3+ 4+ 5+ 7+ support thread 2014

[mumteacher]

I started the below thread last year and have had so many people find it useful I thought it might be worth doing it again.

I have had a number of messages asking if I have any spaces in my classes. I'm really sorry but I have been at full capacity for some time now.

However, I do appreciate that this is a very stressful time of year for parents who have children sitting these private school assessments in January 2013. So, I'm hoping that by setting up this support group thread I can help by answering some questions you have about these assessments.

Hopefully this thread will also contain some useful insight from the experiences of parents who have already been through the process.

Nope. They generally stay for the duration.

read this thread with great interest, I was wondering what folks' thoughts were on St. Hilda's in Bushey?

Hi,
Any tips for Hall entry? My son will be sitting the assessment for 5+ entry in May. Is there a lot of drawing/writing? If it's mainly talking/stories/asking questions/reading then I'm not too worried but he doesn't have a good pencil grip and doesn't draw very well. Do you know what tasks they're asked to perform?

Thanks so much for all your advice on this thread.

Mother1234567, St Hildas Bushey is a lovely school, I have two girls there and I'm really happy with it. Very nurturing environment, academically the teaching staff have been there a long time and are very good at what they do. Pm me if you have any specific questions.

Should add to my previous post re St Hildas - I may be moving my younger one only because the older one is moving to secondary school. Logistically much easier to have them at the same school.

Does anyone know how many on Habs 4+ wait list? 2 girls in my school waiting and really hope they get it. Anyone got in from the wait list previously know how quickly they find out? TIA

I suppose that ball is in the court of people like yourself holding two offers and how quickly you make a decision x

I'm not holding offers anymore -decision done papers submitted!

Just ploughed through this thread and my jaw is on the floor. A whole new world has been opened up to me, . I am astounded! I truly am.

What is this habs school, why is everyone so desperate to get into it, do they really come and visit your current school to check on childs sociability? The HM at Habs must have a huge sense of power. what's their alumini, what do these pupils go on to achieve....

I feel like there is a secret world out there, hidden on MN that I have just discovered..

I have missed all this with my first DC but have a small second ....

We cannot afford indy school..however I hope to support them myself in some way to at least get to grammer school.

Reading this thread has woken me up to a whole new world....my DC will be competing for places along side DC who have had all this work from 4+ .

Is there guaranteed entrance into oxbridge from these schools? Is is secretly known that pupils do x y and z from these places?

Does anyone know how many applicants there were this year at Habs 4 plus?

Good luck to all those waiting for habs girls 5+ results on Tuesday.

Samkung - dont know exactly but guessing around 350. Similar to nlcs I think or maybe less.

andidratherplay

Habs is Haberdashers' Aske's school for girls/boys (two single sex schools next to each other which share a bus network and are part of the same foundation), they are very high achieving schools and I think send about 50% of their pupils to Oxbridge, but also do a lot of sport, drama, music etc.

If you are aiming for grammar from a state school then you need to tutor , I'm not sure when you start for the 11+ and people are notoriously tight lipped, but don't believe anyone who says " oh we just did a couple of past papers at home". However you can get a lot of tutoring for what you'll save not doing private primary so certainly all is not lost, but go into it with your eyes open. Lots of info here and I believe there are other 11+ fora around. The 4+ 5+ thing is indeed mad, but hey, everyone works with the system they are in. Is it any madder than going to church every Sunday when you don't believe in God? Plenty do that to get their child into a good school.

Thanks lovepretzels- applications seem to be increasing year on year. Thanks everyone for the info on this thread and the support and good luck!

So please tell us which one did you go for? NLCS or Habs?

MummyZu - not sure who you were asking but we applied for NLCS and Habs. DD was turned down at the first hurdle by NLCS but were one of the lucky ones offered a place at Habs, which we've accepted.
One down one to go!

tellme

its not a criticism at all, education has gone down the pan in this country its a national disgrace.

its just made me realise there is a whole other world out there. I have only just started to look into 11+ we have a few years yet before we start prep ping for it, but I want to keep an eye on things now, so its not a last minuet cram..and reading this thread has made me realise we are talking about different league.

50% to oxford is amazing.

Tellmeonasunday - I don't know where you got that statistic? But even their own website doesn't claim a 50% acceptance to Oxford!!!! My local state comp got 9 students accepted to Oxford this year so their 12 doesn't seem so remarkable!

Yep, proportionally more through to Oxbridge from Henrietta B than Habs (reportedly - I know a teacher there). Definitely NOT 50% Habs get into Oxbridge.

Sorry, my mistake - looks like about 20-30% from a quick glance at the last three years on the habs girls website.

The other thing to bear in mind is that not every students first choice is Oxbridge. If the quality of the Uni is impt tho, maybe look at whether the Uni is a Russell Group one (Warwick , Liverpool etc). There are other barometers that I think are more impt. Do the kids look confident, happy and does the school have the same values as you....

Top American universities are actively recruiting from the same pool of applicants. Many are choosing them over Oxbridge offers.

I certainly wouldn't choose a school based on just their rate of sending to Oxbridge. In fact in my preference list for my daughter, the first two were less academic than the next two, but I liked them for other reasons. I only mentioned it as "asidratherplayhere" specifically asked about Oxbridge. It doesn't surprise me that Henrietta Barnett sends a lot - it is a fiercely competitive school to get into at 11+, probably a lot more than the private ones as it has a larger pool of applicants as no fees.

Agreed. Far better to select a school based on suitability to a child's social, emotional, behavioural disposition. There is also the consideration of the arty (drama, craft/ pure art, etc.) and sporty side of things. I don't think that anyone on here is actually saying that they'd make a choice based on Oxbridge offer / acceptance statistics.
It's a tricky decision at a young age though, as it's so hard to gauge our children's abilities and personalities at such a young age.
Statistics, facilities, the school's ambiance, alongside what we see in our children's aptitude and personality, are all we have to go on.

5+ results are out x