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Primary education

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Original poster

7+ exams for Westminster, King's and St. Pauls

493 replies

Heist · 16/09/2019 10:51

Hello Everyone, my son is writing 7+ exams for Westminster, St.Pauls and KCS this year.
My son is preparing for a while now and struggling in English a lot as of now.
Could someone please provide me more insights on the interview and activity tasks that the kids are asked to participate in and how to ace those bits? How could I prepare my son for these bits?
Thanks a lot.

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Goldie20 · 02/12/2020 11:52

This is all so insightful, thank you. St Paul's have asked us to come back and sit the 8+ but do they say that to all the unsuccessful 7+ parents? Is it worth trying again next year? Also, do children sitting Westminister Under and Latymer Prep need to be at the same level in maths as St.Pauls? Any insight on what level of creative writing is required for Latymer Prep since they don't test Reasoning?

sanam2019 · 02/12/2020 11:58

@Goldie20, no, not all candidates are asked to try again at 8+, only those where they see a realistic chance that they could reach the required standard come next year, so it is a good sign.

quitestressed78 · 02/12/2020 12:08

Yes a good sign as they don't offer that to all that were interviewed. My feeling is that Latymer Prep would not require such high maths. The maths exam, for example, was much easier for my son at KCJS. But they also appeared to put more emphasis on English so not necessarily easier overall.

icantbelievethis001 · 02/12/2020 13:10

Last year for Maths the WUS paper was a lot harder than SPJ. I even had some problems with the questions! At least both didn't have any creative writing in the written exam which was a relief to a lot of the boys!

Lolakath19 · 02/12/2020 13:29

Just wondering if there are any past paper for 7+ for any of those schools spj wu kcs and latymer

MsMeanwhile · 02/12/2020 13:32

From what I heard during last a couple of years, for 7+, you may stand a good chance given the number of boys being admitted. For 8+, it would be very difficult.

icantbelievethis001 · 02/12/2020 13:49

Lot less places available for 8+. I think SPJ has only one new class, so 18 boys and WUS has another class, so 22 boys. The number of applications is probably very similar to those that sit 7+

quitestressed78 · 02/12/2020 15:29

Agree the numbers don't look great, but quite a few of the top boys will have already been taken out of the cohort at 7+ (e.g. to LU, WUS, KCJS, SPJS and others).

Goldie20 · 02/12/2020 16:52

That does makes sense @quitestressed78. I suppose if the top 80-100 boys from the SPJ interview got offers from one of those schools then possibly only 20 (ish) of the interview candidates would return for 8+. I think I (he!) will be much more prepared/experienced the second time around. Does anyone have tips on what to go over in the few days leading up to the exams? Latymer is Friday and WUS is Jan. Should they do full timed exam practice at home? review weak areas? take it easy?

MsMeanwhile · 02/12/2020 18:53

Well if we assume same pool of applicants return to 8+, then possibly (although children can grow a lot in just one year). I think there are a lot of new boys joining the 8+ as well who didn’t do 7+ previously. So would think 7+ is still better when you have >50 offers (say KCS) but 200-300 applicants compared with less than 20 offers but 200 applicants. Just my personal view though

RoseGriffiths · 03/12/2020 07:39

@Goldie20. What do you think it was that your little DS needs to focus on in terms of second stage. He obviously did well at first stage to get through and be asked back for 8+.

And for what it’s worth, my personably opinion is, if you feel your DS is better suited for SPJS than any other school, the fact they’ve asked him back is such a good sign and as the others have articulated so well, it’s not said to all. So I’m assuming they would look out for him at the 8+, his name will be known.

My DS was advised to come back when he’s a little older but we well and truly messed up with prep work and he turned up pretty raw on the day (not that I know that before hand). X

Goldie20 · 03/12/2020 08:48

@RoseGriffiths My son wasn't invited to the SPJ interview. I think he just missed getting through to the interview stage which is why they asked him to come back, the consolation prize! I guess it shows that you can do most things others mentioned earlier but still not be successful because of performance on the day. But it's useful to have the guidelines (from the very helpful and honest parents on this thread) of what level successful applicants were working at to help gauge if an offer will be realistic. I'm guessing some of it is down to luck on the day of the test and interview. I know now that I needed to start much earlier. My son genuinely enjoys the prep work, he thinks they are fun, like puzzles! Because of that I know I can push him for next year.

TypsTrycks · 03/12/2020 09:45

I've seen several students go through the 7+ process, and in my opinion, two factors determine the SPJ interview call. One, the level of focus the student has (which leads to consistent performance, regardless of the exam setting and the mood on the day), and the ability and willingness to tackle complex problems never seen before. All other factors remaining constant (same school, same level of tutoring, same level of parental support), these two usually determine who will go on to the next round. I've seen it happen again and again, so tutoring / more preparation is not always the answer. Ways to improve focus, consistency in performance and complex problem solving are what need to be explored in order to create the "edge".

Lolakath19 · 03/12/2020 10:04

Is there any past papers if 7 or 8 plus for spjs?

MsMeanwhile · 03/12/2020 18:35

Haven’t seen past papers but some schools do provide sample paper

DemiLune111 · 03/12/2020 22:31

Definitely not SPJS. They even mention that on their website.

Lolakath19 · 03/12/2020 23:03

For those who sat spjs is the maths paper similar to EPP 7/8+ or different? What did your boys say?

RoseGriffiths · 04/12/2020 09:37

Dito @Goldie. Looks like we’ll be taking more over the coming year. Enjoy more prep ;-)

Tingting01 · 05/12/2020 00:14

I understand Kings over offer by quite a large number of places as boys who get offers from SPJ and WUS would normally forgo their place at Kings. The waitlist does move but not by a lot. Last year it didn’t move at all. But you never know...

RainbowBabyMum · 06/12/2020 12:43

Oh.. How sad.

givemeagiraffe · 06/12/2020 13:31

I know a couple of people who will take SPJ if they get it @RainbowBabyMum so fingers crossed for you.

RainbowBabyMum · 06/12/2020 22:29

Thank you very much @givemeagiraffe. My son is on waiting lists for 2 schools, but doesn't have any offers. So we are very nervous

sotiredtoday · 07/12/2020 15:55

Last year the Kings' 7+ waiting list did move ! We were called early morning when acceptances needed to come in, they refused to budge until that - quite painful. We declined the place in the end, so it must have moved some more !

MsMeanwhile · 07/12/2020 20:51

@sotiredtoday. Out of curiosity, which school did you go in the end? Thanks

quitestressed78 · 07/12/2020 21:12

Lolakath19 My DS said maths was hard at SPJS last year despite finding EPP fine. But it may have just been different to EPP. It is hard to know from the little they say!

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