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Secondary education

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

Original poster

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

999 replies

SonorousBip · 03/01/2015 21:46

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 Smile

OP posts:
Needmoresleep · 10/01/2015 15:34

Godolphin is not too bad. Both a Primark and TK Maxx in King Street and Westfield is just about walkable. I remember mooching round Bentalls in Kingston during Tiffin exams and then a very crowded restaurant (TGI Fridays?) as a treat after.

Part of DDs decision making was based on where she wanted to be a teenager. The Barbican and Dulwich came out poorly, whilst on this measure Wimbledon came top.

Balhamite1 · 10/01/2015 15:58

Any feedback from DD about the JAGS exam today? I'm getting nothing from my DD.

DarkBlueEyes · 10/01/2015 16:19

Poisonwoodlife posts like that make me wish there was a like button. Smile

DarkBlueEyes · 10/01/2015 16:22

Dd still
Awake at midnight before Surbiton. Shock Said St Catherine's was ok esp maths which is her downfall. English a bit harder. Still she only missed one maths question which was good. Putney wins in the biscuit front. Omg gingerbread to die for on interview day!!!! Two more to go.....

KingscoteStaff · 10/01/2015 16:43

JAGS update...

DD said Comprehension was straightforward, but there was only one choice for Composition and it didn't let her include any suspense Sad.
Maths all fine except for an angle question about an arrow Confused.
VR easy to start with, then turned very tricky at the end.

Sausage and mash for lunch with chocolate muffins for pudding. And the big girls were nice and let them play hangman in between exams.

I bought a cream top in Jigsaw and met my mum for coffee.

I have nothing further to report.

Original poster
SonorousBip · 10/01/2015 17:50

Hmm. Article in the Times today saying 1,077 registered for Latymer 11+ exam.

Hmm

Thunk.

OP posts:
mertonmama · 10/01/2015 19:21

DD says JAGS was fine. Finished the maths. English good. She also said VR was a bit different to other exams but couldn't articulate why.

She said it was easier than Tiffin and Nonsuch and liked being in a small classroom instead of a huge hall. The older girls looking after her were lovely and the sausage, mash and gravy hit the spot.

All in all a good day. She enjoyed it and is looking forward to WHS on Monday.

Does anyone know how many girls sat JAGS?

choselatymer · 10/01/2015 19:54

For anyone sitting LU Tuesday I just heard there may be a bus strike.

Condemned · 10/01/2015 20:33

Re: JAGs my daughter was number 218 and her surname begins with D not sure if it was numerical but if it was the the numbers look phenomenal : (

wheresthebeach · 10/01/2015 21:56

Those are astonishing numbers! Shock

Pop1ns · 10/01/2015 22:07

The schools usually make 2-2.5x offers for the planned intake so if you do the maths then a lot of DC will be disappointed.

Original poster
SonorousBip · 10/01/2015 22:27

I really can't work out if there are more children in total, or more children doing more exams. I tend to think it is more of the latter. When my first dc did this 3 years ago the prep school told us to apply to 3 schools - standard advice: stretch, achievable, banker. Some people did more, but mainly they were crazers outliers (or there were specific circumstances). Now the advice is tending to four as a standard, and there are plenty of people applying to more.

Would be interested if anyone thinks it is just a demographic - ie numbers - change.

OP posts:
wheresthebeach · 10/01/2015 22:33

At our school most are taking 4-6. We are very unusual at 2.

If it's just an increase in the number of exams taken then there must be a lot of moving around of wait lists!

