4+ assessments 2023

[Agirlcanhope2023]

Thought I’d set up a thread for those of us sitting our DS/DD for the 4+ in 2023 (for September 2024 start date). Anyone had any assessment day(s) yet?

She is a May baby.

She goes to a wonderful but not academically focused forest school nursery.

I did lots with her to prepare but really just things I would have done with her anyway (just a bit more intensely!): read her lots and lots of stories and poems, rhyme games, drawing, number games, jumping, climbing, bike riding, following her curiosity and creativity etc. Lots of theatre trips, discussing films, talking about interesting things etc. She can't read but she does know most of the letter sounds. Hope that is helpful.

@FulhamToddlerMum Yes, we’ve got an offer from G. Unfortunately, no such luck with FH.

@FulhamToddlerMum we are wl for glendower a no from.falkner but we have chosen Thomas's battersea .

Ahh well done ... glendower we are on the wl and it was a no from falkner and nlcs ... do you mind ne asking what nursery your dd went to . And congrats

Does anyone know how many offers NLCS typically give to those on WL or do they over offer to the extent no one on WL has a chance?

and is there a ranking on waitlist?

Watching this thread with interest as we will do the assessment next year..

Is Falkner house is much harder to get in than Glendower? How many spots are there for both schools? We are also considering NLCS, Putney and Wimbledon High.

We did apply to state schools too. Too
much of a gamble to rely on getting into a good private one. We’ll obviously release the state school place as soon as we get it.

In a similar situation, a neighbour stayed on the waiting list, sent the child to local state school for reception and Y1, and then got a place at one of the most academic schools in NW London for Y2, and they love it.

.

Congrats everyone on your offers! Is anyone holding a st Christopher’s offer planning to decline? This week feels like it’s going to be agonising waiting for movement. 😞good luck everyone else waiting, fingers crossed for you all.

I hear you @Winchmoremum3, we are also desperately waiting for movement as we are waitlisted in both of our preferred schools! The week is going back sooo slow 😩

Same boat - a nervous wait hoping for some movement on the Highgate reserve list!

Same here waiting for movement on NLCS good luck everyone.

Does anyone know historically if there is a lot of movement?

We declined St Christophers @Winchmoremum3

Thanks so much for letting me know, gives me hope!

Just curious - if you’re taking up a private school place but also went through the state application process, will you take your name out of that list now so that others might get their first choice state place?

@Lizzie5050
I'm not sure how it works with the state process, but guessing there will be a deadline to accept the place you've been offered, and if you don't do it by then it will be released and offered to someone further down the list (who put school a s a higher preference than the one they E currently been offered). I don't think it makes too much difference how quickly you decline the place particularly.

It was so helpful to have this thread throughout and particularly on Monday when it meant I knew i wasn’t alone in hitting refresh every. Single. Minute.

So, very many thanks for setting it up and for all who have shared/contributed. (Though it has given me FOMO for ones we didn’t apply for like NLCS and Channing which sound amazing! Hindsight and all that.)

We are deciding between a number & will release ASAP in case it is helpful.

We will give up one, two or potentially all of St Christopher’s, Highgate or SHHS ASAP but are going to do so post offer holder events as DH and I weren’t both able to attend pre assessment open days & it’s a fairly massive life decision to make sight unseen (!) - expect there will be lots of movement after these/after the weekend when everyone has had a lot of time to mull.

Per others on the thread the vibe at SHHS drop off didn’t give me a good feeling, which coupled with the head leaving who I thought was amazing means that’s currently lowest of our list and we will likely drop out of that one once we’re sure that we prefer the others. But I’d love to know from current parents if I’ve misread it tonally.

(does anyone know where the shhs junior head is going btw?)

We will also almost certainly be releasing all of our other options soon which were all less selective but earlier offers and more convenient travel wise which for us meant QCPS, SPCS, Cavendish and some other smaller ones (spot the over-anxious spread-betters).

Really torn in all of this between something local that isn’t a horrid commute, something gentle with great welfare and something that goes through to 18. I know it’s a nice problem to have and wasn’t expecting to have any choice at all. Would love to know for others what they are valuing most highly & how they are making their decisions.

I’m worried that leaning towards all through schools is because the thought of having to do tutoring or prepping and/or DC feeling stressed is something I want to avoid (DC didn’t know they were tests and just thought it was a play session for her to see if she liked a school) which is about my needs not those of DC. I don’t want DC to have a stressful time pre 11 just because I can’t handle exams by proxy! Any views?

We have not applied state. I am state educated through and through and had an amazing time at school but it’s not the route we’re going for for now.

Interested to find out how much they over-offer. Hoping for fast movement in the lists in the directions you want for those waiting to hear.

Also wondering whether general consensus is pro single sex or pro mixed - know there are other threads on that on here tho!!

Hi, May I asked what you accepted?

Haven’t done so yet as DH and I need to both have a chance to speak to Head/ look around before making a final decision and we’re leaning different ways

We’ve accepted at SPCS. If you need any advice, DM me

Is anyone planning to leave Arnold House to move to The Hall, UCS, Highgate etc to start reception this September?

My DD loves SHHS and we couldn’t be happier. It was a really tough decision (I was particularly worried about pastoral care) but we made the right one. Despite the unfriendly gate drop off for assessments (which I think is down to not showing any preference), the girls are so warmly welcomed when they start. The junior head is leaving to spend more time with her family - not going on to headship elsewhere.

thank you so very much! That’s incredibly helpful. Really appreciate you taking the time to write.