7+ exam

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Anybody taking the 7+ exam this year? I have noticed there isn't a thread on it this year. We are going to be trying for St Paul's and Kings. At the moment we are really struggling with the comprehension. Anybody else in the same boat?

@muminwood thank you for sharing your views.

@Amarzoo what I can tell you is that I know someone who had the same choice as you a few years back and chose Bute, hoping that eventually her DD would do "better" than Latymer Upper or City (i.e. go to SPGS). It didn't turn out that way though and they would now dream of a place at LU or City. The 11+ is tough. You know yourself how much tutoring you did for 7+ - if your child sailed into those schools with minimal preparation, she probably is very able and can do well at 11+, too. If she was tutored seriously for 7+ (attending pre-prep or tutor outside of school), then you can't really be sure this can be sustained until 11+.

I have lots of friends at Bute and the kids are all very happy, but don't assume your child will cruise into Latymer Upper or City automatically just by attending Bute. A lot of parents going through 11+ wish they had gotten in somewhere at 7+ in hindsight.

Just to add in - preparing for the 7+\8+ and the 11+ can be different and difficult for other reasons, than exam difficulty. Although a 7/8 year old is more unpredictable in terms of exam performance, being less conscious of the whole stress around the process helps. Not all youngsters are “blissful” that way but the game changes when you deal with a pre-teen - hormones, self consciousness, often doubt. Of course there are 10/11 year olds who sail through the process but academics are not the only factor - emotionally it is a more charged process, so to say… then add exam difficulty, and you have a “perfect storm” :)

A nice podcast for parents debating single sex vs co-ed www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0010216

Hi, my DD is in reserve list at City…any idea if waitlist at City Junior has started moving?
Do schools generally wait till the deadline before allocating places from reserve list?
Many thanks for your insights.

Thanks for sharing @TypeAMum ... it's very interesting esp for DD who is going through 11 plus

Good luck for your decisions. A follow up question. City of London junior Vs latymer which is better for pastoral care. And support a DD who needs attention and care. Thank you

Hard to say now that city junior boys has their first year. Latymer prep the intake is 40 for the year groups whereas city will be in 100 or so by year 4. The pastoral care is outstanding at Latymer prep and kids do not have any added pressure and are genuinely thriving. Same for the upper school- the campus is beautiful and the whole vibe is very relaxed and academic achievement without the added pressure has been a common statement amongst current parents.

@amarzoo I also on have a DD who is sensitive and needs a bit more attention but is academically curious - we have a latymer prep place and Bute and we have decided to take latymer after having another look around on Friday and speaking to 6 parents. It’s a small school a little cramped but feels very warm and the head is very approachable and caring it seemed ( spent a long time talking to us and had all the right genuine answers to what we asked. To be honest is you live in west London commuting to city every day for prep is too far in my view) . Latymer curriculum is very wide and I love the DT, food tech and languages that they do .It has a very down to earth feel not overly polished but no exam pressure and being able to actually have a proper education for year five and six instead of spending all the children’s time prepping for an exam is priceless in my opinion having just gone through 11+ With another child From a top prep- it’s not for the faint hearted and they’ve learnt nothing other than exam prep for 18 months - bit sad in my view. I was concerned the majority of the girls at latymerprep were quite outgoing and confident but the head reassured me and they seem to have offered quote a bit to sensitive rules this year. Feel free to PM me if you Want to

Also to add that city junior is totally new with no track record …. Your daughter might have friends north London even east and all over the place which isn’t easy for play dates. It has a great rep but as the coed junior school It’s very new so I would worry Theyll be very keen to have the year group perform really well and there will be some pressure on the children as they have a reputation to create. But I could be wrong ….

@Berrymummy Thank you for your opinion. This is interesting as I worry City junior is more like a happy school and DD won’t be stretched. Our other choice is Habs, which is very pushy but I think DD will be fine. (Street smart with highly social skills, love everything and super sporty). We consider City because it’s the nearest.

Thank you for your reply. Wish we had thought about visiting the school again. Now it's too late.

Completely agree @7plus11plus I would put proximity to school very high up the list of reasons for choosing a prep as DC are still very little and will be forgetting this and that as we as more local Friends

@7plus11plus @Amarzoo might be worth asking how they group the kids in classes in CLS. Highgate for eg groups Year 3 classes area wise. It will have 4-5 classes but with most children living in the same area in each class so it’s easier to make friends/have play dates etc and Homework is twice a week and no streaming takes place. Since CLS has a large intake just like Highgate it may not make sense even if you live 10 mins away from school but have majority of the class travelling from other distant places.

@Surfermum40 CLS has not yet decided how they plan to group.
We don't want a pushy school for DD. We prefer a happy school.

Our current prep has 6 forms, 18-22 kids each form. The kids knows everyone in their year. City has less kids (3 forms of 25 each) I don’t think it will be a problem to make friends.

Our focus has been on the best outcome from school eventually. So we don't really mind how the prep will be as long as the children get set up for the best universities. Thus A level results and leavers destinations are what we've tried to look at. CLSG and Latymer, both seem quite close in 2021, though Latymer appeared a bit behind in 2019 and earlier. 2021 was marked internally, so grade inflation seems pronounced at Latymer, but that didn't stop the universities like Oxbridge offering in good numbers (12.4% versus 16.5 at CLSG in 2021 and higher in absolute terms). Few more agonising hours to decide :(

@Amarzoo leaver destinations and A level results can vary depending on the year group strength.
If your child applied at 7+, consider geography as a factor - it is 10 years of your (and your DC life) commuting to consider.
Both are good schools.

@Amarzoo , I would focus on location and play dates, friendships groups, class parties and having to drop and pick up constantly over the weekend rather than university destinations! You only have to spend a few minutes on the Epsom College Oxbridge thread in the Higher Education section to see movement in the U.K. to widen participation.

@sunshineclouds24 agree completely. Choosing a school with only a view point and focus on oxbridge results at 7+ may not necessarily translate. In that case state schools would have been the wiser route?

I think we are going to pick Habs over UCS and Highgate even though we are walking distance to UCS. The education at Habs is just a level above and the personal attention and care given to the boys, breadth of curriculum, fresh air and countryside environment and 'polish' of the boys we met swayed us. If it all goes pear-shaped we have been told it's easier to move from Habs to UCS/Highgate rather than the other way around. Who knows. Have to go with gut feel and let's see how it all turns out in 11 years!! ;-)

@SnoopyForever Can you share how would you commute to Habs? In our case we really love Habs (girls) but we live one hour away. While Highgate and City are both very close. I consider to move but it is a big commitment.

@7plus11plus Our son would need to get the coach from Hampstead. No denying it is a long journey (45mins each way). But hopefully he will make friends on the coach and they can chat, or play games, or otherwise he can read. The coach stop is like 2 mins walk from our house so it's just about do-able (I hope?!) He has local friends from activities outside school so I hope we will still have local play dates etc. We're not 100% decided as it is very hard to give up a local school and I completely get why most people would opt for this but we just feel Habs was a level above and worth it. It's such a nurturing and wholesome environment. Different and very personal to every family though. Are you more or less decided on Highgate? We will probably give up our Highgate and UCS offers tomorrow/Tuesday after sleeping on it a bit more...hope those on WL get the offers they want.

We are leaning towards City as we love the senior school (CLSG). If you live close to the coach stop I think 45mins is dorable. Sadly our closest stop is Highgate and in morning peak time the driving could take another half hour. I agree Habs is a level higher than Highgate or UCS. We also have a DS who is doing 11+ atm and we have applied all these schools. We may have to wait for his results.