numbers of applications to London private school - why so many?

[LetsEscape]

This year's numbers of children applying at 11+ to independent London schools has gone through the roof. Has anyone got any theories?

In South London the indies seem to have approx a 10% increase in numbers sitting for them. No idea about Surbiton, but Years 4 & 6 seem to be full at all of the local private schools, typically with waiting lists. Year 5 seems to be less full.

We decided not to go for grammar because a) whilst it is only a small risk that the government will interfere further with grammars it is still a risk; b) even the very good grammars seem a bit more obsessed about their league table position rather than on their leavers destinations and whether they were able to gain good employment 4 years hence.

Hi

My twin DSs sat the Latymer exam yesterday and there were 960 children sitting it - "a record year" blah blah ....

But interestingly, a teacher with one of my boys asked the group (as a way to pass the time before the exam started) to put their hands up if they were sitting 2,3,4,5,6 or more exams .... the biggest group of hands by far was for four exams - but there was a decent crop for 5 and 6 exams - one poor victim said she was sitting 11!!!

I think its a combination of millenium baby-boom and desperate parents casting their nets wide either for scholorship or deciding thats where they want to invest what funds they have ...

(Stillfeel - hiya! Neither of mine got KGS - again - your dcs are clearly genius'! Hope you had good news for dc2)

It's a myth that there was an increase in the birth rate for the millenium - there was a slight rise from 1998-1999, but lower in 2000.

The children siiting the exams now would be born in 2000/2001 so not part of the slight bulge in 1999.

I'm very inclined to put it down to an increase in exams per child rather than total number of children - it may be a nightmare for the schools going through the offer reiterations.

In London it seemed to be fairly flat across 1999-2002, but the birth rate has really grown since then. Almost glad to be in one of the last "low birth years" to be honest. Approx 105k babies born each year 1999-2002, but 130k born in 2009! How many extra secondary schools need to be built over the next few years?!

Mrshighandmighty - that's very interesting about the number of exams per child - I feel positively chilled out with our 3 schools now! (might not come offers time though!) No my DS2 didn't make KGS - it does seem to have been very hard this year with 610 kids sitting it and more boys than girls (when they take roughly equal boys/girls). Good luck with wherever you're trying - twins must be double the 11+ nightmare!

In DS's school, a significant proportion have parents who are new to private education; ditto parents who are or were foreign nationals but are living here at any rate for the foreseeable future; some who are based abroad. It makes for a great mix but the applications have increased hugely over the last four years.

When DS was applying round the place, we were told that broadly the numbers applying to the private schools in our area would balance out. I don't think that's the position any more - it certainly doesn't feel like it, as some of his mates now travel hours to get to school and my taxi driver home tonight told me she drives a boy regularly from W Sussex to get to and from south london!

So now we're nearing the end of this rather unpleasant process, what do people think? Have there really been more children taking exams, or is it a case of the same children sitting for multiple schools?

I don't know what it was like a few years ago, but from what I can see the results in our school have been consistent within the peer group - nothing wildly unexpected - but certainly on the tough side. Children who could have coped well in the mid to upper range schools not being offered places etc. If this is because the most able are being offered 5+ schools I imagine there might be a lot of movement on waiting lists - or maybe there really are just more and more very bright DC out there?