Selective secondary school entrance preparation(2019 intake-London)

[Greenleave]

This thread is for everyone preparing for selective secondary school entrance (2019 intake). My daughter is entering yr5, she is more rounded, she goes to a state primary. There is Tiffins for girl that we could travel to however I dont think we could compete a place. Both myself and my husband work full time and long hours and could just afford to send her to private(English isnt our first language although my daughter was born in London). We know we need to prepare, I have been trying hard not to think about it. My task next week is to research for schools within 45 mins public transport, entrance exam requirements, fees and related cost(music, sports, lunches) to have a list of school we could travel to, could afford and what subjects to prepare. We have put our name to a tutor who will do a test in October to see if we could have a place at her group. It will be group tutoring, 1hr/week if we could get a place after. I think we could help her with maths( we still need to revise a little to familiar ourself with English terminology). What are your plans? How are you all planning for it?

Can't help but bumping for you .

Thanks TribalArts!

Got home at 9pm almost everyday these days so the chance of helping her from us will be very little. I am searching via goodschoolguide now. Most of the schools tick the boxes, I have read them somewhere, they all seem to be good schools. Now this week is to know what is the entrance/test requirement. I think I might just listen to my husband and book a time with a tutor central to have them to go through the list and tell us what to do.

Some of the schools have sample papers on their websites, so it'll be a good idea to check that first.

Nothing beats one to one tutoring honestly so its great you can help her with Maths. The best way to increase English terminology is to read, read, read..as much as possible. Fiction, non fiction, magazines,comics, different authors and styles of writing. It will do wonders! the lot and plenty of time read whilst on holiday.

TribalArts: thank you! I will dive into their websites this weekend, hopefully they have sample papers(and especially answers).

Will start to review maths with her, I will definitely need a good review myself too. Will look for couple of books for myself to start with.

She is a book worm, although I cant say about her vocabulary(we speak our native language at home).

Hi, Green.
We don't live in London, but I am definitely concerned about my ds's destination, so I need to research this too. There are no grammar near where we live, and there's only one choice of secondary where we live, which is dreadful. I am planning to talk with teacher in new school year, but this is very worrying at the moment.

Irvine: there are boarding school options if you dont have any selective school nearby. To be honest, 11+ is so scary in London. It was the reason I joined mumsnet then decided not to do anything until yr5. Yr5 now and I still dont want to do anything yet, I am torn between delaying it as much as possible and not disadvantaging her from preparing too late. We wont try grammar(there is only 1 school we could travel to and the competition is almost crazy, I dont think we stand a chance). Going to the paying route then there are more choices from the extremely competitive one(even more than Tiffin) to the slightly easier one. I dont think I will tell her any of this, I dont want her to set her heart on anything either. We might try for 4 schools. I dont know which one yet. We have to consider the stress level to the whole family too as both myself and my husband leave home from 7am or earlier and never got home till 7pm or later. Our dailies are already tough to manage, I dont know how to fit 11+ in yet.

Hi OP

It might be worth saying exactly where you live so that other posters can give some suggestions. I assume that it is somewhere in south west London as you've mentioned Tiffin.

Yes, southwest London here. I understand many send theirs to prep so there might be much less work to do. I understand that the competition in South london for grammar schools are the worst.

Hmm. I would suggest that you get a copy of the Good Schools Guide for south London but I see that you are already on their website. I don't know very much about south London but I hope that someone who lives round there will be along in a while.

I'm not in London and have 2 DS so I can't help with specific schools. I would recommend that you contact the admissions as soon as you have identified your target schools and ask them about their process. Also make them aware that English is not her first language at home.

Dear OP, the great thing about searching for a school for a girl in South West London is that there is so much choice. There will be a school in the private system that is a match for your dd. Dont worry about Tiffin too much, Tiffin Girls is 1 of the top girls schools in the UK and only a small percentage of girls in any class state or private have the natural intelligence to pass the exams regardless of support at home or from a tutor. Once you start visiting schools on Open Days you will quickly decide whether they are the right fit for your family, for example Kingston Grammar is a marmite school, people either love the buzz and passion for learning or are put off by the central Kingston site and sports grounds in Thames Ditton. LEH is another school that families make a decision on either way during a visit. A tutor will also be able to give you good advice and a range of schools to consider, for example Ewell Castle is a unique school which gives many children pastoral care that you wont find in the larger private secondary schools. Dont forget your local state secondary school either, there are few failing schools in the Boroughs of Richmond/Kingston or Elmbridge, paying schools fees doesnt mean a better school experience. The best advice is to always go and visit and speak to the Registrar plus look at sample papers on the websites, try the Radnor House and Claremont Fan Court School websites for examples of easy/mid-range maths papers.

Crucru: we live in Sw and wont be able to travel to South. There is City London school for girl which my friends send their daughter to since primary and she loves the school. It will take us an hour to travel there or so though so I am thinking hard. We travel 1 hour each way to work everyday and its miserable, I am not too sure any school worths it.
Thanks HRH,
Sunshine: I was determined not bring her to any school so she doesnt set her heart in(worrying that if we couldnt get a place). Now I was also told that visiting school will give her fair chance to choose and then more motivation to try and might be accepting failure is ok. I will make the decision when the time come(will need to read for schools' agenda: open day, deadline etc). One of my neighbor is sending theirs to Christ, they could comfortably afford any private however they just didnt try and didnt want to, almost 90% of my daughter's state primary school sent their children to private though(Tiffins is too competitive and academic and not for everyone's taste). I heard of LEH, I know a child who goes there. Its on top of my list to be honest. I am thinking of trying Kingston Grammar too as many of my daughters' friends siblings go there, they say all good thing about it. I have never heard of Ewell Castle though, thank you for suggesting. Couple of my neighbours send theirs to Latymer Upper and they are very happy too. So yes, I roughly know names of the schools. I now know fees and costs and travelling etc. I will need to know what type of exams they will test so we could prepare. We brought her to a tutor centre for a 1.5hr test/chat(mostly chat)however decided not to send her there, I was told we could move her to prep, my husband doesnt think/agree that moving her now is a great idea. I am thinking of seeing them again to know what type of tests the shortlisted schools have and what we need to do to prepare. For now...she reads, I googles

If you are in a primary school in Borough of Richmond you will be absolutely fine as they are great schools. Yes try Kingston Grammar, Surbiton High, Putney High, LEH, St Catherine's Twickenham as well as schools towards Hammersmith. Don't worry about Ewell Castle, it's too far. Some Open Days are at the weekend so you can take your dd and some are during the week like Surbiton High so it's easy to visit without your child being aware. Kingston Grammar has 1 Open Day a year so you need to register on their website asap as its limited places. They also have sample papers on their website.

We are in same boat, starting year 5 and looking at applying to local grammar (now notorious St Olave's). Son is at prep school and we will also be looking at local independent schools and trying for a scholarship, although I'm not sure if that will be realistic. I also don't want him to feel pressurised so trying to limit the amount of time he will spend on papers etc.

How much time are you all spending doing papers/extra work? In the holidays we have taken it fairly easy but we will need to step it up quite a lot if he is to stand a chance!

No need to send a child all the way to the Barbican from Richmond - you will pass many great schools along the way!
Good advice and list of schools from Sunshine 5050.