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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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MsMeanwhile · 24/11/2020 22:41

Hope the boys have done well at KCS 7+ this year. Any thoughts about how difficult the English paper is this year? A bit worried given my son school progress might be impacted due to lock down

DemiLune111 · 25/11/2020 13:14

Are results for KCJ 7+ are out today?

anomum123 · 25/11/2020 22:06

Letters for KCS 7+ were supposed to be posted today so I they will be received tomorrow or Friday.

givemeagiraffe · 26/11/2020 08:17

Good luck to everyone waiting for the post today...

MsMeanwhile · 27/11/2020 12:57

Have the KCS results come out now? Looks quite quiet here this year

MumT2 · 28/11/2020 22:34

Just wondering if anyone’s DC did the st Paul’s exam today? How did they find it?

jag79 · 30/11/2020 12:09

Hi MumT2,
My son sat for SPJS 7+. Results were meant to be emailed today. Have you heard anything?

DemiLune111 · 30/11/2020 12:31

Jag79, I doubt results can be ready so quickly! Usually it takes them a couple of weeks to check the works.

icantbelievethis001 · 30/11/2020 13:11

Last year results were sent out on the Monday. 2nd rounds were scheduled the week after the Saturday exam and offers were sent out the following week.

quitestressed78 · 30/11/2020 13:15

Hi,

Yes the exam was on the Saturday and we were invited for interview on the Monday. Good luck. It was a very stressful week and I’m glad it’s over!!

RoseGriffiths · 30/11/2020 13:29

My little one sat the SPJS on Sat. Would you mind telling me what time you got your email. Just trying to work out if it’s a no for us, as we’ve not heard.

quitestressed78 · 30/11/2020 13:47

I just looked and we got an email at 5:11 pm on the Monday for an interview on the Weds.

user201578 · 30/11/2020 13:47

Late afternoon. About 4pm.

RoseGriffiths · 30/11/2020 13:54

We’ve just had a response and he didn’t get in. Sad. But our fault for not having much test practise. We took a mentor instead of a tutor and I think that was a mistake. Does anyone know someone who can help teach test papers? Bond books he gets in the 80%’s but a 45 min test paper he gets 50%’s. There’s something about how he approaches it in his mind, but he’s only done a few...we stupidly took the “no tutor” think a bit too far. You live and learn. Appreciate any recommendations on a more formal tutor route with test paper experience. My little one is in a private school but not a prep. Thanks all! X

icantbelievethis001 · 30/11/2020 14:16

@RoseGriffiths the school should be able to give quite detailed feedback on you DS performance on each paper, since it is available. When we went to the interview they gave us our DS ranking in each paper and an overall ranking. This should give you an idea where to focus on for the 8+.

quitestressed78 · 30/11/2020 15:06

Yes, the school should be able to give feedback. We didn't tutor but did a lot of work ourselves (DS also went to a non-prep private school). I am happy to give feedback on what we did for the 7+ privately if it helps. I would definitely sign up for mock tests for the 8+ as my son made silly errors like missing out questions on the back of the paper in his mocks. For now though you all need a rest.

RoseGriffiths · 30/11/2020 15:58

Thank you, that’s helpful. I will request more detail feedback.

It seems from the initial feedback that verbal reasoning was his sticking point which is something he can over come because he reads 2-3 years above his age.

I’m wondering if there somewhere that can do test papers and skills with him?

RoseGriffiths · 30/11/2020 15:59

Have sent you a private message. Thank you so much. I feel like I’ve been so Naive. X

jag79 · 30/11/2020 16:13

@quitestressed78 . I am in a similiar situation as @RoseGriffiths.
I have also sent you a private message. Thanks!!

quitestressed78 · 30/11/2020 16:20

Don't feel naive or anything. It is a tough exam with a significantly greater number of boys taking the exam than places and so many variables (they are only 7 years old, COVID disruptions, performance on the day etc). Another year may make all the difference and the preparation done so far will not be wasted. I will message with more info in the next few days.

Original poster
Heist · 30/11/2020 16:45

SPJ give feedback only to Top 100 boys who reach the interview stage. For boys who do not clear the written exam, unfortunately do not get any formal feedback and you will have to rely on the download given by DS.
KCS on the other hand gives feedback to boys who do not get through, no feedback to kids who get a confirmed place at KCS.
Hope this helps

OP posts:
jag79 · 30/11/2020 17:56

@Heist RoseGriffiths We recieved the rejection letter for SPJS 7+ today and they let us know the score in maths and verbal reasoning and which quartile our son was placed overall.

Original poster
Heist · 30/11/2020 19:00

Ohk. They must have changed the format this year then. Last year they gave feedback only to the boys invited for interview and group activity.

OP posts:
RoseGriffiths · 30/11/2020 21:42

I think we only got a mark for Maths. I will need to check, but I’m pretty sure we didn’t get a mark for both. I wonder what that means?

Thanks Jag79 for sharing. Information on both tests would be helpful. I’m glad you have that at least. It will help build in what next.

icantbelievethis001 · 30/11/2020 22:13

@RoseGriffiths @jag79 although you're both feeling pretty raw now, the key thing is to not to get too disheartened. If you have more assessment still to do, with SPJ exam being so early, it gives you an opportunity to make some adjustments over Xmas. It isnt uncommon for a DS to not get an offer from SPJ but to get an offer from WUS. Open a bottle of wine. Tomorrow is another day.