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.

We only have Westminster, and if the same boys are doing Westminster too, I think it's a definite No for us there too. I don't know whether to put him through it all again.

WUS exam is a lot shorter, plus no creative writing nor dictation / listening.

My DS is shortlisted too. Good luck to everyone for the upcoming rounds!

Do WUS primary students travel by bus if they live far, or does everyone live near central London? We didn’t apply as we’re far. We live in southwest London. I’ve only been in London for 2 years, so still learning!😬

i heard some come from as far as Wembley.

We also are bowled over and so grateful that our DS is through to the 2nd round.
Thank you for creating this thread.

In our focus to just tackle the first hurdle, we didn’t think further and now are a bit stumped about what to do… does anyone have any idea about what to expect? I think St Paul’s said in the small group tours that they would hold typical lessons to gauge learning disposition etc. But then I’ve heard of some obscure games being introduced to the children in some 2nd round sessions?

One teacher at WUS told me they know of a student who travels from near Stratford!

Does anyone know when KCS sends feedback usually? They mentioned in their email that feedback can be provided upon request. It would be great to receive this feedback so we can move forward. If anyone has experience with this.

Last year we requested feedback for the 7+ KCJS exam and if I remember correctly, they send you an email around February with some feedback

@SWlondonmum123 Thank you. As we still have a few more 7+ exams ahead of us, I would be truly grateful if you could share your experience and journey from 7+ to successfully achieving 8+. Your insights would mean a lot to us and could help keep our spirits high during this challenging time. Thank you in advance for considering my request!

my son went to a feeder school for KCJS and they were very good with their preparation. One of the more difficult areas for boys tends to often be the creative writing as well as having to have sped through the curriculum to then apply that knowledge in an exam setting. It can be overwhelming and especially for the more younger summer born boys. It’s really hard to know how your son will do on the day as anything can happen! They are so young. I personally found the 8+ journey much smoother, having been through 7+, my son was used to sitting exams, he found it straight forward building on the Knowledge he gained from 7+ and we had time to practice the creative writing. We also used Sunday preparation classes to keep the momentum going and slowly worked through books such as bond, Schofield and sims etc. I wouldn’t loose hope, sometimes the boys just need a bit longer before they are ready and mature to do well in the exams.

No groups for tomorrow at WUS, if I’m not mistaken?

Yes, nothing has been mentioned on the email regarding groups. We will get there and find out I suppose. Good luck to all the boys for tomorrow!

Good luck to all boys for WUS ❤️❤️

My boy just finished WUS, he says 10 pages of maths in 30 mins was a bit tough, didn’t get to finish them all.

All others seems okay.

DS said that the exam was harder than Kings. He said there were 18 comprehension questions, of which most were multiple choice. He said maths had 36/37 questions and he didn't finish. Verbal and non verbal were ok.

What time is the afternoon sitting? Do they get the same papers?

They started just after at 9:30.

First sitting was 8.30, 2nd was 9.30...so it would be the same papers.
How did people find it.....

DS said he managed to finish the papers… at first I was so relieved, but then he told me there were no SPAG questions, just loads of multiple choice comprehension (gulp), and a lot
of word based maths…
Time for a whisky… neat… 😮‍💨
Hope everyone has a nice well deserved weekend and all the best for Tuesday 🙏

Also heard there were 19 questions for English. 17 MCQ's and 2 that required writing a response. No grammar questions 🤷‍♀️. Maths had 37 questions worth 50marks.
DS said he finished and it was 'fine'. Now we wait 😅.

I'm just wondering if it's all right that the exact details of the papers are discussed in an open forum straight after an exam. A few years ago, my elder son took an entrance exam and was too ill to attend the official sitting. He was offered an alternative sitting a few days later, and the papers were very similar (or the same) from what I understood from other parents' feedback.

All the schools have back up dates- posters really shouldn't be putting detailed info up. Schools monitor Mumsnet!