Is it too early to start a 2016 girls 11+ W/SW London thread?

[orangina]

What do we think? DD is sitting 11+ for various consortium schools in January 2016 and I am slightly desperate for a thread to compare notes, pat each others shoulders etc..... I lurked on last years thread, but it didn't start until much later....

Just booking up open day places and filling in my registration forms now.....

We got our email yesterday too. But we had received a previous email confirming and thanking us for our application?

How did the Wimbledon interview go Shirley? Dd has an interview at Queens College Harley Street next week.... apparently very informal and not too taxing, so perhaps a good one to ease into the whole process with....

She seemed to think it went ok. Group interview of 6 girls. Discussing vaguely philosophical things. She said only she and one other girls really properly participated but she assured me she kept waiting and giving the others a chance to talk. So hopefully at least she took part even if what she said wasn't amazing!
Good to have 2 interviews done now.

Also heard that Godolphin and Latymer Upper are giving her extra time. Initially I was delighted as it was rather unexpected (most other schools have said no). But now I've had it suggested that this will actually put her at a disadvantage as she'll be judged negatively and will be chasing a limited number of SEN places. Aargh! Feels like a no win situation...

She sounds very sweet, waiting to give the others a chance to join in! Great to get some interviews under her belt....

Don't know what to say about the G&L SEN provision... perhaps worth a phone call to admissions to discuss the implications with them? DO you know for a fact that there are a limited number of SEN places? ANd that she would only be considered for a SEN place?

Putney High interview coming up soon - have any DDs been through it yet, any top tips?

I think they do all the interviews on the same day! Ours is on Thursday. I've heard it's pretty crazy with so many children

2serious my dd got into KGS on the 10+ - the odds aren't great but it is really worth trying as it made the whole thing so easy (we didn't like any other school as much so we just stuck with it)

I told her to just go and do her best, she hadn't had tutoring at this point, and I said it was a good idea to do the exam just so that when she did her 11+ exams she would know what to expect. If you sell it like that and imply that it is a trial run and that you don't necessarily expect them to get in then I think they relax and will do better on the day!

see you Thurs then shirleycantbe

See you there mummyinatizz!

Having done the PHS interviews last year I can offer a bit of insight...

It's very busy and comes across as a bit of a production line. Everyone was in the sports hall and then groups get called in. It may come across as a bit impersonal, particularly if you've interviews at schools where you get summoned to the head teacher's office.

They are very fair and all the girls get a mix of questions from a set list - but not all the same ones. Definitely no 'shocker' questions so no need to worry about last minute prep.

I think the most useful thing I did was to remind DD of all the things she could talk about if asked, i.e. music, sport, recent trips etc. I'm not sure she used any of it but it definitely helped her confidence.

We also arranged a mock interview with a teacher friend as a confidence boost.

Best of luck to all!

Thanks mertonmama!

Thank you, Countess, that's great advice! I am playing it down and she seems on board with the idea. The chances don't look great so not keeping hopes up at this stage but if anything will give good practice for next year, as you say.

how did you and DD get on shirleycantbe? Not sure my DD said enough for them to get an insight, but guess they know what they are looking for.

It was all a bit manic wasn't it?! My DD said she found it hard to open up and be chatty. I definitely don't think she was on her best form. But I'm hoping it's less of a strict selection exercise than interviews that take place AFTER exams are.

I do sometimes wonder about those big "interview all" days. I expect that those schools which do this want to have some idea who the girl is, so they can assess any new joiners to the school if they are in the tie- break range.

Though I suppose one good effect of it is that you're not chasing round several schools for interviews between exam and offers.

How are we all feeling????? Been surprisingly quiet on this thread. Not long to go - I can't wait for this to be over. We are still ploughing on but often not finishing sample papers - eek! Still prone to lots of silly maths mistakes although has reasonable understanding overall. Is this typical?? I just can't tell.

Hi that is exactly what we are experiencing! Not finishing maths papers in particular.. How others getting on?

Same here ( for 10+ in our case) with maths - either too slow (so won't finish on time but not too many mistakes) or on time with quite a few mistakes 😕

And ditto here too! Am hoping that the exam room/exam conditions will focus the mind.

First exam a week today - yikes!

Am curious.....for the indie school parents out there, having reached this stage of the game, do you think the school prepared the kids well or has it been a big push from you?

School has prepared them- they gave her 7 practice papers over the hols
we haven't even finished them.
no timing.
english as sloppy as ever
i had hoped that DD was careful when doing homework for the school but it does not appear so

All feeling a bit stressful and last minute panicky here.

But today I started reading John O Farrell's book - May Contain Nuts - absolutely hilarious and is helping restore calm and good humour.

I highly recommend it for any anxious parents!

So glad this thread has come to life again, was thinking of trying to resurrect it! Consortium group 2 exams will be DONE in a week's time, aurgh! It's been a bit of a roller coaster ride this holidays, some really good days, and some… well, less good. Getting closer to finishing the maths papers in time, but still not actually managing it, but trying not to worry too much about it.

Does everyone have their interview dates through from the schools who interview every candidate? We are still waiting for the FHS SW1 interview date to come through, has anyone got theirs confirmed already? Should I be fussing?!

Shirley, am going to look up that book immediately! Can't wait until this is all over. Apart from anything else (and all the obvious reasons), I fear I have become TOTALLY DULL, as I can think of little else at the moment….

(Dd also still doing a lot of SILLY maths mistakes….. last week's Consortium sample maths paper was ok, BUT she got the FIRST TWO questions wrong…… very silly arithmetical errors…. any advice as to how one might tackle that? Or just cross fingers and hope?!)

HELP my DD is ill. High temp and endless vomiting. Consortium exam less than a week away I'm panicking at thought of her nit being better and all washed out and not at all ready! What can I do?!!!

Oh Giraffe, so sorry to hear about your dd. My dd was ill at the end of term and missed the best part of a week of school, plus there was NO exam prep for about a week. In a mad sort of way, I think she really benefitted from the rest and when she started again she was on top form. Don't send her to school next week, even if she is fine, and do a little bit of work with her when she is ready. Probably also worth writing a letter to the schools in question explaining the situation. Fingers crossed it is just 24 hour thing….