16+ exams for King's College School Wimbledon

[Yanu]

Hi, I would request guidance for preparation for 16+ exams for King' s College School Wimbledon for my daughter.

When are the exams? What year is your dd in now?

There is a strong emphasis on candidates demonstrating wider reading and having a good degree of general knowledge although, obviously, the interviewers want candidates to talk passionately about their own enthusiasms. Is your daughter going to take IB or A Level in the Sixth Form?

Confident, opinionated students who can explore a subject at length and justify their opinions when challenged tend to fare well in the interviews. I've not come across anyone who has been asked deliberately obscure questions in a KCS interview, however, and the interviewees I have met have all been made to feel welcome. Questions about personal qualities (e.g. what are your strengths and weaknesses?) are sometimes asked. As with any academic school, students with a self-reflective attitude tend to do well.

Having spoken to 16+ interview candidates, it's probably useful if your daughter reflects a little on the purpose of education. Interviewees have been asked to discuss their favourite lessons or topics as well as slightly more theoretical questions about how we make use of what we learn.

All the best with your daughter's application!

Yanu, I am an expat moving to London and my son did the exam for 16+ entry in November 2019. He did not get in, but he did get into all the other schools he applied for, so not too shattered:)

If you have a DD, you have a big advantage. We were told that only 5 boys were admitted for our year and 50+ girls. Here is what was asked in last year's exam. We did not have time to tutor, but you could try to focus on these areas:
(1) Maths: Focus on algebra and co-ordinate geometry. There is a sample paper on the KCS website. Mostly followed the GCSE/IGCSE curriculum.
(2) English: Unseen passage. Son said it was from "Flashman." So yes reading the classics will help.
(3) Essay, where he chose from several subjects: hard to predict these but yes, reading up on argumentative writing would be useful. One subject was "Where do you see yourself in ten years?"

Also, one thing to remember is that KCS gives unconditional offers, which I think is very rare for London schools. So much less stressful for parents.

Hi Yanu are you still looking into 16+ entry exam for your daughter? We are also looking into taking the exams next year, she is absolutely head over heals with KCS as it ticks all the boxes for her not just academics (Physics mainly) but hockey, rowing, drama, music etc. Let me know how are you getting on please.

Any information on the interviews?

Very pleased for my daughter - she has an interview on Saturday but as it's online, no idea really what to expect?

Hi, BetteDavisthighs, I am also an expat and the same thing happened to our DS. He got in all the other schools he applied for and even with scholarship, but not King's. Though we knew they normally accept very few boys for 6th form but the school told us it was because boys already had opportunities at 7+, 8+, 11+ and 13+, and 16+ is the only opportunity for girls. And the offers will be made based on the exam, interview and reference. No gender preference. The teachers we spoke to diplomatically refused to tell exactly how many boys got in during the last 3 years, but we found out from the pupils there it could be as few as 1 boy for a year (vs 50+ girls). 5 boys for last year is actually quite an impressive number!

we now doubt if the play field is as level as we were told. (I know King's is very much at the top of the league table, but the previous A level results of the schools we applied for do not really justify our DS's experience, especially if this happened to more than one boy) ---- Completely understandable girls are strongly preferred for a year group already having almost 200 boys and boys only. But still think it would be helpful if more 'accurate' information is provided. I am sure a lot of boys would still want to apply anyway so it probably won't make the school appear to be less difficult to get in...