Wilsons/Wallington/Whitgift

[AngelEyes46]

Can anyone tell me - my sil is looking at the above schools - her ds is in year 5 - been tutored for the last 6 months. Top within his primary for maths and science, goodish at english. Is musical but not particularly sporty. Also looking at whitgift but would be looking for some type of scholarship.

It is if you are a boy :) or not catholic.

My memory of in house lessons in my comp were that they were pretty dire.

When I last checked Wallington's website there was very little mention of music in their newsletters, news, etc. It was quite shocking really how much sport there was instead. I don't know if that means anything but it probably does? When you compare with the Head's newsletters in Trinity...

I think @Ladymuck has summed up my view of the whole thing. Trinity definitely the most musical of all the options with music scholarships available also, albeit, he'd have to be performing at a very high level. There are many kids at the top of their class who are still unable to pass the grammar schools exams so it's not an indication of his chances. Speed is definitely an issue in these exams with time left over for checking your work. I would go for them all, the grammars and the indies, although like Ladymuck said, don't even visit the indie's unless you'd be eligible for a bursary (which can be up to 100%) or can afford it as it will only do your head in:). That way, at least you'll hopefully have a few options on the table to weigh up and choose which suits him the most. Unfortunately, John Fisher and the like are even over subscribed with applicants from kids who were baptised within six months of birth, let alone any later, and with weekly attendance, but still no harm in whacking in a form - but definitely DO NOT pin your hopes on it as an option.

The above posts are worrying. My brother and sil would not be entitled to a bursary but i don't think could afford full fees. Their DS is musical but not exceptional and not at all sporty (irish dances if that helps). He is a clever boy but needs to practice with his speed. The family do attend mass and have done so for years but the baptism was delayed for a number of reasons. Any thoughts on Riddlesdown.

The good news is that the "baptised at less than 6 months old' category has gone for 2013, but that won't help if he was over a year old when baptised unfortunately.

Has he sat the Sutton Grammar mock test this year, as that would give a rough indication of where he sits within the cohort?

Riddlesdown has a good reputation, but can't say much about the music. But it is definitely the preferred choice for those who don't pass the faith test or 11+.

Have to say it wouldn't be my first choice, but apparently the music teacher at Thomas More is amazingly inspirational. I know that parents of a Whitgift music scholar were very impressed by a recent performance.

Thx - will let them know about Sutton - have just looked at their website and it looks as if there is only one more test date. Know about Fisher - my ds' go there. They changed from 1 year to 6 months and back again to a year. I know some boys that did get into JF though although they were baptised late. It's sad re: thomas more as the rc primary schools view the school as 'last place i would send my dc to'. I know this could open up the view that if you want your child to go to a catholic school, why not the ones that are as 'successful' as others but the children have ideas that it's a scary school. my sil feels as if she is in a no win situation - worried about baptism, so much competition with grammar and although cd possibly afford private fees, not sure if could afford all the extras. Riddlesdown is a good school but wouldn't be her first choice if 'fitted' into any of the other criterias. Feel that RC schools should adopt the same criteria as CE schools, ie baptised rather than baptised before a particular date.

No harm in looking at Archbishop Tennisons and St Andrews if they are active church members, though presumably that would depend on whether their parish priest was willing to be referee. Used to be the case that that wouldn't be possible, but don't know these days. But 40% of Tennison places go to non-C of E church goers.

Oh gosh, please don't bank of the results of the Sutton Mocks! Had two friends DS's who got really high scores and neither even passed, Sutton, Wilson's or Wallingtons let alone get offered a place (note, often people pass but still don't get a place. Four hundred may pass, but there are only 120 or so places)! The mocks don't include a writing test and the actual exams do, which might have some bearing as to the reason why. The school will warn you too, it's just to get the kids used to an exam environment. They are run by the PTA, so even if you ring up late, you can still get a spot as the money goes towards their kitty. I think a friend of mine got a space from calling just a few days before. Like @tiggytape said re competition, the same applies to Wilsons and Wallingtons - it's firece; and each year the numbers rise and the kids get more clever. But who knows, he could be one of them, it's not impossible:).

