10+ exams Trinity and Whitgift 2023 entry

[user1473290348]

Hello everybody, starting a thread for parents with children who have applied for 10+ this year.

I disagree, at least for W 11+. We got W 11+ no scholarship invitation but we also got KCS and passed 2nd stage of sutton grammars (i.e. in the last 784 which means should at least having Wallington County). W admitted a wide range of abilities and only very few got scholarship and because the papers are easy, some careless mistakes here and there and you may miss the scholarship mark (but still have a offer). Plenty of DS classmates got passed 2nd stage sutton with only full fees offer from W.

@user1473290348 may be among the top half or top one-third of those with W10+ offer which would give him good chance for a grammar.

And in the parents interview in W, the interviewer should give you a good idea of how your son fared in the exam.

@RedDogBlueDog also I saw you mentioned T. For T 11+ it is getting more difficult now. I think if you get an offer from T 11+, it is very likely you will also get at least one grammar.

@RedDogBlueDog DS at a prep, and like most classmates, we didn't prep to that level (but surely much more than MN myth of only 1-2 hours a week), as the curriculum is about 1-2 years ahead of state, and most can afford to have private schools to fall back on. The extreme preparation was usually with state school kids as the alternative option (for some) would be quite horrible. Also, it is more noticeable for those aiming at top grammars like Wilson and Tiffin. I think many of these boys could have got into other grammars like WCGS or SG with much lower effort. The chase for Wilson is mad. For some parents, it is like the only golden ticket to a bright future.

MN myth of only 1-2 hours a week

Why do think it's a myth? State educated DSs did 1 hour a week with a tutor and some comprehension at home. Both got W & T offers plus one scholarship each and one got a place at Wilson's.

I didn't just say "myth", I said "MN myth" because it happened so often to mums posting on MN including you @SoupDragon , but not often seen outside this circle.

@RedDogBlueDog we were told our DS was in the top few percentiles in the papers for W10+ but the scholarship we received was still not significant. Not enough to impact on whether you are willing to pay or not. The website mentions academic scholarships up to 50% but I wonder who, if anyone, is getting the higher scholarship amounts. Perhaps just the top 1-2 performers, taking all the papers into consideration

The heads said that they are reserving more for bursaries this year (rather than scholarships) and insinuated more for 11+ rather than 10+.

I know a lot of private schools are moving towards nominal financial reward for scholarships and reserving most funding for bursaries. I wonder if the Whitgift Foundation schools are moving towards the same model.

Totally agreed with you and that seems to be case for us too. I was told in the interview that my DS score was among highest in Maths and Critical Thinking and above average in English. Still no scholarship which makes me believe that they are reserving more for bursaries.

Were you told a percentage of the scores?

No.. exact word used by the interviewer for maths was "Right at the top" and for critical thinking was "Among the top"

Whitgift doesn’t like giving away anything it seems. Who interviewed your son?

Mr. Kirby

Hi, we are considering accepting a sports scholarship for our son at W, wondering if anyone has any experience of what is expected in terms of training/commitment..is there much outside the usual school calendar?

We have a sports scholarship offer too and we also had questions re what the expectations are (for us we especially wanted to know what after school commitments might be as we live further away than most families) so we emailed admissions to ask. They got back to us very quickly and said the Director of Sport would follow up with us. He rang my husband today (I think it was the DOS who called anyway) and they had a really good chat and it was very helpful so it may be worth you doing the same. I'm yet to catch up with my husband re all the detail but I know he felt reassured and excited too! Congratulations to your son by the way :)

Isn’t it also about what you want to put your children through as well, if you have a 10+ offer to a school you’re really happy with? I know we’re all different but so much prep seems to happen for 11+, in whatever way you want to say that (I feel a few hours a week is a lot lol!) that I’d take the 10+ offer and give my child and enjoyable year 5 and 6!

I was wondering if anybody can enlighten me on what level scholarships have been this year for 10+ and 11+. I know they say up to 50% on the website, but the school was very open about how they are reserving more for bursaries (which I understand and support). My reason for asking is that I have younger children and the decision on whether to send DS now lies not only on his offer but what my other children can potentially get. I completely appreciate that things change so I am not after guarantees. More of an idea on what scholarships W currently offer now.

I'm still very torn between Whitgift, Trinity and even turning both down.

It’s a bulge year for births in London so plenty of good applications. My feeling is that scholarships are down (we were up for 4 across both schools (one academic, one music, two sports and got none). For 10+ they know that you have few other options this year and they tie you to 2 terms fees for the next year of you accept. So there is probably not much incentive to provide them except for truly exceptional candidates and save the cash for bursaries and 11+ Round. I think that’s fair enough. Escaping the 11+ melee is my primary driver

butbi think playing the scholarship arbitrage game is risky and you need to be able to cover the fees plus hikes in future years. Tough decision overall but I’d take an offer at its face

If it’s true that more funding is being reserved for 11+, I think that could lead to fewer applications at 10+ in future years. Most people would want to have a chance at the best scholarship they can achieve given the number of years it will impact.

@London7282 thats great to know thank you. Same, it's more the evening travel I'm thinking about. Will get in touch next week when we are back from hols. Congrats to your son too :-)