Number of schools to target

[latineater]

I have a shortlist of around 10 schools (Y9 entry) and was wondering how many to actually apply for. Most of them are on ISEB (only two have paper-based exams from my list) so it doesn't necessarily mean more exams. Of course, if you get through the pre-test, you have second round exams, interviews etc.

Does 3 aspirational, 3 medium, 2 backup schools sound like a reasonable number, or is that too many?

Way too many. That’s eight schools!!!!!

Depending where in the country you are would also be a factor. In London then most children sit between 3 and 5. Further out you are looking at between 2 and 3. If you are looking at boarding schools then they have places to fill, particularly with international students bring thin on the ground at the moment. So long as you have one “banker” that you know your child will almost definitely get into then concentrate more on the schools you genuinely love and are best fit for your child. Don’t just get wowed by academic results or the name. Things like ensuring they have football teams if that’s your child’s main sport.

I would expect the head of your current school to give you some guidance too. Whilst it’s always good to have aspiration, if your child doesn’t stand a chance at getting into Westminster or St Paul’s then it would be bonkers to put them through the admissions process.

Thanks @Zodlebud. Yes, London.

DS' cat score is 'borderline' at 130. The school thinks it can go either way. We are not doing W and St P, but there are a few aspirational boarding and selective independents on our list. And is there really a 100% safe banker in London any more!

Is there a reason students are only doing 3 to 5, considering it's just one exam for most of the schools?

Mental exhaustion from eight interviews and assessment days. Plus adding in any scholarship assessments if that’s a route you are going down. It also offers too much choice if you get all eight offers. I get that you want to hopefully have an element of choice and not set your hearts on one particular school just in case, but having so many irons in the fire can make it harder to work out where is right.

Two aspirational, two schools of good fit (or three if you must) and one banker should be more than enough. I agree that “bankers” aren’t that assured these days in London but there are PLENTY of excellent schools offering weekly boarding about an hour from London where you can pretty much guarantee a place with CAT scores at the level you are talking about. Competition for boarding places is far lower than the top London day schools (unless you are talking Eton of course).

Thank you that’s useful! Off to research football teams and weekly boarding schools.

Football teams?

I think weekly boarding is a way better bet than the scrum for London day schools. More relaxed and these schools have so much on offer. Many get really good results. Some have coaches that run into London too making life a bit easier for London parents.

That's really reassuring. Which ones are they @PresentingPercy? I have Tonbridge and Sevenoaks on my list.

Brighton College has a bus transportation service for weekly boarders from Clapham.

Haileybury has school bus services for weekly boarders which includes Sevenoaks, Harrow, Hampstead and London Zoo.

Those are the two I know about. A lot of schools in close proximity to London now offer it.

Two aspirational, two schools of good fit (or three if you must) and one banker should be more than enough.

This

We are outside of London / home counties. Here people usually apply to 2-3. DD has passed the yr7 entry exam and deferred to year 9 so we have our banker. Now it's just whether we can find somewhere 'better'.

Hello, NC Sevenoaks parent here. Highly recommend. Has the academics of a top London day school but without the insane admissions craziness (obv still pretty competitive). Plus a lovely leafy campus and great sport and EC, but only half an hour from Central London. (And an exceptional Classics dept, which sounds like it might be of interest given your username??). Not sure it does weekly boarding as such though - in that you can go home, but you still pay full fees (I think - we're not boarders). Tonbridge is very good but very different - SS, more traditional public school vibe.

@thosewhostay Thank you for posting, will DM you. I loved the Sevenoaks campus, Tonbridge felt a little 'stuffy' for me but I know their Science subjects are absolutely brilliant. If we get Sevenoaks, we will move closer to the school and do the day school.

Do you think the IB students struggle in any way when it comes to university admissions? Do they feel like they have to do too much?

We're not at the IB stage yet, so not sure I can give much advice. University admissions don't seem to be an issue; of course IB is far less common than A levels, but not so uncommon that the universities aren't pretty clued up about it. I'm sure the sixth form admissions bods would give you chapter and verse. As for workload, it's definitely a lot of work - probably not the best option for a student who's not prepared to put the hours/effort in. And not ideal for someone who really, really hates languages or science or maths or whatever. But for a bright, hard-working relative all-rounder, it just seems like such a great qualification. It was definitely one of the reasons we chose the school - our DC is an able all-rounder with a leaning towards maths, and we were keen to keep a broad education as long as possible.

Incidentally, there are lots of south London day students, so moving out of London entirely wouldn't necessarily be necessary.