big fat no!!

We're scholarship applications also so that may be a factor. Trying to stay calm and trying to distract the DS so he doesn't worry. No need is good no news (I.e. Not yet bad news)

Hi

I know of someone that has phoned W this morning re 10+ (sports scholarship) and they were told that the letters are going out today.

So fingers xxx.

That's helpful to know! Thank you.
And you're right, the Husband always says 'no news does not mean bad news'!! Fingers crossed for you all too

Hi everyone, we are also in the same position having not heard anything from Whitgift or Trinity - very hard to stay relaxed, this is real nerve racking stuff! It's just to know where we stand in it all. But as many posters said - no news is good news!
Good luck to all still waiting to hear about interview, let's hope the wait isn't too much longer!

Good luck for all who are waiting for answer from W and T. We are waiting answer from Hampton... I open my door to check post every 20 minutes. I know it's crazy but can't stop myself.

Totally see where you're coming from....... Didn't think there was any post today and then the post man turned up at 2pm! It feels like it will be a long week!!

Does anybody know what questions might be asked to parents during an interview in Whitgift and what questions should we ask?

Still no news from W or T. Think I've aged about 10 yrs since Saturday . fingers xxx to all those who are still waiting . I haven't mentioned it to DS as I don't want to worry him

muminfire there are many different interviewers at W, so guess there are different approaches but in our interview 2 years ago we were asked why W. That was easy to answer after he'd told us that DS had done well and would fit in well and would take advantage of all it had to offer, co-circ etc.

I asked how he'd done in the exams and interviewer gave brief summary of each, flicking through the papers in front of us, showed us a maths question or 2 - one DS had got right and one wrong.

best of luck

Don't need to worry if you haven't get the call. I haven't either. I am pretty confident about DS . If his not the one got highest. I will be surprised if he is not the top few.

ElevenPlusSoon you are really happy mum. That's great to be so confident about your son's results!

Blimey wish I had your confidence! I wasn't expecting my DS to be anywhere near a contender. Maybe I should have had more faith though as he's just been invited for a scholarship assessment next week although our actual interview this week hasn't happened yet which surprised me a bit - what does that mean?

For everyone waiting I just want to reiterate my belief that the teacher that marked his papers originally just cracked on with it and that's why we got in the system quickly. I'd be astounded if he was anywhere near a top performer and I personally know 2 boys who are there now, one on a sports scholarship, that didn't hear anything until end of week 2 last year. Stay strong people, we're almost there.

You are very lucky, indeed ElevenPlusSoon - congratulations.

Foragogo - I would take it as good news. I asked during the open afternoon and was told that only boys who performed well enough in the exams would be invited to scholarship assessments, would that be sports or another. If the scholarship assessment didn't go as well as you would hope for (although I'm sure it will), the boy in question would still be in the running for a place.

That's positive news, not Sports. Just hope he's got enough energy to get through another week of this now (and me, I'm mentally drained).

To add to my earlier post above - the fact that someone is not invited to a scholarship assessment does not necessarily mean that they are not going to get an interview. We have been asked for an interview, but haven't been invited for the scholarship assessment, so I can only assume my DS's sporting 'carreer' isn't quite sufficient for W to consider him for a scholarship.

To summarise - I understand that if is someone is invited to a scholarship assessment, they will also get an interview, but if they are not asked to come in for a scholarship assessment, that does not automatically suggest that they are not being considered at all.

I keep fingers crossed, foragogo, you and you DS will be fine. I know what you mean about feeling drained, all this waiting is really tough. Hopefully not much longer...

I rang Whitgift to find out what was happening with the interviews. i was told that they rang the first batch on Saturday as they need to arrange the first round of interviews by phone. Once they have finished interviewing this week they will post the invitations for interviews for next week. They said they won't be posted until the end of the week. She also said there is no ranking order for the interviews. Absolutely no rhyme or reason in the order. Just batch by batch. Nobody has anything to worry about if they haven't already heard. Don't expect to hear before the end of the week. i am expecting Saturday.

Also
if you don't hear on Saturday, you may just need to wait another week. If you haven't had a letter saying your son hasn't got through I wouldn't be upset.