Entry threshold for selective independent schools

[MumInSurrey]

Hello...

I live in Surrey and my daughter went to a state infant school followed by a non selective independent prep school. She is in year 4 and will move for the start of year 7. She is currently proving to be a strong all rounder, musically able playing piano and cello, sporty and doing well on the academic front with standardised scores in English and Maths around 115. So just hitting the top 20% but not scholarship level!

It seems the search for the next school is something I should already be considering. My question is, does anyone know what sort of level you need to perform at to get into the very academic schools. Would a SC of 115 be enough? (This may of course go up or down over the next couple of years).

Our local selective schools are St Catherine's, Cranleigh and Guildford Girls High. I'm not necessarily bothered if she does or does not go to one of these schools I just want to know if I should bother looking at them.

Sorry long winded!

Thanks.

You need to ask the Head or Director of Studies at the prep school. They know the senior schools and your DD.

Thank you

I believe that two thirds of dc score between 85-115 on standardised tests for English and Maths, so 115 would be the high end of average, not top 20%? Seems a little low for very selective schools in Surrey but if your dd has other talents then she may be ok. GinandJag is right though - the prep school will be able to advise you.

Hi Clacinova.

According to the following link which seems to be a reliable link 115 has a percentile rank of 84%. A score of 130 is in the top 2%.

www.nfer.ac.uk/research/centre-for-assessment/standardised-scores-and-percentile-ranks.cfm

I will speak to her school but just wondered if there was anyone out there that had been through the process and had first hand experience.

My DD is so incredibly happy at school and her confidence there in one year has grown phenomenally. I'd like to not have to move at all really! I want to start my research early enough so I can build a picture of the schools over time and find the right school for her.

Thanks.

Hi MuminSurrey

Do you know what the 115 was based on? Is it for general work or eg. a CAT test?

The three schools on your list are quite different. I don't know a lot about Cranleigh, but do know it is rather less selective than the other two. For GHS (and, I suspect, St Cats) my guess would be it is more the top 10% (so scores of 120 or above) rather than the top 20% that have a good chance of getting in. It is also not the sort of school where you want your DD to get in and then find herself struggling at the bottom end of the school's ability range (as opposed to being comfortably above average in another school with a broader intake).

Also, have you thought about Tormead?

Once at the schools, DCs good at sport and music are very much valued, but for very selective schools like GHS and St Cats, the admission criteria are pretty much based on academic performance (and a brief interview) and not other extra-curricular accomplishments.

Hello AMumOfThree,

Thank you that is helpful. Her scores are based on English and Maths assessments not CAT tests. Though they have just started doing VR and NVR at school and she keeps coming home saying it's easy but at this stage I suspect they are keeping it easy intentionally.

The challenge with DD is she is quite laid back about things and when I see mistakes in her work (particularly maths) and ask her to look at it again, she immediately spots her mistakes so I think she is more able than her test scores show at times.

Interesting what you said about Cranleigh, I quite like the idea of coed. DD has the energy to match any boy and enjoys the company of boys and girls.

I will definitely be looking at Tormead and Priorsfield too. Even if DD got a place at GHS or St Cats but somewhere like Tormead was a better fit for her we would go there.

I love the look of St Swithun's in Winchester, I think it would really suit her but it's just too far!

Thanks again.