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Original poster

7+ WUS and SPJ 2022

515 replies

animalplanet1 · 24/09/2022 22:59

Hi there,

Just feel it's been very quiet here this year on the 7+ exams and no thread has appeared wrt to those two schools.

Anyone out there also prepping?

xxx

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Lindseyd9 · 09/01/2023 20:57

Speak of 8+, just wondering does anyone know roughly how many boys sitting spj/ wus 8+? many thanks.

Worriedmum142 · 09/01/2023 22:53

I forgot to ask today when they’ll email the results. Did anyone ask?

Worriedmum142 · 09/01/2023 22:55

@Lindseyd9 I would guess around 200

Parent2023 · 10/01/2023 06:03

Worriedmum142 · 09/01/2023 22:53

I forgot to ask today when they’ll email the results. Did anyone ask?

The email said by close of business this Thursday.

Mumofboys25 · 10/01/2023 09:13

Just an FYI my son was in the afternoon and his screen froze too but just his and they told him just to skip it. It will be interesting to know how they are making a decision on him

ItsRainingTacos79 · 10/01/2023 19:11

@NameChangeDays for the 8+ I would continue with working on Yr 2 material with books to make sure there are no gaps and then slowly transition to Yr 3 material by Easter. The key is to make sure they can complete Yr 2 work to the highest standard. Then when you prepare for Y3 work, the basics should already be there. I always (wrongly in some cases) assumed the work is of a much higher level than the age appropriate curriculum. In our experience, they are looking for a thorough understanding and confidence in covering the age appropriate curriculum. So, in short, they are looking for work to be completed to a high standard. But of course. If your DS is comfortable to move onto more advanced material then nothing to stop you doing so but not at the expense of everything else that comes before it.

I would recommend Atom Learning at home for familiarity since the entire assessment will be on Atom. But don't bother signing up yet, it's too difficult for Yr2 pupils. Wait until September at least. I'm not a fan of the platform because sometimes it's just easier for children to read things on paper and calculate on paper. It also makes my DS rush through questions without reading properly. I have also found and reported a couple of questions which have incorrect answers. Plus, the technical glitches as you know from the assessment day😭

Good luck!

ItsRainingTacos79 · 10/01/2023 19:22

@WoodlandWalks123 thank you so much. We had it today, and glad it's over. DS is not very good at remembering what they asked him 🙄. All he told me was he did some maths and drew a picture. I imagine they were given simple tasks so that they can observe how the children carry them out rather than focus on the quality of what they produce.

Wish your DC the best of luck with all the remaining assessments. It feels like forever but hang on in there, it will be done soon! I don't envy you at all - having to manage Y6 as well 😓. I am already feeling the anxiety kicking in about prepping my Y5 DS for the 11+ at the end of this year 😰. <goes off to brush up on some Y6 maths and grammar>...

ItsRainingTacos79 · 10/01/2023 19:22

@Mumofboys25 I would imagine a lot of angry emails from parents on Thursday 🫣

bstrong0805 · 10/01/2023 20:24

@ItsRainingTacos79 i agree, it’s going to be a tricky one for the school this time. On that note, had anyone heard of the boys having to do the 11plus at WUS ? Or the school becoming co-Ed ? Lots of rumors I’ve heard but I haven’t done my research on the school yet, but was hoping someone here could help !

ItsRainingTacos79 · 10/01/2023 20:31

@bstrong0805 they don't transition directly into the secondary? Oh. Interested to hear what they plan.

Worriedmum142 · 10/01/2023 20:51

At the moment it not entirely clear how the transition to the Great School works. Previously WUS maintained that as long as your child is doing well nothing is in a way for the admission to the Great School. There is an exam but the school (WUS) managed it. Most pupils just transferred after the exam. Last year 8 (not 100% on the exact number but in this magnitude) pupils did not transfer. The school sent out a letter saying that while nothing has changed with regards to the transfer, all the families are asked to have a plan B for the senior school. This means that all children will need to do an external exam as well. The explanation provided it that most schools do not have 13+ in London. So by the time the outcome for the process for the Great school is clear there aren’t many schools that would offer places. At the moment there are a lot of rumours but I think one needs to wait and see how the current year that transfers to the Great School performs. If everything is back to normal with only few children not making the transfer I would say that the last year was an outlier. If there is a repeated high number of pupils not transferring into the Great School there was/is a change in the Great School transfer process.

NameChangeDays · 11/01/2023 06:48

@ItsRainingTacos79 thank you so much for the reply. Will look into all of this- very much appreciated! And good luck with the results this year. I hope all goes well for you!

NameChangeDays · 11/01/2023 06:51

@Worriedmum142 i heard all of this as well. It’s unfortunate that they may be moving away from the semi- automatic transfer to the Great school. It means many will cross it off the list of desirable through-to-18 schools. It’s a dangerous strategy from them. Especially as the commute to the school is so onerous for most of the pupils (not to mention central london pollution.) If the transfer up isn’t automatic, it makes the Under school vastly less desirable, in my opinion.

