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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

Kingston grammar school 10 plus

101 replies

ttcnumber3maybe · 20/01/2014 20:13

Hi folks! Ds took 10+ at kgs on 4 jan and we haven't heard anything yet 2 weeks on... Just wondered if anyone else out there was in the same boat. I bit the bullet and called admissions last Friday and she said they hadn't started doing the calls yet for interviews as they were focusing on 11plus (although we had been advised would hear within 2 weeks).... Let me know if you hear anything! Ds also took the hampton 10plus but was his first ever exam and raced through it without checking... Was no suprise when we got a rejection letter (15 places out of 250 odd sitting the exam!!!)

OP posts:

ClaraMaugham · 25/01/2014 16:13

Shooting do you have any idea how many places they offer at 11+? My DD had an English interview, which surprised us as English is supposed to be her stronger subject. She felt the interview went well but it's so hard to know! We really like the school...

castlesintheair · 25/01/2014 20:08

Great post(s) Shootingatpigeons. Agree with everything you say.

Pop1ns · 25/01/2014 22:07

What does having an 'English' or 'Maths' interview actually mean?

amidaiwish · 26/01/2014 11:42

afaik it is a 1 on 1 interview where they focus on that topic. So they might ask them to read a poem and discuss it, or give them a maths question to do. Typically when they have fallen down unexpectedly in one paper.

Shootingatpigeons · 26/01/2014 11:51

Clara I don't know but they must over offer by quite a margin. I presume they take their experience of how many people decline a place and then over offer to that extent. I know LEH and Putney High both ended up with extra classes in particular years because they had more acceptances than they anticipated, which suggests at least 28 more offers than places but probably more than that (and LEH and Putney are pretty sure of a high proportion of Junior School acceptances anyway) Obviously if they get more rejections they have the waiting lists which can move quickly, so it obviously isn't an exact Science. Remember most pupils will be declining two or more offers if their parents have pitched where they tried for realistically. On the morning acceptances / rejections were due in I encountered a lot of parents who like me had debated the decision to the wire and were driving about West London delivering their final answers!

pops if a pupil has displayed a weakness in the exam that they are concerned about they will interview them to find out if it is a genuine weakness or they just didn't show what they were capable of on the day. I think KGS are the only ones who formally tell you ahead that it is a Maths or English specific interview but I know other schools often do test out pupil capabilities in interview if they are concerned.

ClaraMaugham · 26/01/2014 20:06

As I understand it they interview everyone who's scored above a certain level on all papers, but if one subject seems weaker they will focus on that in the interview. If there's a real weakness in one or other subject then you aren't offered an interview at all (this happened to a friend's DS - she rang for feedback and was told the English paper was not up to the required standard).

Contessa28 · 27/01/2014 05:53

Thanks for the clarification all. Clara I assume that your friend's ds was for a previous year? Hope post comes this week soon so we know either way!

Shootingatpigeons · 27/01/2014 08:16

clara I am not sure it is that simple. When I got feedback for my DD, to try and help us make up our minds, I found all the schools had built up a good picture of her strengths and weaknesses, where she had lost and picked up marks. They picked up that she struggled with accuracy and misreading questions (still does!) I suspect they are eager to pick up the bright ones who may not have the benefit of years of tutoring / prep school preparation. I think even if they don't get an interview they have been looked at holistically rather than it being a first past the post exercise. However if the number of applicants start climbing I don't suppose they have time to make a such a good job of that, hence the delays.

Shootingatpigeons · 27/01/2014 08:17

Also hoping your DDs the best of luck

harrassedswlondonmum · 27/01/2014 08:18

On the subject of over offering, on another thread someone linked to a very interesting table on the Old Vicarage school website - numbers of offers and places accepted for their leavers. For example in 2013 there were 22 offers for PHS and G&L but only 3 acceptances between them. That's a lot of offers rejected, just from one prep school.

reddidi · 27/01/2014 09:04

Statistics mentioned on this thread about 11+ entry which is probably better than hijacking a 10+ entry thread, this process is confusing enough!

Contessa28 · 27/01/2014 17:14

Post update: still nothing and still waiting! Ds v anxious to know either way re 10 plus!

amidaiwish · 27/01/2014 18:01

Torture. I would have forgotten about it by now if we'd have heard when we expected to. I showed Dd the KGS uniform in bentalls today. WHY did I do that? Must get a grip...

Contessa28 · 27/01/2014 21:39

Post update: still nothing and still waiting! Ds v anxious to know either way re 10 plus!

Alana1975 · 28/01/2014 12:43

I have not recieved any news from KGS. I am very curious about the outcome, especially after it took so long.

Contessa28 · 28/01/2014 12:50

Oops posted twice ... Nothing today (Tuesday!) anyone heard anything???

wheresthebeach · 28/01/2014 12:59

Not a dickey bird....

castlesintheair · 28/01/2014 13:12

Nothing and I'm expecting to hear by email so possibly sooner than regular post?

amidaiwish · 28/01/2014 13:58

Why are you expecting to hear by email?

wheresthebeach · 28/01/2014 14:02

Am starting to get grumpy....

amidaiwish · 28/01/2014 14:21

Now that I know it'll be this week I am ok, it's only Tuesday. But I will not be ok this weekend if still radio-silence!

Contessa28 · 28/01/2014 15:47

How did your dc find the tests?

wheresthebeach · 28/01/2014 16:06

Math hard, rest 'fine'

Alana1975 · 28/01/2014 16:20

My daughter recognised the extract ( at least she thinks she did) for reading comprehension. ?t was from the book she just started to read Chinese Cinderella, the story of unwanted daughter.
She found it challenging but manageable. She found mathematics easy. I practiced with her some verbal reasoning papers, Bond 10-11 years old and she thought VR at the exam was at the same level of difficulty.

amidaiwish · 28/01/2014 16:39

DD1 finished the verbal reasoning in 20 mins. that's not good is it?
she thought the comprehension was fine, although did the classic error of not turning over the paper to see there were more questions until late so had to rush the last few. It will have been worth doing the 10+ purely so she has learnt not to do that again! I will see if she can remember what it was about, that book is certainly not anything she would choose to read.
Maths she said was ok but a few hard questions - she couldn't do the last one, a complete the grid number square, not that it sounded particularly difficult just she didn't know how to approach it.

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