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Original poster

SW/W London Independent Schools thread part two

629 replies

Chillaxalready · 09/02/2015 20:09

There. I've done it and started one.
1001 messages and counting!

OP posts:
Beingfrank · 10/02/2015 22:18

Chillax - that is seriously unimpressive. KGS has really gone down in my estimation.

My lovely bright boy who didn't warrant an interview just got 96% in his level 6 maths assessment this week. Higher than his friend who was invited to do the maths scholarship paper. Their loss I say!

Chocfinger · 10/02/2015 22:21

Chillax that's terrible! Hope they apologise profusely and make an offer as a gesture of goodwill at the very least!

Chocfinger · 10/02/2015 22:25

Being frank obviously DS far far too clever for them and they knew he would only accept offers from more selective institutions....or I might send them a copy of such a remarkable result and ask them to reconsider

wheresthebeach · 10/02/2015 22:26

OMG...that's awful Chillax.

We did 10+ last year and they handled it so badly that we didn't do 11+ this year...if I'm going to pay large sums of money for something I'd like to see basic organisation skills!

Waitingandhoping2015 · 10/02/2015 22:26

Beingfrank - are you me because DS has fared exactly the same at KGS and also scored that in a SATS L6 mock last week!! As you say, their loss.

Thought KGS organisation was pretty slick up to picking DS up from the exam when they were hopeless; cramming us into a corridor, releasing the children through the gap in the hordes, then a teacher running from outside saying don't send them out without a parent, then we moved out into the courtyard where it took a parent to try and organise people to disperse a little. So it was a bit of a mess but perhaps typified the cramped and claustrophobic school?

Original poster
Chillaxalready · 10/02/2015 22:40

Appreciate that there are difficulties with large numbers applying, and also so many children to interview - it takes time to move hundreds of people around in a limited space. No problem with that.

HUGE issues with the fact that DD attended three interviews/auditions and they still obviously have no real record of who she is (that, or she was so uninteresting, untalented and forgettable that she didn't even appear to be female!)

What integrity is in the the process??? Have to say that an offer at this point would most likely be declined, even if it came with a large percentage off the fees...don't fancy paying large sums to an institution that can't get the basics right!!

According to WHS, she didn't 'scrape in' either but was comfortably at the top end of their candidates (I got worried when she didn't receive an outright offer from KGS and called WHS for reassurance!).

Being Frankand Waiting I am gobsmacked your DSs were overlooked with their maths ability!! As jeanne said in the previous thread, there are some who manage to do very well on the exam papers who aren't up to scratch once the endless tutoring stops upon gaining a place and conversely, those who don't do so well on the initial test who actually have far greater ability than the results would indicate.

OP posts:
slev · 10/02/2015 22:46

Just wanted to say good luck to everyone waiting on results! DS is only in Reception but likely to apply for KGS, Hampton and possibly others (all being well - he's at an independent primary so independent secondary has always been the plan) and am reading these threads with a kind of morbid fascination. Dreading the point several years from now when it's us, but in the meantime, best of luck to you all and hope it all turns out for the best!

Waitingandhoping2015 · 10/02/2015 23:02

Thanks slev. Just one comment to you... It needs to be the right school for the right child, so personally I wouldn't make assumptions about which school yet - depending on location of course. For example DS1 now doing GCSEs would never have thrived in a school like Hampton but the one he is currently at was perfect for his nature and he has done very well. Total opposite for DS2 where s school like Hampton would be perfect for him.

Beingfrank · 10/02/2015 23:05

Yes waiting - cramped and claustrophobic and we didn't want to go there anyway Grin Bitter, moi?

Waitingandhoping2015 · 10/02/2015 23:09

Everyone says that... That it feels very cramped. All part of its location I guess. Having to rent out Claremont or Hinchley Woods sports hall for winter cricket nets is just embarrassing for KGS surely?

castlesintheair · 11/02/2015 07:17

Love all the school bashing. Very therapeutic isn't it?!!

Beingfrank and waitingandhoping, your stories are very familiar. I don't know the answer but I hope it works out for you both.

Waitingandhoping2015 · 11/02/2015 08:14

Indeed. Sad, bitter and twisted perhaps? Smile

Just don't get me started on the hapless City of London Freemans ... Angry

SonorousBip · 11/02/2015 08:35

Ah, yes - I have several schools on my "bitter and twisted" list.

Let's just say I'm not a huge fan of the one we were on waiting list for who told us it was all looking good and we were very likely to make the cut as we were so high on the waiting list, then told us two hours before the acceptance deadline that actually we weren't likely to get an offer imminently so I had to leg it on to the bus to the other school we had an offer from. Stay on the waiting list, though, they said and subsequently sent us a "future Y7" email. Eh? We said. Oops, they said, sorry - not meant for you, that was for people with offers...

