Anyone know about moving schools at 7 in Wandsworth (Indy sector?)

[7PlusQuestion]

We are thinking of moving our DS to the independent sector at 7. He's due to start primary this September (nearby state primary). We live in the Battersea end of Wandsworth. Local (ish) schools include Newton Prep, Roche, Thomas's (Battersea and Clapham), Eaton House the Manor, Parkgate, Finton, Hornsby House, Eveline Day.... Plus potentially a couple of options north of the river. We both work full time so we need to consider drop offs and pick ups, which may realistically knock a few off this list.

Does anyone know whether you can / should register with these schools for 7+ admissions in the same way that you have to (at birth in some cases!) for 4+ admissions? Do many places at these schools come up at 7+? What's the typical entry process and will my bright and sparky DS who will only have been state educated up to that point, need to be tutored to help him get in? (I'm unsure about how wise it would be to try to tutor a child of this young age). Has anyone moved their DC at this age, and did the school help them settle well?

My son attends Eaton House the Manor and thus I will give you some info wrt that school . There is the option to drop off at 8 in the morning and there are afternoon clubs every night which go onto 5 although in reality most children in the pre prep ( up to and includng year 3 ) would not stay every night as it can be tiring . There were 5 new boys into my son's year at 7 and 2 at 8. These boys came from a mixture of other private and state school backgrounds and were not as far as I am aware tutored. I would expect your sparky state school boy would be fine , I think there is a short test at 7 and I know there is definitely a test for 8 plus entry but the registrar would have details. Places do come up as families in this part of London often move out to the country when children are fairly young for bigger houses and/or to avoid the competition of places for Senior schools . However the attraction of the new prep school head in the guise of Mr Edwards , formally head of Westminster Under has meant that there are more external candidates for places and there is talk of moving to 3 classes for next year's year4 given the high interest from external boys .
You may want to bear in mind that traditionally a number of boys leave co-ed schools at 7 or8 for prep school and this was if not now the case at Finton and Parkgate . Thus there would be places but potentially not many boys which may make team sports difficult. The larger schools such as Thomas , Newton prep would be a lot less impacted by this but it is worth asking how many boys they have in years 5 and 6 etc. Finally where and when do you ultimately want to send DS to school at senior level - its a long way ahead but some of the schools you mention prepare for the 11 plus , some the 13 plus and a few both ? If you ultimately want a Westminster or Eton some schools are much more geared up for this than others

Thanks TimmyToes. I'm more interested in 11+ secondaries and have a bit of a preference I think for co-ed. Only downside of this is that DS would potentially be moving again after 4 years. So, I guess schools that would prepare for 11+ would be better for us? Are there any of those mentioned that you know to be better on that front.

thank you for your help.

Most schools at secondary level in this part of London are single sex ( exceptions Alleyns, Emanueland Harrodian) but if you prefer coed school that prepares specifically for 11plus your best bets might be Hornsby House . Best idea is to look at website at schools where leavers go or better still ask as some schools do not publish on website. Not sure if Newton Prep and Thomas prepare for 11 plus exit as both go onto 13.

My children go to the Roche. It is mixed and non-selective at all points so no exam at 7+. They prepare very thoroughly for 11+ and the children seem to do very well in the 11+ entrance exams at both mixed and single sex secondaries.

Surely with the number of CE schools which now pre-test, with exams very similar to 11+, all children are prepared to pass external exams in year 6 these days?

Only some schools pre-test at year 6 , eg Dulwich does not but Westminster and Kings Wimbledon do. Some schools have a simple reasoning test with emphasis put on Heads report and interview eg Eton and some interview only with no pre-test at all eg Charterhouse. Of course there are then some schools that interview in year 7 rather than year 6, for example Harrow . The syllabus for a school that prepares children for 11 plus exams and one that prepares for 13 plus may differ considerably, some schools that go onto 13 may prepare for both but it is worth checking, indeed some senior schools are reluctant to take students from schools that go on to 13 at age 11 e.g Westminster. I am afraid its far from simple and it does help , in my opinion to have at least thought about your senior school options and potential plans when you start out .

Gosh - it is even more confusing than I thought!

Scoobyblue can you tell me a bit more about Roche - how many places tend to crop up at 7/8? Do people register far in advance or just in the year before?

timmytoes do you know anything about how 7+ admissions work at Hornsby? I know we have missed the boat for 4+ (and in any case we are planning to do state at this age - primarily because we need a longer period of time to save for fees later on). Would we need to put DCs names down now for 7+ or just in the year before? I'm worried that the schools might be a bit sniffy about us if we essentially have to admit at this stage that we are not entering the independent sector from day 1.

On secondary, I'm not that keen on the traditional 'public' schools (13+) for a number of reasons. In any case, it is too early to know yet quite how academic/driven our DCs will be so I'm reserving judgment until we have a better idea but I guess it is on my mind, yes and I can see that it is relevant to this decision. DH and I were both very academic/Oxbridge but we weren't educated in the private sector and have some reservations about what I would call the top end of it. Hence our thinking about 11+/co-ed schools which I think suit our family philosophy a bit more. I've got some idea of the other schools we'll probably look at but haven't got far along that road yet. In any case, all the research I've done of all the schools mentioned above suggests that they all get kids into fairly broad range of secondaries from places like Graveney and Tiffin, to Emanuel/Ibstock and up to St Pauls, DC, Eton etc etc etc.