Archbishop Tennsion have a great ofstead report, the kids are nice and if they are active in the church then they shouldn't have problem getting a reference from their priest. A catchment area also applies though. Not sure about being musical either, their specialism is Maths.

Please do not rule out Whitgift and Trinity as their bursaries are so generous and on a sliding scale for people earning up to around 70k'ish (Can't remember the exact figure). What a lot of people fail to take on board however, is not EVERYONE gets a bursary even if they're eligible and even if they get offered a place. I think it's something like the top scoring 70, or something like that.

Have you looked at the feeder school, or at least the schools most of the kids go onto? Are they that tragic?

I think it's just good to remember you have six preferences, not six choices and therefore to have as many back up plans as you can. It is a stressful time, there's no doubt about it. On a positive note, most get one of the schools on their list, which may not sound positive, but it is. For those who don't, they get offered the schools that nobody else wanted and that can be heartbreaking.

You are all saying the truth which is good. But this is putting me off having DS sit all those fiercely competitive exams for the grammars, after all the stress and preparation...It could be so diappointing for him. All those children who don't make it every year, even the ones who were top of their class in primary...

BTG also really worth considering. A few with late baptisms from my ds's school got a place there. Kids always look nice and the old head has just returned, bringing the school right back up with some great plans for the future:)

The problem is that you don't know if your nephew will pass unless he tries...if you don't go down that route you may spend the rest of his school career thinking "what if?". DS did the grammar school exams and did pass all three (without doing mock tests) and has a place at one of them. Whilst he is bright (and has always been on the top table), he is not super bright.... I just think you have to go with your gut instinct about your child. We always thought that DS should be clever enough to get in but you just can't second guess these things. What DS had in his favour is that he quite likes doing exams, doesn't get anxious and is speedy (so he completed all his papers). You cannot underestimate the importance of all three - several of DS's classmates failed by a few points ostensibly because they didn't finish the papers.

I think being on the top table in itself isn't a reliable marker of ability as it very much depends on the class. Some classes of children are decidedly average whereas others are very clever. DS's class is known to be a 'clever class' and he and five of his classmates got places at grammar schools or the selective streams in nearby comprehensives - a very good innings from a school with a very mixed intake.

I think the whole secondary school application phase is very stressful whether one's child does tests or not. It is worth a try but you know your child better than anyone and know if it would be too much. Have you talked to his teacher? Our son's teacher indicated at a parents' evening at the end of Year 5 that we should be considering grammar schools for him.

Oh and this idea that grammar schools don't cater for musical children is not true. Experiences of everyone I know who went to a GS (including myself) demonstrate that children who are very gifted at music do get lots of support and nurturing. DW's school had girls who played the harp to grade 8 and there were always piano recitals, singing duets etc....in assemblies in the mornings.

What's wrong with SGS by the way or is just not local enough?

Good luck to him - it is a stressful time but at least this year some of the grammar schools are doing two-tier testing so that parents will know before the 31st October CAF deadline if their children are of the required standard to put the grammar schools as preferences. And by this time next year hopefully your nephew will have the school place he wants!

Tennisons has a reasonable string of ensembles/informal concerts etc. St Andrews seems to have even more, and has lots of pupils going onto the BRIT school. I would think that the issue with the reference is not whether it is acceptable to the school, but whether the parish priest will support an application to a non RC school. Also the CofE allocation is barely oversubscribed, whereas the non CofE quota is always oversubscribed.

What sort of level is your dn in terms of instruments?

Obviously the grammar schools do music. The comparison is more that whereas Wilsons has a brass ensemble, Whitgift has 8 or 9 brass ensembles.

