Tiffin Open Evening. Traffic?

[toomuchcricket]

I've heard central Kingston can get pretty snarled up on the day of the Tiffin entrance exams, but what about the Open Evening? Is it easy to get a parking space in one of the town centre car parks? I'm assuming it won't be too bad, especially as we can't get there until about 7pm.

Traffic is always hideous in areas surrounding the school on open evening or test day...1000s wanting to visit and narrow residential roads, there is always a huge snarl of traffic.

We turned up late last year and it was still unbelievably busy!! DH had to drop us off as traffic was at a standstill so he missed the visit. Open evening will basically be over by 7.30 PM anyway (the Head's talk is only repeated a few times) so possibly not worth the effort by the time you've walked up the road from one of the central car parks.

DD will sit the test and if she gets in (let's face it, chances are slim! She is one of hundreds who are all achieving level 5s in core subjects in Year 5, if not earlier) so would see how she likes it on induction day. If she really dislikes it then sure there will be plenty willing to take the place from the waiting list. And doubt TGS would be worse than one she would get if she declined it and took a last-minute place at wherever she could actually get in at that time of year!!

It finishes at 7.30 so you won't get much of a chance to look round!

I'd suggest using public transport, will give you a chance to see if is a doable journey.

The boys and the girls schools are having open evenings on consecutive days this week.

If going to the girls school the bus (65) is absolutely awful most days and on open days it is just a nightmare; DD waited an hour after helping out last year. I would get the train to Kingston and walk if at all possible.

If checking whether it is a doable journey I would make a trip at the start of the summer holidays at the right time of day.

By the way the girls helping out are told not to discuss the admissions procedures - unfortunately that doesn't stop some rude and aggressive parents insisting they say what the tests are like/who tutored them etc.

To be clear, I'm talking about the boys' school, which is in central Kingston, and the Open Evening finishes at 8pm.

We'll be heading into Kingston via Kingston Bridge and were thinking of parking at Seven Kings.

Just returned from Tiffin's (Boys) open evening, so glad we used the public transport! Got there swiftly, 20 mins early and shocked by the queue outside the school!!! We were quite near the entry gate but after our arrival, couldn't believe how many hundreds of people joined the queue! Very tight inside the school, one way system only. We left shortly after the HT and HB speech as we felt that there was no chance we could see or hear clearly our Tiffin boy guide during the tour. Very difficult to move around on the corridors or inside the classrooms and impossible to stop and have a good look. The Tiffin boys did their best though. We left and felt very sorry for the large number of people still waiting outside in the rain. Our DS didn't have a good feeling about the place today, so not very impressed. (Very different vibe at Wallington last week).

Agree htm. We had complex logistics to get there due to work commitments. I ended up going straight from work with DH and DS coming later. Queued for ages. Good to see round, but left with negative impression.

DS had meltdown on the way home as felt he didn't have the chance to see it properly. I think it suddenly dawned on him that we are going to have to make some important choices in the next few months. I don't think Tiffin is the right school for him (he's very bright and sporty, but not into music, drama or rugby, which seem to have a strong focus). However I wanted him to reach that conclusion for himself, rather than making it for him.

Trouble is our preferred options are shaky so I think we we need to keep Tiffin on the list..

I've heard the school invites boys who pass the 11+ to further familiarisation events. Anyone know if that is before or after the coordinated admission form is submitted?