No info on 7plus at Hornsby but I am sure someone on Mumsnet can help . Top boarding schools such as Eton etc take only a 13 entry so Hornsby, Roche etc will have no experience of boys going there as they stop at 11. Most boys from coed schools that finish at 11 go onto day schools BUT many London senior day schools are single sex, you will really limit your choices if co-ed is a must although Westminster and Kings Wimbledon now mixed in Sixth form. London day schools vary considerably academically ( eg 49.9% from Westminster go on to Oxbridge , the number is 10.7% from Tiffin, figures from the Sutton Trust and averages over last 5 years ) and it is true that some schools are more successful at getting children into the top tier of senior schools than others. Of course a truly gifted child should have no problem where ever they are , you may just want to increase your odds .

Thanks timmytoes. I may post a separate thread re Hornsby - thanks for the tip. I'm beginning to realise that I need to consider seriously the single sex secondaries for DS. Emanuel is very close to where we are though and appeals for many reasons (although DH is unhappy that they don't do football ). I'm not fixated on Oxbridge and to be honest, a school's rate of sending teens there is of no interest to me. (I got there from a very average state school and many of my friends while there came from similar backgrounds - alongside, of course, those from all types of indy schools). It's just not important to me. I'm more bothered about a happy school, with lots of opportunities, academic and extra-c, so the DCs can meet their potential and aren't under pressure. I have a relative who was put through an expensive school by an absent father - he left with 2 GCSEs to his name despite being top of his class in prep school. There's a lot more to how you come out of a school than a league table position.

Actually, thinking about it now, I realise that I'm instinctively nervous about the prep schools themselves, because they all seem to just be pointing children so single-mindedly towards 11+ or 13+ exams. There should be so much more to life when you are 9 or 10! Especially, given that these children are probably all very bright, motivated and supported in the first place. It's a dilemma!!! Gosh. What I'm realising is that the schools that are focused on getting kids into Westminster/Eton and then on to Oxbridge aren't really for me. But given that this is how most of them advertise themselves, I'm not sure how I go about finding one that is a bit more free in spirit if that makes sense.

7plus, not really answering your question, but if you're much more interested in 11+ entry, then why are you thinking of moving your boy at 8? Some secondaries have 10+ entry and even the 11+ entry is much more geared at getting children from state schools. I'm not sure what advantage you'd gain by having your child in state for three years and then private for four and then change schools again. Just looking around at children I know there doesn't seem to be a huge difference in the success rates and destinations of children going from state schools to selective secondaries and those going from private preps/primaries. Obviously there's a lot of tutoring going on, but it's very much cheaper than private.

If your ds hasn't even started primary yet, I would honestly wait until at least yr 1 before having this conversation. You don't know how the primary will turn out, what his strengths and weaknesses will be etc. You'll have a much better idea when he is 5/6 and I don't think putting your name down for any of these schools or even visiting them now will help you as children change so dramatically and rapidly at this age. Good luck whatever you do do.

I know - I'm mentalling a bit aren't I?! The reason for thinking about it now is that you seem to have to put names down at birth for 4+ so I don't want to find when DS is 6 that I've missed the boat on moving him at 7+ because we didn't plan ahead. You're right though, moving at 7 and 11 might be a bit much and I think we wouldn't move him if the state primary was working really well.

You don't have to put names down at birth for most schools for 4+. There are still some who manage their lists by 'first come first served', but most have some form of selection and so you only need to get the name on the list by the deadline for applications.

The only advantage of doing it early is that you have paid the registration fee, which along with every other part of private education costs seems to rise enormously over time.

But Edith the selectives round here do require you to register early as they can only assess a couple of hundred (pr whatever) so the list for assessment closes. From what I understand from others, these lists typically close 2 years before the selection point. Yes it is a money spinner for the schools too.

You don't have to put your child's name down early for the standard 11plus schools at 11 (Emanuel, the Dulwich lot etc). Mostly, they ask you to register by November of year 6. I know plenty of children who have got into these schools from state primaries (yes, with tutoring or practice, but that applies at prep too I hear, and is often done for the state selectives anyway.) We found that they were very careful to include mostly questions that everyone would have covered or would be able to have a bash at (unlike, ahem, the state selective schools). Indeed, I suspect it is an advantage sometimes (the schools want an intake of bright sparky children from a range of junior schools and they know that different schools offer different things...they are not daft). Honestly, I would not worry....just yet! Focus on your child enjoying school and learning, give the 7-plus a miss (sounds like you really don't like the idea) unless something is going wrong, and then look and think again at the start of year 5. If he is bright, and you are in a position to consider independent, you'll have options.

OP, if you tell the local private schools you want to register for entry at 7+, ie beginning of yr 3 now, they would say you need to enter them at reception because there'll be no chance of a place coming up in yr 3 yadda yadda.

So better just to keep your timber dry and when you actually want a place enquire - and be prepared to move at short notice, because a place will come up whatever these schools say. As for a cut off point of two years before assessment, that may be true at 4 (ludicrous) but not at 7 - you can register for a 7+ assessment just a couple of months before it takes place. Promise!

Thanks all. Great and reassuring advice. I promised myself I would NOT get dragged into all the paranoia about schools registrations etc - but obviously have done! I shall calm down and relax for another couple of years, see how the early years in school go and then make a decision.