I'm a weeny bit cross that there hasn't been a SW/W London Independent schools thread this yr.

[SonorousBip]

Every blinking year there is one - and I read, and nod, and note. Sometimes they go on for months and pages. But this year, when I'm actually doing it - pah, not a sausage.

If anyone wants to do a last minute SPGS/Latymer/Godolphin/ KGS/LEH/WHS/PHS thread, please do! (disclaimer - I'm not doing all of those.). But views welcome. Because I've got several days to form my final views

Many thanks for that. Sounds like a general one so we'll try to help him chat about that a bit. Will look at Hampton thread too.

Good luck empty coffee. My son's interview at KGS took about 5 mins during which time they read out his reference to him(!!) And told him about the bus service!

I posted the questions he was asked at Hampton on another thread -again no maths or English there either which was good.

My DD had a general interview last year at KGS. The teacher was very friendly, no academic questions, just a chat about hobbies, travelling...

Favourite books, favourite subject, any sport, nothing unusual.

Alana - did your DD receive an offer?

Minoula - would LOVE to know what my DDs reference says!!

My daughter received a 10 plus offer last year. We applied to one more school and I haven't heard from them yet.if we receive an offer from the other school, we will be in a difficult situation to chose between the two, because each of them has pluses and minuses for us.

if a child gets an offer at 10+, do you have to pay a deposit to secure the place straight away or can you wait a year and try for other schools that don't do 10+?

having just gone through the 11+ with DS (& made him sit a ridiculous amount of exams), I am wondering whether to do both 10+ & 11+ with DD.

You have to pay a deposit around 1000 pounds, maybe bit more. I don't remember. If we take the other offer, I will lose this amount.

Thanks Alana! DD (in Year 4) is mad keen on KGS. DS is not. But then he is not keen on anywhere really.

Deposit to secure the place for 10+ was £1300
If you decide not to take the place after all the date to let them know is quite early, mid feb I think, otherwise you're liable for a term's fees.
They said if you need a scholarship/bursary in order to accept the place then decline the 10+ offer and do the 11+

Does anyone know if all the private schools have a deadline of after the state options come out? Or do some make us (if we're lucky enough) decide before we know about state?

anothernewt DD was fine with it. The head at FH gave a really inspirational talk at the open day to the girls and parents/carers about wanting girls to take risks and not feel like they have to be "little miss perfect". I really buy in to her ethos. DDs first choice is Alleyns but I think she really likeS FH and so do I.

National Offers Day for state secondary places is 3 March 2015.

You'll probably hear on the day if online offers, just after if you have to wait for the post to arrive.

wheresthebeach - offers deadline for independents is by 12.00 4 March 2015

Thanks Ealing! I live in hope of having to choice...

Arghhh choose!

Absolutely fingers x'd you will!

Here is no single date used by all independent school as the deadline to respond to offers. You need to check each one. It's usually early March for most in London, but does not have to be.

Schools in a consortium, or running from one Foundation or trust, will usually have the same dates, but not necessarily the same as any other individual school or groups of schools.

Last one day. KCS, wildly optimistic given small number of places and high numbers of prep school children sitting. Interesting twist: they gave all DS a list of private and grammar schools and asked them to tick which ones they were sitting for. Then to say which one they wanted to go to most. No doubt they match them up against similar questions answered by parents on original application form. I think I understand why they might do that but not sure i like it too much.

emptycoffeepot thanks for that post. DS sat KCS this morning & did not tell me anything.

He put Rutlish as the school he wants to go most (sinking heart emoticon).

I remember parents at our school last Jan getting quite annoyed about the way schools do this kind of questioning. The head explained that a school like KCS specifically ask about the other schools a candidate has applied for because they want to know if they are the "long shot" option for a particular child. As all children are generally doing 4/5 schools, if other schools on the list are Westminster, St Pauls etc, this would tell a school like KCS something about the considered academic ability of a child. If KCS is listed alongside the slightly "less academic schools", then this tells them something else. In the prep system, most heads are extremely reticent to write references to schools if they don't think a child will get in. It doesn't reflect well on the prep. It also means that less weight/consideration would be given to children considered more "viable" from that prep.

So there are tactics involved in the question "What other schools are you applying to" and all these schools are playing the game!

But how should you answer it?

DarkBlue For what its worth (and this is only my view)! I think you have to just lie (if necessary). Whatever interview you are in you only have one shot and they will be seeing hundreds of children. All these schools know that many children will get various offers and they are keen to make the right offers to the right children - this means not only the ones who have performed well on paper, but the ones who actively want the place and who will actually take it if offered.

Schools do not like being turned down any more than we do. Given the fierce competition for places, why would a school give a place to someone who didn't really seem to want it or preferred somewhere else?

Also, rather than your dc just blandly saying that he/she really wants that school, find a good reason why - anything that stands out in the prospectus or from an open day that your child thought made that school "special". And get them to bang on about it if you can!

I realise this may all sound OTT, but I do think that schools don't want to waste their own time offering places to those they suspect will reject them.

Put it this way. If you've been looking for a job for a while and eventually you get to go along to a interview at a firm where you might not have originally wanted to work but at the end of the day a job is a job and you could do with one... You go along to the interview as prepared as you can be, you've researched everything you can about the company and any recent news, armed with as many questions as possible. And you tell them that you would be delighted to work for them as it has been ambition of yours to work there for many years as you have always heard great things about the company and admired them etc etc.

The only difference is that having been offered and accepted the job, six months later you find the job you really wanted at a company you would like to work at and you bugger off to a better role.