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

Presumably some also end up with WL places.

Checking back regularly to see some positive messages ladies! Please post your success stories as I want to see some good stuff going on and not just wallow in my own situation.

Can I please also say a massive thank you to all of you lovely ladies who have given me such good and very well considered advice. I'm surprised and delighted, and promise to read it all, condense it and follow it. Next week, when Im a bit calmer.

Ok well DD got offered a scholarship to Surbiton, 50% off fees (!!) but is adamant she still wants KGS.

Wow 50 off!!! Hard to resist though if course I'd be most obliged if you'd turn it down!!!

Wow from me too! Well done to amidaiwish's DD.

As soon as we hear from KGS I will make a decision and won't hang on to the place I promise!

GJH - on Saturday I had a chat with the deputy head person for Y7 regarding what they were looking for at interview. Suitably vague, he said it was about determining if the school was a good 'fit' for the student e.g. If a boy said he loved rugby and KGS aren't strong at rugby, they might think it wouldn't be the best place for him. I would say that if the children are vaguely articulate and show enthusiasm about their hobbies and interests, and happen to mention something about the school they like they are probably quite strong candidates.
Though with around 100 places and 300/350 children interviewed, there are bound to be lots on the waiting list!!
Well done to all DDs with SHS offers...hope you hear soon about your first choice amidai. If your DD gets a KGS scholarship too she must be super academic!!
Will be checking with DDs friends tomorrow if their SHS offer has come through...

Congratulations Amidaiwish!
You may know this already but there will be 210 in the first year at SHS and just under 120 at KGS,both at compact sites.

Her writing, vocab, punctuation etc is very good and easy for her. She's worked hard on her maths this year with a tutor but isn't a natural.
It must be her writing carrying her through.

It will be a different story with Dd2 who just wants to dance!

Amidaiwish, congratulations. Do you mind to share some tips how your daughter became such a good writer. Any ideas for resources? I need to improve my son's writing skills ( we have plenty of time before 11+).

Boring but she just reads and reads and reads (since she was 3) and a very wide variety. I haven't done anything specifically with her except to say to her when she is writing in an assessment/test to think of the person marking giving lots of ticks and going "yes, yes" as they read it! Ie use descriptive words, good vocab, don't just write and write.
Her school are very hot on punctuation and grammar so she got that at school.

She can be inconsistent though, her yr 4 and yr5 writing SATS score was both 4b... But yr6 teacher levelled her as coming in at 5b. She wasn't having a good day in the SATS apparently

Congrats Amidaiwish - that's amazing.

And none of us are ...really...no...not us!
.

Hope she gets her first choice!

LOVE the good news stories - well done to your DD amidaiwish, where ever she chooses!

Thank you, Amidaiwish. Your daughter must be naturally a good writer. I know the children who read all the time, speak using sophisticated words, able to discuss what they read, but can't write very well.
I guess an original thought and a rich vocabulary, matters the most for the examiner. Less so spelling and punctuation?

Many congrats amidaiwish ! You must be stoked! . Hoping for more good news for everyone . Weird how girls come in dribs and drabs and boys make everyone wait till 13th... Interesting what you say about SATS . DS2 has done much better than we would have expected from his ?4c. maybe that's why they're scrapping them. I think they should and that kids should read what they enjoy ( currently the Pointless quiz book ).

What has helped my DD most in her writing has been editing her own work a few days later.

I got her to write a 30 min piece, then I would chop it up into paragraphs and stick them on another piece of paper with a space inbetween them.

I would then get her to highlight the 'good stuff' in each paragraph - sentences that didn't start with a noun/pronoun/article, figurative language, complex sentences, excellent vocabulary etc

When she had done that, we would pick a couple of sentences from each paragraph and rewrite them underneath.

The other thing that seemed to help was downloading example Level 5 pieces of writing and highlighting all the 'good stuff' in them.

But she hasn't got any offers yet, so I can't claim that it worked.....

Amadaiwish-you have a wonderful dilemma.I wonder if you or any others will do if you get a state grammar offer in the mix.

Thank you all you are very kind. Of course I have told Dd to say nothing at school! I am sure it is the last thing people want to hear.
We didn't apply to any state grammar, I couldn't face the Tiffin prep and Dd is not good naturally when I tried her on an NVR book.
We do have Waldegrave though...

Gosh Amida that is a tough choice! Waldegrave is my top state choice but we are out of the historical catchment so not a snowball's chance really....

What would you do if you got it too?

At this stage I am feeling a little more positive thanks to some lovely PMs and I am hoping that anyone with multiple offers will "hold" their top two independent favourites pending state school announcements and let the others go PROMPTLY so that the waiting lists might move, before I have a nervous breakdown!

I know a few who have been offered SHS who will turn it down if that helps DarkBlueEyes.

Big congrats to your DD amidaiwish. Nice dilemma to have.

Great news Amida, you must be so proud!

We have JAGS scholarship interview this week so I'm assuming that means we will be offered a place whether or not a scholarship is offered.

JAGS is my (and DD) favourite but DH this weekend is wobbling about distance as WHS and PHS are much closer (walking / 10 min drive). DH is also spooked by comments from DBIL about JAGS and eating disorders (he is a Teacher at one of the SE London secondary indies so knows a bit about these things).

Throw into mix a good chance for Tiffin or Nonsuch and we're no closer to knowing what we'll do if/when offers materialise.

But I can GUARANTEE that as soon as we can we will release offers. DS2 was on wait list at 7+ and we got a call 5 mins after the acceptance deadline - so I know that a quick decline could make someone else's day!

Ladies, a slightly unrelated question....

To try to motivate DD (clearly not very successfully), I promised her that "if she did well in her exams" she could have her room re-decorated.

Now I'm wondering what to do. How should I interpret "do well"? If she doesn't get a clear offer then I don't think I can let her do it. God it's going to be hell, but if I DO organise it, then clearly my word isn't worth it and she will not learn about consequences.

What would you do?

PS Brava Mertonmamma!

I'd decorate it. She's on waiting list and that means that she may well end up at one of the schools you are hoping for.

If she's predicted 5a's (if I remember right from up thread) then she's working hard and doing well.

I really think it would be harsh not to do the room.

I'd also package it as rewarding the effort, not the outcome.