7+ 2024/25

[Caps0218]

I haven't seen another thread similar to previous years, so thought it would be beneficial to start one as exams are now 1 month away.
I think SHHS, UCS, KCJS and WUS are all in October.

Also - Curious to see if number of applicants are down this year, with Labour's VAT raid.

E-Mail is out for City, we are grateful to be through.

Hi all,

We are pretty new to this 7+ selection process. There is a lot of content on first rounds. What kind of second round selection do schools like City Junior, Highgate etc. have? Anyone with DS/DD are you able to provide a view of what kind of activities/ interviews are conducted.

many thanks

they're both coming up soon, did you do the first round?

Highgate 1st round results are due on Friday. 2nd rounds will be early January.

I’ve had various people private message me about City Juniors 7+ second round. My child is in year 4 there so obviously 2 years since we did it and from an acquaintance that did last year it sounds like ir has changed. From what I can remember this is what DC mentioned

• had a 1-1 session with a senior staff member. went through the picture done in what can see from bedroom - talked about the sports equipment shown. Asked questions about the hobbies we had mentioned on a form we had to fill in in advance. So don’t make overblown claims about your child enjoying 18th century chamber music or whatever if they don’t.
• In small groups they had to do some negotiating - there were 5 activities and they had to pick which 2 they would do as a group (I don’t think they then went and did them). Like go to library, clay modelling etc. I think this is to see how interact, do they not contribute at all, will they listen to others or shout over demanding own way etc.

That is probably not much help but what I can remember.

If your child is at a state primary I would send in their current uniform - a visual reminder they aren’t from a polished pre prep who have spent Ks1 building to this point - is helpful I think.

We ultimately accepted the offer and are very happy with the school - DC likes it very much. if your child is very bright, likes to work at pace and is inquisitive it could be a great school.

My experience at City is the kids are all very bright, motivated and parents determined. Money is not something that I’ve seen play much of a part so far - I know of one child whose parents are very wealthy and I’m sure there are some more but most are highly educated working professionals for whom the school costs are noticeable. The lack of “campus” was a pause prior to accepting but really not an issue for me now in practice.

I should note that most of the other schools people are mentioning here were logistically not options for us so I can’t add anything to City v SPJS v Highgate etc type debate. Except to generally say having done several admissions rounds at different entry points it is easy to think there is Only One School That Is Right and that’s just not true in most cases. Now I’m not of the mindset that a bright child will do well absolutely anywhere but honestly there are likely a number of selective schools your child could thrive at and achieve what they are capable of with a good cohort of high achievers without getting too obsessive over precise GCSE and A level league table positions.

Hello all,

Does anyone recall what was asked at the Habs 7+ second round last year?
How many children are invited back?
How best to prep for this?
What does Habs honestly look for in candidates?

Any feedback gratefully appreciated.

Anyone waiting for DC second stage info and received email yet?

We just heard back from Dulwich. Looks like they emailed a day earlier.

Highgate results are out and we are once again grateful to receive a 2nd round invitation.

We heard back. Grateful to make it to the second round.

Immensely grateful to be through to the second round of Highgate too.

Does anyone know what they did at the activity day and interview last year?

We have Highgate and City, do people know how many invited to 2nd round?
City ~150, Highgate ~100?
roughly 2/3rds getting offers?

On the Highgate website it says, “A significant proportion of our candidates are invited back to our second round, Interview & Activity Day.”

@ThePractical Last year City invited back 150 for 75 places and made 110 offers. Interesting to see how many Highgate bring back, as they will over offer too, hoping it's 100!

Does City have 3 classes of 25 each? Thank you

Correct - so wonder what would happen if they get 76 or 80 acceptances, as they said no more than 25 in a class.
Highgate seems to be max of 22.

The class size will increase in you case, but the number of offers and waiting lists is based on a lot of data from the past few years, so it should be pretty accurate and keep the class size pretty much the same.

@daddy888 I'm sure I read somewhere there would be a maximum of 25 in each class, which to be honest is pretty large for an independent school.

Thanks @daddy888 and @Caps0218

Do we know class sizes in schools? WUS = 22, City =25, SPJ =?, KCS = 18, Latymer = 22, DC =?, Highgate =?, Habs =?

@FutureWestLondonMommy Highgate will be 22, SPJS will be 18.
really surprised by City, 25 is a lot, considering its fees appear to be the 2nd highest and the lack of facilities.

DC is about 55 across 3 classes - 18 ish

According to website
The intake for Habs for yr 3 is about 20 which is another class.

Does SPJ go up to mid twenties in year4?

SPJ has about 18ish in year 3 in 3 classes
Another class of 18ish adde in year 4 totalling 4 classes

While 25 kids might seem like a large class, at the KC2 stage, class size is less significant, especially since these schools are selective and have fewer students with SEN. For example, there’s little difference between a class of 22 and 25 kids. Therefore, I wouldn’t prioritize class size as a deciding factor when choosing a school. However, a lack of facilities at City, the absence of basics like a school playground, and its location could be considered disadvantages (but not the class size)