13 plus schools

[OneBlueSeal]

Hi everyone,

I hope you're all doing well! I wanted to ask for your opinions on a few schools: City of London Freemen's, Kingston Grammar, Trinity, Whitgift, and Dulwich College. We've applied for 13+ entry to these schools, and I'm curious to hear your thoughts and experiences with them.

How do they compare in terms of academics, extracurricular opportunities, and overall environment? We'd love to hear any insights you might have!

Thank you so much.

Avoid freemens for 13+, hear Kingston grammar is very good. City of London is very cliquey and won’t be easy to integrate at 13 when most children have been there from age 7.

How do the admissions processes differ for each? I would be more inclined to send my child to a school that relies heavily on an interview i.e. getting to actually know my child, rather than a school focused on numericals and exam results. Perhaps that's just me?

@GiftWrappedKittyCat2 These are all selective academic schools so a chat about their interests isn’t going to tell anyone if this child will manage the pace in maths. I assume if the OP wanted a non-selective environment she’d be looking elsewhere.

Okay, perhaps that's a valid point. Keen to know how highly weighted the exams are. Beyond reaching the pass mark, are they still very selective regarding personalities, additional needs, interests etc.?

Huge mix of abilities. In my sons year (senior school) at Freemens there are kids getting very low scores in tests (c. 20% level) - these tend to be the children that have been there from young ages as those entering in later years need to prove academic ability upon entry. They will take on board other skills and interests in interview as most schools offer academic support for those less able and set STEM classes. It will tend to depend on how many spaces are available and how many apply and then they will select based on the range of abilities and skills in that cohort so I doubt there is a set criteria that would be shared with you. It appears many that apply are being accepted at the moment given the climate so I would advise applying anywhere that you are interested in. The entrance tests and interviews are far easier than grammar entrance. Different schools will be looking for different things - so academic ability + music, or sport, etc.

That's all very interesting. Especially as I went to a grammar myself and so have an understanding of the 11+. I definitely feel that with the VAT increases and general cost of living, it's all about increasing numbers, and so inevitably, schools become less selective (which I suppose in theory is good for the buyer, though we're fronting the fee increases).

Any thoughts on tutoring for the 13 plus? If schools truly are becoming less selective, I almost feel that investing in a tutor might be wasted money. Was enquiring with Stratum Tutoring and Keystone Tutors, but am now tempted to think a subscription to Atom learning might do the trick haha!

The London day secondary schools had an increase in registrations last autumn rather than decline due to the move of central London families moving from boarding schools at 60k pa to day schools at 30k pa. The 13 plus entry route is on a decline each year, RGS Guildford being one of the latest to remove the entry point from 2027, the lack of places is keeping the entry point competitive.

@GiftWrappedKittyCat2 In London? Boy? Girl? Where do they sit currently in their cohort? Which schools are you aiming for broadly? There can be no blanket I would tutor or I wouldn’t without a lot more information.