Eastpoint · 10/01/2015 23:06

In today's Times the head of Francis Holland says that their numbers have gone up from 230 to over 500 now (sorry can't remember exact). Latymer had 107x this year. Apparently new prep schools are opening but v few new senior schools. Kew Green & Radnor House are the only new senior schools I can think of & some London senior schools have closed - there was a girls school (St David's?) where St James's Boys is now but that is out towards Feltham. More children are also trying to move to private for year 7 from state schools.

amidaiwish · 10/01/2015 23:12

There's one poor boy in Dds class with exams for 7 schools!!
Most girls are doing 4
Dd is unusual at just 2 but if she hadn't got the 10+ I probably would have done 4 or even 5! Coming from state primary you just don't know where best they fit.

amidaiwish · 10/01/2015 23:13

Radnor House doesn't have a big intake at 11, most come through from age 7

KingscoteStaff · 11/01/2015 00:13

I think JAGS had 500ish this morning and another 500ish in the second batch. But of course some of those will end up going to SPGS or Tiffins instead.

KingscoteStaff · 11/01/2015 08:59

I think one thing leads to another.

  1. I know there are more children at SW London prep schools because I've seen 3 or more open/expand around our area alone.
  1. On last year's criteria, we would just have got into our local outstanding school (locality). But what if there are lots of siblings this year?
  1. I hear anecdotally that there are more children applying for entrance exams (the Emanuel list closing in July/tales of specialist tutors for Russian candidates etc etc)
  1. Hang on, I think, what if DD isn't quite as 'exam ready' as I think she is?
What if she is really bright, but those pesky Russians are even brighter? And off I go and apply to another 'safety' school.
EdithWeston · 11/01/2015 09:09

I think there are more children in London full stop, and school expansion (in either sector) hasn't kept up.

Parents of SW London boys parents now routinely include Croydon schools in their 'to consider' list, and that simply wasn't the case 5 years ago. Schools with good rail connections to stations like Clapham Junction are seeing a huge increase in numbers of enquiries.

And of course people are applying for more schools, because of concerns about getting an offer at all.

The opening of Bolingbroke might have been expected to reduce numbers a bit, by filling a bit of a black hole in availability of state school places in a specific part of SW London. But it's been open a couple of years now, and applicant numbers are higher than ever.

Needmoresleep · 11/01/2015 09:48

Aaargh, I had the answer to this but have forgotten it. I met someone who sat on admissions panels and she told me how many expat children of school age and looking for private education had moved to London in recent years. It was significant and would explain private equity firms investing money in new prep and senior schools.

Interestingly she also sat on the equivalent panels for Private Schools. It appears people appeal decisions. I assume the Equalities Act would apply, which may explain why schools are so opaque about what they are looking for.

Kingscote, parents to the east of JAGS (Blackheath etc) may well be trying Kent Grammars, others will be using JAGS as a fall back to Alleyns, and many parents in central West London will prefer G&L, Putney, LU and other schools to a long coach journey. The disadvantage of relying on a coach is both indirect routes, and problems with after-school activities. That said Dulwich school bus journeys seem to be very social.

LU numbers may be high, but a disproportinate number will be boys. Its not so bad for girls.

Eastpoint · 11/01/2015 10:06

My dcs are slightly older but LU used to have quite a high rate of people turning them down - lots of girls choose to go to single sex when offered a choice, people travel from a long way for the exam as the Piccadilly line is fast but then choose closer schools.

Chillaxalready · 11/01/2015 10:24

Does anyone know how many sat for KGS this year and the proportion of girls to boys?
I don't think DD did all that well on the day so not expecting an interview. She only seems to be good at English (thought the paper was easy and finished it worryingly quickly) and NVR (which they don't test!) So maths and VR may be her downfall as she left questions unanswered on both of these papers!

amidaiwish · 11/01/2015 10:29

I heard KGS was over 600 but don't know the boy/girl split.
Dd is fairly good at maths (will be sitting level 6 and is as good as the boys in her class going for Hampton etc.) She left questions out and didn't finish so I wouldn't worry about your dd.
At an open day KGS said they didn't manage the boy/girl split but it naturally falls about 55/45 boy/girl. But surely they must manage it a bit?

amidaiwish · 11/01/2015 10:30

And the VR apparently was impossible to finish. I haven't heard of anyone who finished.

castlesintheair · 11/01/2015 10:42

Really amidaiwish? My DD finished the VR for KGS. Oh dear, I think I really should be worried now!