Private School - how many to apply for?

[Gumps]

Looking for some advice re private school choices. My eldest ds is at Hampton, having got in on the 10+. My ds10 didn't get the 10+ so now we are going through the 11+ process for the first time.
He will sit again for Hampton (good feedback on the 10+). So far I have added Epsom and St Georges to the list but neither are a perfect fit. We would be the furthest stop on one of the bus routes for Epsom and the lack of a late after school bus from St Georges would make life difficult.
My ds is one of the top of his state school class and very sporty. For a variety of reasons the local comps are out for us.
So my questions are how many schools do the children usually sit for at 11+? Am I naive in thinking 3 is enough?
Are there any other schools in the area that would be a good fit? I took him to see Reeds and he didn't like it but I think this was due to the focus on hockey as he is a rugby player. Outside space is an important factor for me so has put me off viewing Kingston Grammar.
Any opinions very much appreciated.

I'm in exactly the same position as you (albeit a different set of schools). My DS will be sitting 4. The original (and most academic) that his older brother is at plus 3 others that are all 'easier' to get into. The exam days are spread out so I don't think he'll be overwhelmed and in fact he quite enjoys it as it's a day off school, and I'd just rather have more options (hopefully!) on the table.

St George's has a late bus OP, but not much use unless you live in Walton or Weybridge, though it does drop off at Weybridge station if you are on that line?

Personally I'd do Hampton then SGC or Epsom (not both) and a banker, probably Halliford. I was also under the impression that Reeds were a good rugby school, which is one of the reasons I took it off our list!

You just want to have one safe choice that you'd be prepared to accept (no point in a safe choice you wouldn't actually consider). What constitutes a safe choice will depend on your DS. It sounds like he's a bright boy with sports going for him too so 3 might well be fine.

If he’s top of his class then how about Wallington grammar... means doing the 11+ though

St G has become more popular and harder to get into, same with St Johns. We’ve been advised these sit only just behind Hampton and RGS now in terms of how hard they are to get into. I thought Reeds were keen on rugby, more so than St G who are very focussed on hockey.

It’s hard to find a ‘banker’ - I didn’t like Claremont, are going to the Halliford open day. We are considering boarding schools as they have less pressure on places - possibly Charterhouse or Cranleigh.

If we like Halliford our DS will probably end up sitting Reeds, St G, Cranleigh/Charterhouse and Halliford, so 4. I would prefer it to just be 3 though!!