7+ 2024/25 - Final Part

[Caps44]

Looks like the previous thread has reached 1000 posts, so please post here.

Absolutely, perhaps some may have changed their minds?

No deposits will be refunded now under T&Cs and other schools would have given away their spots! Not very fair to the parents…

Curious to know if anyone on here would have chosen another school had they known this news.

We accepted CJS instead of another brilliant school. I can’t say that we wouldn’t have been happier if the head stayed, but this is life. Somebody will have to run the school and the current head has set a high standard.

Heads of any top selective schools undergo stringent selection criteria. While (understandably) parents may have personal preferences it's unlikely any newly appointed head can change the school's policies and practices, impacting any given school considerably. It is also very likely that a school's head may change at some point anyway during your child' stay at any given school. I personally never gave too much consideration to school heads when choosing a school for my children. A teacher in any given year will have far more influence on a child's experience at a school than a head of the school.

NLCS did the same thing last year, announced that the head of the Junior School was leaving the day after the 4+ acceptance deadline. I find this sort of thing a little obnoxious. If the departing head of CJS already has her next position lined up, the school almost certainly knew about this before the end of the autumn term.

I agree that a change of head is not necessarily a major issue. I have read somewhere that head teachers' average tenures is about 7 years, so it's quite likely that there will be a change of heads during a child's career at a school. That said, this type of change is usually accompanied by unusually high staff turnover for a few years, and a sudden change can be indicative of tensions within a school, either between the head, the SLT, the teachers and/or the governors.

I have been through a numerous change of heads in my DCs school they don't necessarily mean an upheaval translating into staff turnovers and a change in teaching practices. RT has been serving as a head CJS 2022 but she transitioned there from being a head of City Girl Prep for a few years so it is not a not a very sudden change she has been around for a long enough.

I also have been through numerous changes of heads in my DCs' schools. Most of them led to unusually high staff turnover a year or two later as some teachers decided they weren't as comfortable with the new heads' styles as the with the old heads'. And, in several cases, departures by SLT members who felt that they were passed over for the positions. And the new heads didn't discourage the turnover; indeed they seemed to welcome the opportunities to put their own stamp on the schools.

@Caps44 my DS is at UCS!

He will love it there. Great choice. Nurturing school, teachers, staff and the head have been there for years and years. Strong sense of community among the boys. The teachers are SO lovely and genuinely care about the boys.
Best of luck :)

Hello, Is anyone here whose DC will start Y3 at CJS in September? It would be lovely to connect and exchange information ahead of the start of school.

Hello, my daughter will start CJS in Sept. Would love to connect.

Hi, I tried to PM you but pms are temporarily disabled apparently. I also have a DD. We are in North London. What about you?

Don't suppose you could elaborate on that first round at UCS? Would love to hear more. Thanks so much

Hello all, my twin DSs didn’t pass KCS’s 7+ written assessment and now we are debating whether we should bother with SPJ at all? We came into the 7+ process quite naively underprepared compared to others and our boys are July born so we are gutted but not too surprised.
It would be helpful if anyone who’s been through this process last year can share whether KCS and SPJ provided detailed feedback on individual test performances? Detailed feedback would be very valuable for us, as we would like them to try again next year for 8+ at KCS.
ta!

Haven’t been through the process last year but what I know is that KCJS share their feedback in January - after all the competitive exams have concluded. So not that useful for the current cycle but may help in deciding for 8+ next year - though it will be for a reduced set of schools.