Did Colfe’s school change their entrance selection policy a few years ago?

[mumsqna]

Looking at their results there’s been quite a jump since the last time exams were sat.

2019

GCSE (A* -A%): 53.3%
A Levels (A* - A%): 51.5%

2022

GCSE (7-9): 80%
A Levels (A* - A%): 71%

This is quite a jump even with the grade inflation. I had previously looked at the school but turned it down because the grades weren’t impressive ( I liked other bits). Now I’m reconsidering

With James Cleverly becoming foreign sec they seem to be the winners of 2022. I imagine their phones are ringing non stop and their applications are going through the roof

@mumsqna my daughter really liked it, she had 1 to 1 piano lessons, netball and tennis. She enjoyed a lot. Colfe is really good in sport but my daughter never enjoyed maybe because it was coed. I believe she liked the single sex environment- she told me she felt more comfortable and relax. I remember she used to care more about for her hair and accessories in coed secondary. In post 16 she was older but she didn’t care a lot. She focused on her studies totally and achieved really good grades. We didn’t try 11+, I wish we had. Its not because she was unhappy in coed, its because she improved a lot in single sex environment. So if you have a daughter go for it. I really recommend Blackheath High.

Our son joined this year - understand that they've had a lot more applicants over the last few years and a record number for this year. Exam results are really good and have been relatively consistent with pre and covid results - with much less of a drop from self-assessed results in other schools. Facilities are great and there is lots of choice of subjects and plenty of support - and they've really up'd their IT / computing for this year on the back of coming out of lock down, designed to complement / support the classroom teaching. Teachers very approachable and responsive and we've been told that this years intake is a 'bright one' when they looked at the end of term marking.

Do you know how many applicants Colfes had this year?

Not quite sure, but we will decline the offer tomorrow. In DD class, someone did not get the offer. On the post-offer morning, they asked every student to buy their Ipad cost £700-£1200. Also need to buy insurance. You can not use your own Ipad. This is something new.

I think the school just became more popular for the lawyers and bankers in Blackheath and Greenwich. Suddenly, kids from Blackheath Prep which is the more academic prep in the area, started going to Colfe’s in bigger numbers. There are also lots of good state primaries in the area and it is a privileged place so when those children go at 11 plus, it inflates the grades further down the line. Grades are largely about cohort/parent group rather than what a school does.
In addition, there are not that many high performing state secondaries around so Blackheath/Greenwich well off parent is more likely to pay up and send DC there.

Also, the reason Eltham apparently changed to co-ed is because there was a shortage of co-ed private school places in South East London. That is why Alleyns was so massively oversubscribed something like 12:1 is what is rumoured at 11 plus.
If there is so much demand, then competition for places becomes higher and schools like Colfe’s get to take the brighter kids at 11 plus in the competition. It is far easier to pick out the brightest age 11 than at 3/4 years of age.
If you look at schools like Highgate that are huge, they tend to add in extra kids at 7 and 11 plus.

I have yet to see a school that takes everyone at 3/4 and then churns out amazing results at A level. The trick most schools employ is take some early on who sign up for the through advantage, but then cherry pick lots of high flyers with scholarships at 11 plus and 16 plus.

My friend was in the same classes as James Cleverly at Colfe's. Apparently, he was NOT clever.