Parent2023 · 11/01/2023 07:22

NameChangeDays · 11/01/2023 06:51

@Worriedmum142 i heard all of this as well. It’s unfortunate that they may be moving away from the semi- automatic transfer to the Great school. It means many will cross it off the list of desirable through-to-18 schools. It’s a dangerous strategy from them. Especially as the commute to the school is so onerous for most of the pupils (not to mention central london pollution.) If the transfer up isn’t automatic, it makes the Under school vastly less desirable, in my opinion.

I'm not sure where this information is coming from. WUS publishes its leaver destinations and the numbers have remained quite stable over the years, with 6-10 kids from each year going to Eton/Winchester/Dulwich/Harrow/Rugby. Whether that is by choice, because they didn't pass the exams for the Great School or because they were managed out, I don't know. However, it simply wouldn't make sense for them to sever their relationship with the Great School such that the WUS kids no longer have a huge advantage when applying.

www.westminsterunder.org.uk/academic-life/leaver-destinations/

NameChangeDays · 11/01/2023 14:26

@Parent2023 I might be wrong on this, but from what I’ve heard there’s been a significant shift this year. Previously of course children would leave voluntarily to go to Eton etc, but this year, for the first time, many of the cohort didn’t ‘pass’ the entrance exams/
weren’t granted admission to the Great school. Which seems like a conscious shift in policy.

Parent2023 · 11/01/2023 14:59

NameChangeDays · 11/01/2023 14:26

@Parent2023 I might be wrong on this, but from what I’ve heard there’s been a significant shift this year. Previously of course children would leave voluntarily to go to Eton etc, but this year, for the first time, many of the cohort didn’t ‘pass’ the entrance exams/
weren’t granted admission to the Great school. Which seems like a conscious shift in policy.

@NameChangeDays Thanks for the explanation.

@Worriedmum142 expressed a concern based on the fact that last year 8 students didn't transfer, which is consistent with (or less than) all previous years.

You seem to be saying something different, which is that "many of the cohort" this year didn't pass. I would be curious to know the actual numbers here, which I guess will be published in due course anyways. Given that the express policies essentially guarantee that those admitted to WUS at 11+ (as opposed to those admitted at 7+ or 8+) will also be admitted into the Great School, it is difficult to see how many students would fail to transfer across. I would be very surprised if there was a change in policy, as that wouldn't make sense for either WUS or the Great School. The Great School continues to say that just under half of the 13+ admissions come from WUS, which further reinforces the point.

Adviceseeker1 · 11/01/2023 16:36

Just interested in any feedback on the 8+ at St. Pauls this morning? My son said the VR paper was very difficult….

ohsevenplus · 11/01/2023 16:44

Adviceseeker1 · 11/01/2023 16:36

Just interested in any feedback on the 8+ at St. Pauls this morning? My son said the VR paper was very difficult….

pls can you make separate 8+ thread as this is for 7+

elij · 11/01/2023 22:01

Parent2023 · 11/01/2023 14:59

@NameChangeDays Thanks for the explanation.

@Worriedmum142 expressed a concern based on the fact that last year 8 students didn't transfer, which is consistent with (or less than) all previous years.

You seem to be saying something different, which is that "many of the cohort" this year didn't pass. I would be curious to know the actual numbers here, which I guess will be published in due course anyways. Given that the express policies essentially guarantee that those admitted to WUS at 11+ (as opposed to those admitted at 7+ or 8+) will also be admitted into the Great School, it is difficult to see how many students would fail to transfer across. I would be very surprised if there was a change in policy, as that wouldn't make sense for either WUS or the Great School. The Great School continues to say that just under half of the 13+ admissions come from WUS, which further reinforces the point.

Show quote history

There is this currently a "grass is always greener" on the other side idea buzzing around atm but like you suggest there are some facts that are quite visible especially from the inside.

Y7/Y8 class sizes are consistent with the 3 entry points (7+, 8+ and 11+) which implies the "managed out" aspect is negligble to non existent in practice (while it is an option).

Eton and some of the other senior school exits are comparable or preferred for some parents. For example Eton scholarships are celebrated in WUS. Which further minimises the "not enough" getting into the senior school.

And finally the WUS senior school cohort are generally better prepared from senior school than the external entries -- which is a bit different to other schools where the incumbents do a catch up term in Y9.

ItsRainingTacos79 · 12/01/2023 12:27

Really anxious waiting for WUS email today. Good luck to those who sat ☺️

Parent2023 · 12/01/2023 13:54

We just received an email from WUS confirming that our son is through to the second round -- good luck to everyone else!

bstrong0805 · 12/01/2023 14:11

Congrats @Parent2023 ! We got a no, which I’m not very surprised about but we were in the morning batch with the technical glitch and I really hope they normalized for that !

ItsRainingTacos79 · 12/01/2023 14:23

We got a no 😭. Comes as a bit of a surprise but oh well. I'll be interested to get some feedback if they provide as the NVR didn't load on DS's iPad and he was told he doesn't have to do it.

ItsRainingTacos79 · 12/01/2023 14:24

@Parent2023 congratulations to your DS🎉 and wish you all the best for the 2nd round 🤞🏽. Keep us posted on how it goes.

Mumofboys25 · 12/01/2023 15:45

We got a no too