Advice CLSG 16+ Exam

[rheafern]

Hi, my daughter is doing the CLSG exam this Tuesday. Does anyone here have experience of the exam and the kind of questions they ask? She’s doing Maths, Biology, Latin and French. She’ll be fine with the last two but I’m not sure how we could make the most of the two days before the exam. Any help highly appreciated!! Thanks very much!

Hi Rheafern,

My son got into CLSB for 16+ last year. He is in school now, so I can't ask for more detail, but he got through the written exam with past papers. Most qs were from the syllabus but with a twist. The interview was rather tougher and they were deliberately trying to catch him out. He was certain he would not get in, but he did. It is a great school and well worth trying for.

Thanks, @Frequentflier. My daughter felt she didn't do very well, but you never know... She talked about one specific question in Biology that she was not very used to. Something like: "Conservationists say deforestation should stop immediately. Comment". My younger son goes to CLSB and that is the type of question he will definitely be more used to. I'm happy for you that you son got it. We love CLSB in so many ways! For us, certainly a strain to have one and now possibly two in private schools, but based on what we've been experiencing in CLSB, well worth it! My daughter was offered a place at CLSG at the 11+ but we rejected it for a Grammar. Probably the wrong decision... If it's not asking too much, it would be great to hear what kind of questions were asked during the interview when your son got in. Thanks very much!

@Rheafern

Grilled my ( rather uncommunicative) son yesterday and got the following, in his own words. His subjects were Further Maths, Physics and Economics.

(1) For the maths exam, revise roots, surds, quadratic equations, trig, simultaneous equations and basic algebra. I think your daughter has already done the exam right? In the interview, they ask you to CORRECT your mistakes from the paper. So, if you miss a question from the paper, try to figure out how to do it afterwards so you can be prepared for the interview. I remember this really fazed my son, because he wasn't expecting to be pulled up for mistakes!

(2)They ask about your interests outside school, what you want to study at university, and what interests you about that field and what you have done outside of class pertaining to that subject..

(3) Why you want to join City. As I recall, my son said he wanted an academic and diverse school, and one with a strong reputation in STEM. Seems to be an acceptable ans!

Hope this helps. I am sure you did not make the wrong decision with your daughter. As parents, we tend to always second guess our decisions, and god knows the expense is definitely a factor. Good luck!

That is so helpful, @Frequentflier! I know how difficult it can be to extract that much from a teenager, so thank you very, very much!

No problem. Mumsnetters were v helpful to me when choosing schools. Glad I can pay it forward. My son got into some other schools as well, but we went with CLS and so far, he's pretty happy with his choice.