Eltham and Colfes 11+

[kokobean]

My son is preparing to sit the 11+ exams for Eltham and Colfes and I wonder if anyone can shed light on the assessment days?

I know for colfes the assessments happen in the morning followed by a group interview but I’m wondering how to best prepare for him this - are they all asked the same question and each gave to answer? what sort of questions do they ask and how long does the interview part take?

The afternoon taster classes sound fun so i’m hoping this part will be enjoyable for him.

We’ve only recently moved to the UK from Sydney so this is all very new to us and he’s feeling understandably nervous so I’d like to be able to at least tell him what to expect.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

There are lots of interview threads in Secondary Education which may help.

My daughter did both tests! And she is at Eltham College! To be honest she is not totally happy there. Almost all boys want to have girl friend in her classroom and maybe its just because the school recently became a coed but my daughter is shy and dont like these conversations so that she coudnt have good friendship at her school. I also dont like the fact that male teachers are in majority. School is not pushy at all so there is no pressure on students which is good but my daughter really missing her old school and we will wait until end of this year if she feels the same we will try to move her next year.
My daughter did Colfes test online at home (it was optional for covid dont know if it is the same for this year) and she did Eltham College test in the school. When she did Eltham College test - they also had short interview after test. If you want to ask more question you can PM me. Good luck 🤞

Oh sorry just realised that you have a son not a daughter!

Our son joined Colfe's this year - the 11+ assessments were online at Colfe's and a separate online interview (individually), but in person at Eltham (test, group interview and a separate 'chat'). Now out of Covid, Colfe's are going back to the in person day (test, interview, taster lesson). We understand they've got record applicants, so assume having the group interview will help deal with the numbers. They asked questions around what they enjoy at school, favorite subjects, reading - about the books that they have read, what they are thinking about doing after school and why, what they will need to do. If given any advice - give reasons, why is a subject your favorite.... Good luck.

Thank you for these responses - it’s all very helpful

We sat Colfes this year (not Eltham). The English format was slightly different to the sample papers online - they did the SPAG and comprehension first, and then those papers were collected and they were given a photograph and asked to do their creative writing on the photo. The comprehension was an extract from Life of Pi and the picture was from the Life of Pi film based on the description he gave me. The group interview was actually a team task - build the smallest house you can use dry spaghetti and marshmallows. They then had to explain how they did and how they worked together on it. The taster lessons my son had were PE and computers, both of which he loves, so he came out very positive.

@Jujubegreenwich hi, may I learn why you didnt prefer to apply Eltham? We are also thinking to apply these schools next year

@dani2727 A few reasons on why we didn't apply to Eltham: firstly, my son is hugely into football and Eltham aren't - they're very much a rugby school. Secondly, I disliked the headteacher - I know he has a lot of fans but I found him arrogant and my impression (from parents I know with kids there) is that this arrogance has pushed down to the children. Thirdly, I find the school quite snobish, whereas by contrast, Colfes goes out of its way to be inclusive, to the extent that for example, they don't do reasoning or 1:1 interviews because they find that typically underserves state school applicants - this inclusivity is important to me personally because I know my son will thrive in a more inclusive culture that doesn't focus purely on results (my son is in an independent school but I'm state school educated). Finally, the A level results this year at Colfes were better than Eltham - results don't float my boat - I'm more interested in the school culture but it just demonstrated to me that culture eats results for breakfast every time.

@Jujubegreenwich true I didnt like the head either. We did attend Eltham College open day this year and we didnt feel its warm school. Also there are news that Eltham College inflated its results during Covid.

metro.co.uk/2022/02/06/private-schools-manipulated-exam-system-during-covid-to-inflate-grades-16056920/amp/

I really dont mind about the results so much as they are different schools - one of them starts at age 3, another at 7. So ofcourse there will be diffence in the A level or GCSE results… But what I dont understand is some people think it is more academic or prestigious than Colfe’s.
Alleys or JAGS definetely academic and prestigious schools for me but I can not say same thing for the Eltham College.

Did anyone hear anything from Cole's? Are they the only ones do not look at NVR and VR? A few schools only test NVR and VR. This is interesting!

Hi all

What are your views of Colfes vs Eltham in light of offer day today?

We have an offer for both for our daughter. Undecisive as to which would be best.. any views from existing parents at both schools would be much appreciated.

While taking a decision on Eltham or Colfe's should we just look at the online rankings, as they mostly show Eltham as being academically ahead of Colfe's, or should we believe the online buzz about the inclusive culture at Colfe's and go for a superior value system that they may inculcate in children, its a tough choice:), our ward doesn't play rugby, hockey or cricket, so he seems more inclined towards Colfe's ,, any inputs shall be more than welcome

Hi - there isn't much in it in the recent results - GCSEs are about 1% different, so seem to be doing equally well. The results are obviously important, but also look at the other factors - the teachers experience and enthusiasm, resources, clubs (sports and non-sports) and the ethos of the school / head teacher - spend some time now the results are out at both, do another tour and there will be coffee mornings. If in doubt see if you can have a chat with the heads - ask them why they think their school will be a good fit for your child.

The results during the pandemic is another topic - they were really inflated and dropped back at Eltham - and they didn't publish them at the time, as the other schools - like Colfes. St D did. So make sure you look at the recent ones!

We chose Colfes, and so far so good and really flourishing - and had never done any sport really before, but has got involved and tried it out, along with other clubs and activities.

Hi how is your daughter getting on at Eltham? Wondering how girls find it as we have an offer.