Tbh, I wouldn't choose a school on its provision of winter cricket nets. Smile But it's good to vent in these last few days.

Haven't decided whether to wait at home for the post on Friday, or go in to work. Decisions, decisions...

Beingfrank · 11/02/2015 08:44

I just give thanks every day that I never ever have to go through this again, and those that do have my sympathy. My daughter is in her final year of school, with GCSEs, ASs and the UCAS process under her belt, and I can honestly say that none of that has been nearly as stressful for us parents as 11+.

castlesintheair · 11/02/2015 08:53

Me too Beingfrank and I've still got one in Year 4 but I will never go through this 11+ malarkey again wherever we end up. I have learnt my lesson. Twice is enough and it is only going to get worse surely?

Can't believe these admin cock-ups these very expensive schools make.

Beingfrank · 11/02/2015 08:53

I did hear, from a current KGS parent, that the new head had made changes because the admissions round was just too time consuming and labour intensive. But that will backfire badly if their processes are not robust enough to record details of children they have seen several times. Chillax - I am really shocked by what you said. Are they looking into it or has it just been left that they can't find the info about your daughter?

SonorousBip · 11/02/2015 09:55

Is Friday The Big Day for everyone? We are waiting on two schools, but its not make or break for us.

Have done it before when it was make or break re what came through the door and it was horrendous. You just knew that whatever came through the door was going to impact the way you lived for the next 5-7 years.

Dinocroc · 11/02/2015 10:38

Blimey some major school bashingSmile!! Is everyone being driven crazy by waiting?! Obviously mixing up the sex of a child is not good Smilebut if anyone is reading this thread and thinking KGS is a nightmare school it isn't honestly. The day to day organisation is very good and the sports facilities are amazing. Think the postman needs to put sw London out of its misery fast!

CountessDracula · 11/02/2015 10:53

There are bound to be some errors - when we were doing this for eg Latymer claimed not to have received dd's application (despite me having handed it in in person!) (Luckily by this time we had decided against it!)

These schools have such HUGE numbers to deal with, I really don't know how they cope.

I can second that KGS is very organised on a day to day basis. Quite frighteningly so in fact - I have no idea how schools manage, I can barely organise myself, the thought of dealing with 800+ children makes my blood run cold!

Dinocroc · 11/02/2015 10:53

Oh and I don't think maths is the discriminator for boys, I think it's English and/ or VR. Pains me to admit it but boys who score very highly in maths are more common than girls who do so.

CountessDracula · 11/02/2015 10:56

I should also say that at least 3 L6 children that I know of at dd's primary were turned down for KGS :( I think sadly it is down to how they perform on the day and whether a particular papers suits them in many cases, the margins are so small with such huge numbers.

Needmoresleep · 11/02/2015 10:56

Looking back. How about

  1. The school that invited my son to a sports session for prospective applicants. I phoned saying that it was my daughter rather than my son who was coming up to 11+, but that she would love to attend. Ahh they said. Sports was only for boys. Girls were being invited to a library session instead. We did not apply.
  1. The school that asked her at interview what car we drove. I'm proud to say she thought this a bit odd, so replied "Morris Minor". Clearly the wrong answer as she did not get a place.
  1. The very posh woman who answered when I phoned casually a couple of years back to ask about possible sixth form entry at a third school. She did not know anything about either me or my daughter but felt able to suggest though DD was towards the top academically at her current school, this was unlikely to place her even at the bottom at her school. We did not apply.

That said most registrars were lovely and very efficient, and most schools managed to make exams and interviews at least bearable.

FWIW DD says if she were 11 now, and based on doing a lot of EC which means she has has met girls at most West London schools, she would want to go to KGS.

amidaiwish · 11/02/2015 10:58

when dd turned up for her surbiton exam her name wasn't even on the list.
they just took the kids off us before we even reached the building so poor dd was left to stand and wait whilst they sorted it out. she thought i hadn't filled in the form properly!!

imagine my heart failure when i arrived to collect her 4 hours later and her name wasn't on any of the lists to know where to meet her. luckily i had the email confirmation on my phone.

they all make mistakes. it's how they deal with them i guess is the thing to be critical of (and, for the record, surbiton were great).

amidaiwish · 11/02/2015 11:02

so, just thinking ahead for DD2 (yes i know i should take a break and relax a bit) do you reckon for KGS girls maths is the discriminator and for boys, english?

DD's L6 maths group at school is mostly boys Sad

Waitingandhoping2015 · 11/02/2015 11:11

The composition will have been the deciding negative factor in DSs KGS failure I do appreciate that. It was a two part question, neither of which will have suited his ability and he said that afterwards. With a 'normal' type of story his writing can be lovely and imaginative and quite quirky.