The Whitgift foundation is on one hand very generous, but if your income is in the £60-90k bracket it is still going to be quite a stretch if you have a mortgage etc. But if dn is musical enough, especially on instruments that they want, there may be help. But I would be wary about looking at these schools if you would need a significant (>20%) scholarship to afford to attend, as the gap with some of the other state schools is quite large.

The odds are helped by the fact that most boys will sit at least 3 grammars, and some will sit Whitgift etc too. There is a good degree of overlap between the 400 or so who pass each grammar, as well as those who sit the grammar exams as practice for indies or different areas.

gazzalw, which one did you choose - was it SGS?

It would be interesting if the schools could tell one what degree of overlap there is.....DS and one other boy in his class passed the three Sutton Borough ones but from the 11+ Forum it appears that some might just pass one or two or sadly none at all...(as was the case with most of their classmates).

What is disconcerting though is that it is apparently possible to pass all three but still not score highly enough in any one test to be offered a place....

By the way DS is not brilliant at English at all and sure his English will have let him down, so thank goodness for the NVR/VR elements ;-)

I'm PM'd you breaktime!

Hi Hardboiled, I won't deny, it has to be one of THE MOST difficult times of a families of my life, because with all that prep, some pass everything, others pass some and fail some; and I know of those too who had tutors twice a week and didn't pass a single exam, grammar or otherwise. Indeed although there is overlap, like Tiggytape said, all 400 of those kids who are passing are still not being offered places. The head master at Sutton did give us a ratio of how many actually get offered a place amongst the three grammars, but for the life of me I can't remember. I will say this though; there is one little boy I know of who passed all three and got offered Wilsons. The Mother called the school, to find out if he just scrapped through because, she didn't want to put him in a situation where he was the bottom of a pile and they said, for all the boys that get offered a place, there is like a point difference between them.

I really don't want to freak you out; I spent so, so, so long worrying about it, I wouldn't wish that on anyone else and in my case it turned out well in the end and I'm the most unluckiest person alive smile. Also like Tiggytape said, only you know your child. It's difficult. Indeed he may be one of those kids where everything is like waters of a ducks back. I speak to rather a lot of Mums and I know of only one tragic case out of around 25 parents that I know personally. And for even those that didn't get their first choice, their seconds and thirds really weren't that tragic and they soon warmed to it. Just over too months now, no one really talks about it anymore and everyone's happy. Which proves that it really does work out in the end.

It's a bit difficult to recommend without knowing exactly where you live, but you do still have some good choices. PLLLLLLease also check out Wimbledon College. As a catholic you'd have priority over the other applicants and they fast stream the top two sects. They have a music school, good results and operate similar to a private school. They also attract a nice caliber of parents. Moreover, even if you live far away, the RC element takes priority over other applicants and they too still get a place, so you would be in with a good chance.

PS: Every schools has a music department, irrespective of their specialism, as I'm sure you're aware. I suspect your initial query was relating to how extensive and how much resources each school allocates to it.

As regards the sports question, my son made it very clear at Wallington Boys that he didn't like rugby and so he got to do badminton and table tennis instead. They do a range of sports in lessons and so the boys soon find something that they do like.

As regards the tests, Wilsons are dropping the verbal reasoning test this year and there will be some children entering on distance from the school (so long as they pass the test). My son and his classmate didn't have any tutoring or prep for the tests and they both passed Wilsons and Wallington boys - so if your child is expected to get level 5s it is worth entering them.

My experience of Wallington Boys has been an excellent one and I would recommend it.

John Fisher is much easier to get into thesedays; you don't have to go the interview process route (your son being interviewed alongside his parents).

Or the musical or academic places route.

It's much simpler; all you need to do is being involved in parish activities and have high mass attendance.

The selection policy at John Fisher was banned in September 1999. There is no selection at the school since 1999; period.

For those who are talking about delayed baptism, how much of "delayed" is acceptable and what accepted valid reasons?

Thanks tiggytape. Mine was baptised just a bit over 1 year so hopefully our reasons will be enough when the time comes.