7+ WUS and SPJ 2022

[animalplanet1]

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

@ItsRainingTacos79 usually when the school sends instructions, they mention if you have to bring your own case - think it is standard for most to bring their own.
@2minutesplease good tip about rubbing...my DC is quite stubborn about using the rubber haha

First exam this Saturday at King's, anyone? How are you feeling? We are a bit stressed but try not to show it to DS...

same here... plus we are not near there so train strike issues will be stressful..

is anyone familiar with CAT4 requirements for these schools...my DC has average of 120 and am not sure that is 'enough'..

@Wxluuu good luck to your little one. Hope all goes well on the day 🙏🏼

@ItsRainingTacos79 Thank you! 🙏 Which exams are your DS sitting?

@Wxluuu good luck to your son ! :)

@walkinpark And to you too! :) We don't live in the Wimbledon area either so getting there early/on time this Sat will be interesting...

Good luck everyone who's assessments start early! Ours don't start till beginning of Dec.

We're doing Westminster, St Paul's, UCS and Highgate. Don't know what I was thinking when I was signing up 😬

@ItsRainingTacos79 good luck ! any views on city juniors and latymer?? cheers.
@Wxluuu thanks..yes will be super painful to get there by 8:30 (leaving some time for snack etc) sigh...

@walkinpark I missed city juniors off my list - we're sitting for that too. Feeling a bit guilty making DS sit for 5. Basically there is no real rationale to my choice other than ease of getting there from Hampstead 😬. To be honest, we'll just be grateful for a place in any not them 😂.

Latimer I've heard great things about but it's just too far for us. As is St Paul's but we'll cross that bridge when we get there 🤞🏽

@ItsRainingTacos79 thanks for sharing..we are not sure about city juniors / latymer as yet..think I will see how DC gets on with Kings this weekend and the registration deadlines are later so just putting it off haha...that is a great attitude (that you are open to various schools rather than stuck on one) - it is good your DC will be able to adjust everywhere :) I cannot really tell the difference in ethos much from the visits except of course obvious campus/space differences !

We didn’t the EPP too, so had to do preplus. But really disappointed with the results. It’s probably the exam temperament. We think he messed up the word problems and also a bit of reasoning. English results aren’t out yet.

@mothersgrace dont worry - keep practising with your DC :)

I remember going to an open day at WUS a few years ago before the 7+. They had all the boys birthdays up on the walls, split by months. So it was pretty easy to see that there were proportionally far less summer borns than you'd expect if done by random. Don't know if it has changed since then.

@passport123 that's kind of my worse fear in this whole process. I heard this was the case for a number of the girls' schools too - North London Collegiate in particular.

Anyhow, we can only do our best and see where we get to.l 🤞🏽

Habs is quite good for taking summer born girls.

I suppose with the computer test now, it will take age into account

DS did a practice comprehension paper today and did fine at the first questions then did so badly. I am gutted - it feels we should be really up to standard by now! Our exams aren’t until January so we have some time but not that long - he seems to lose concentration and get really distracted. Summer born baby. Help!!! Please calm my nerves - I am panicking!!!
To be fair we haven’t done any mocks yet as we still have a little time - so I think I will start doing exam conditions etc. I’ve got papers from EPP and downloaded from some schools that publish samples online. Anywhere else recommended?

@WoodlandWalks123 breathe breathe !! ok so was the test timed? is it a speed issue or is it that he cannot answer the questions? was it harder than normal??
you have a lot of time - but important to figure out what exactly he is struggling with.

Please don't panic @WoodlandWalks123! You still have time. I was feeling the same about my August born DS.

One thing I find is that the subject choice for creative writing and comprehension can dictate DS's performance. He wrote a relatively 'good' story about Halloween yesterday but looked like he couldn't be arsed today with a comprehension piece about guide dogs 🤷🏽‍♀️.

We still have some time. I found I had to adjust the workload for each evening based on his mood. On days that he's tired I'll let him do some maths or reasoning. The days he seems more perky, I'll offer the heavier stuff and/past papers.

Good luck and don't stress!

@walkinpark @ItsRainingTacos79 thank you both for your support.

@walkinpark i think it’s an execution issue rather than knowledge - when asked verbally, he knows the answers which is the most frustrating thing -just loses focus and doesn’t have confidence in his answers on paper and sort of gives up. Hoping that practice will help. Any ideas how to keep the focus throughout?

@ItsRainingTacos79 i think it’s a good idea to adapt according to how they are feeling. DS was tired and not feeling 100% today. I will adapt more than I have been, and I’ve been loading the work on a bit which maybe I shouldn’t do, just conscious things are getting close arghhhhh

@WoodlandWalks123 yes i can completely understand...it is tiring for them after a long day to write from scratch...you can just do a different type of writing exercise - spellings or something like that..or multiple choice comprehension....is a tricky balance - you want to build their confidence but also challenge them..so you have to mix it up...and you must keep praising your DC for his hard work !!

@walkinpark you are so right, I am trying not to let my stress pass to him, but it’s so hard…and they are only little bless them. Related question - did you tell your school before you put in the applications? We are at a small prep and I feel it’s diplomatic to tell the head in person (also to ensure a good reference) before they get letters from random schools asking for a reference. What is the usual approach?!

@WoodlandWalks123 yes of course ! you must tell them otherwise it will be all 'hello??? whaaaa??' haha yes pls do be transparent with them as they should be 100% supporting you on this journey !