13+ Guidance?

[TypsTrycks]

Can someone please offer me a parents' guide to the 13+? I understand the 11+ process fairly well but don't know anyone who has been through the 13+.

It seems like there are so many exams to take for 13+, scholarship exams etc - what are they and when do these happen? When do preparations start? Do good London prep schools do almost all the work or do some still hire tutors? When do parents have to get involved in the whole process?

Also, any thoughts if the 13+ process is more or less stressful than the 11+? Any guidance would be very useful!

which schools are you thinking of?

HooverMover Not sure yet - but most likely the usual London suspects like Westminster, KCS, Dulwich, Sevenoaks etc. We don't own a house so can go anywhere, and it's all so confusing as most schools seem to have widely differing entry criteria. We are far from this though as DS only in Y3.

Each school will vary, and procedures may well change before your ds is due to sit. Is he at a prep school, if so they will provide appropriate guidance depending on ability. Sevenoaks and Westminster are very competitive for example. Sevenoaks also has 11+ entry so you are filling spaces at 13+ whereas others may only intake at 13+. However there has recently been a move towards having a year 7 and 8 prep intake to feed the senior school in some like Epsom. Traditional "public" schools currently use Common Entrance but many pretest at year 6 and make conditional offers. Others set their own entrance assessments and scholarships may be awarded based on these or have separate papers.

Dulwich has a competitive 13+ - so much the same procedure as for 11+ (register before deadline, past papers are available)

Westminster uses CE and scholarship exam. For a CE conditional offer, the candidate needs to sit the pre-test exam and be interviewed in year 6, then reach required mark in CE. They can also sit the scholarship papers (which are a few months earlier than CE). Even if nit awarded a scholarship, if the candidate scores highly enough, they will be exempted from CE.

A good prep will steer you through this. CE is (arguably) less stressy in terms of exams, as there's no competition. But getting a suitable conditional offer also has its stresses

Yes absolutely agree LIZS. Each school varies and they are changing- some you need to register yr5 and do ISEB pretest yr 6. Others have their own test and process

Your prep head should guide through the process and recommend schools

What newt said (hello newt - I see you around on the schools threads - I've name changed - I think out kids went to the same school).

Having been through both I would recommend the 11+ if the schools you are interested in offer it. For 13+ unless you are sitting the scholarship papers you end up spending at least half of year 8 on exam technique and mocks. Also kids should be allowed to enjoy yrs 7 and 8 before they focus on GCSE. 11+ just adds another layer of stress and competition for kids and a big focus on exams during these years. Finally the senior schools all have such great facilities you might as well get their and enjoy them and the wide range of subjects before you have to make choices.

Good luck.