This is the pushy parent Tiffin tutor thread.

[uwila]

Okay, so wh ohas used a Tiffin tutor? Did it get your kid(s) into Tiffin? How old were they when they strted tutoring?

Okay, so my DD is only 3 1/2 but I like to plan ahead/. I've heard you can sign up for tutors that increase your chances of getting into Tiffin (boys and girls schools).

Any experience/opinions welcome.

Thanks.

cate - its interseting that ex Tiffin girls wouldn't neccessarily recommend it. I'm ex Sacred Heart and loved it so would love DD to go there.

decaf - we're in RUT, not Twick. DS nearly didn't get a place and we only lived 1 mile away - but he was born in the millenium year, so there were extra kids. We went on the waiting list and he got offered a place two weeks after being initially rejected. (I lost two weeks sleep )

Its pure luck as it depends how many siblings ther are in a given intake. The catholic schools tend have have lots of siblings . Last year 28 out of the 30 were siblings . But this year there are only about 8 siblings, so lots of places for new families.

Just make sure you attend mass each week

Hall. If you look at the figures for my local secondary school they have a huge number of 'siblings' can't remeber the exact number but it is well over 100. I know someone who would have liked to get her son into said school and happened to have a friend who worked in the office. When moaning to her friend she as told don't worry if you want him in I can get him in no probs. She did not take her up on it though. It makes me wonder what they are hiding in the 'sibling' figure.

drosophila, I think your suspicions are well founded, but I don't have hard evidence. The business about those working at the school being able to get their children in was raised in Parliament some time back (I found a Hansard page when searching on the school), but being able to get their friends' children in is a new one on me. I suspect not many people would have acted as honourably as your friend. I still think you should be OK as you live really close to the school - after all, if you didn't get in and appealed, you could open up a nasty can of worms if our suspicions are correct. (Then again, you may get to that stage and decide a different school would be better for your son. Stranger things have happened...)

oops - sorry fox - will read more carefully in future!

Hmm school admissions policies do indeed work in mysterious ways.

DS's school prioritises:

1 church attendance
2 Siblings
3 Children of staff
4 Special needs
5 If over subscribed, then distance

The year DS applied, at least two familes gave false addresses and got in.

Yes, batters.

just starting to review this long thread - new at this - can someone please explain Nonsuch ? VR? NVR?

Thanks

That's a relief - I thought I was the only one who didn't know what those terms mean, but was too embarassed to ask!

VR - verbal reasoning
NVR - non verbal reasoning
nonsuch - no idea. If you find out let me know!

meb, I'm a little confused by your post. If you're asking what tests Nonsuch (a girls' school in LB Sutton) has, the answer is here . If you're confused on the meanings of the words, I've just explained Nonsuch, VR is verbal reasoning and NVR is nonverbal reasoning. If you're none the wiser on the latter two, this may help.

You hve answered the question perfectly - 0ne is the name of a school (hence I had not heard of it) and the second two are pretty obvious once you know what the answers are! Thanks very much - I shall keep reviewing now and I will be understand more then I would before.

I'd never heard of Nunsuch either. Curious name for a school!

Ah. I presume it's named after Henry VIII's palace of the same name, which used to be near there, but, as the name might suggest, it isn't any more. But it was a bit of a strange name for a palace when it was there...

And there's a big park too. You lot need to get out more!

I think the person I knew was a bit taken aback by the practices of the admissions at aforementioned school and I think it turned her off the school as a whole.

I also met a couple of mothers last summer who were offered places at the school and turned them down cos they didn't like the two tier approach. Both their children were offered places as a result of the exam so they would have been in the top groups but they didn't like the way others were treated. During a tour of the school some unpleasant things were said about the lower groups.

batters, I don't know any girls who go to Nonsuch from our area, but one of my neighbours' daughters considered applying there. I know someone (in last year's Year 6 in your daughter's old school) who was thinking of applying to the other girls' grammar in that borough, but I don't know whether she actually did, or where she went in the end.

People at state schools round here can be quite cloak-and-dagger about grammar school applications, with some reason. My children's primary school certainly didn't approve of DS1's choice.

drosophila, I was put off school G by the disparaging remarks made by one of the deputy heads about... boys . I too got the impression life wouldn't be much fun in the "support" band.

For anyone out there trying to find out which secondary schools children went to from particular primary schools, the Directgov site school profiles may be useful. Not all schools have filled in profiles yet, though (batters, I'm afraid you'll have to rely on networking for the moment.)

hallo - i found this a really useful thread - i'm v much ahead of myself as i haven't even conceived as yet! Just v keen to keep up to speed with the local schools - i live in shepperton.

having been to a c of e grant maintained secondary (and a dire primary) i'm keen to send my kids somewhere where - even if there are less able pupils - the teachers keep control & allow everyone to achieve their full potential without disruption. I find it a bit worrying seeing some local school children's behaviour in the streets.

anyway, as i say, am extremely premature - good luck to you all with the tutoring & selection processes

Uwila - have sent you a long waffling email.

Uwila - have sent you a long waffling email.