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Secondary education

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

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Original poster

SPGS

44 replies

schoolschool · 15/02/2016 09:06

My DD has been fortunate enough to to have been offered a place at SPGS. There are many negative stories about life at the school but we had a very positive impression of the educational offering when we toured the school. I would be very grateful if any parents with DDs at the school could give me their views - negative and positive - of the school. Most of the negative things I have heard are second hand rather from current students / parents. I have read the thread from January 2015 about the school. Thank you!

OP posts:

CountessDracula · 09/01/2018 14:48

'The whole 11+ exam system in London is awful, I don’t think you can blame SPGS itself for that'

It is not the 11+ exam system, which is the same as other places, it is the parents who whip their children and themselves into a frenzy! It doesn't have to be so bad. If 6 children apply for each school there will be enough places to go round as long as parents bother to research and accept what level and ethos of school is right for their child rather than pushing them into an inappropriate school so they can make social capital from their place there.

Bambibano · 18/01/2018 22:56

My DD has been invited for an interview at SPGS next Friday. Since girls are invited by order of exam results, does she still have a chance to get in?

Bambibano · 18/01/2018 23:10

My DD has been invited for an interview at SPGS next Friday. Since invitations are sent by order of exam results, does she still have a chance to get in?

godricshollow · 18/01/2018 23:34

She should just go along and give it her best. I don't think they would have invited her if she didn't have a chance. I don't think they actually say that times are offered in this order do they? It's apocryphal I think!

nylon14 · 19/01/2018 10:04

Why do you think they are offered the interviews in terms of results? A lot of it is scheduling. They will be auditioning girls for the music scholarship at that time and probably also want to make sure various preps all go in one chunk. It was one of the least stressful interviews that my daughter had. Well done to your daughter!

Kandinsky3 · 19/01/2018 11:48

End of week is not ideal, however she still has a chance to shine. So good luck to your DD!

Hebenon · 19/01/2018 23:49

From where do you get the information that interviews are issued in order of exam results? Interested to know as DD also has an interview on Wednesday. They have a couple of weeks after the interviews to collate the results and interviews so I can't really see what advantage being early in the week would be.

nylon14 · 20/01/2018 21:27

Bambibano are you sure your interview is on a Friday? I thought the last interviews were on Thursday.

Bambibano · 21/01/2018 21:54

You are right nylon14, it’s Thursday afternoon, last day!
Anyway it’s not our first choice.

Hebenon · 21/01/2018 22:33

What's your first choice?

And from where did you get the idea that girls would be interviewed in order of results? It sounds like quite a strange idea to me but perhaps you have inside info!

nylon14 · 22/01/2018 10:32

The interview order is an urban myth. Wednesdays are designated for music auditions and then girls coming from the same schools are done together. If you don't like the school don't go to the interview and save your daughter the hassle.

Needmoresleep · 22/01/2018 10:57

Nylon. Maybe it is her second choice? For example several will prefer Latymer, which is notoriously unpredictable, but will opt for SPGS if offer that and not LU. I think it does DC no good for them to believe that SPGS is automatically everyone's first choice, and that anything else was second best. It is not. DD ended up in a sixth form with several girls who had been to SPGS. They were bright, but not obviously (bar one) brighter than girls who had been to a variety of other London schools, state or private. Ditto University.

The saddest are those who go through school, and indeed through middle age, believing that they are in some way academically superior. Or need to tell people where they went to school on first meeting.

For most the combination of them choosing schools, and schools choosing them leads to a good fit. Try your best and it will probably work out for the best. SPGS, and others like LU, may well turn down very bright DC who they do not feel will thrive in their cultures. And if your DC, for whatever reason, don't settle, a fresh start can work miracles.

nylon14 · 22/01/2018 11:19

okay...my point was don't stress it. If you're not into the school don't apply.

Hebenon · 22/01/2018 11:32

I wonder why we are on Wednesday, then. We are most certainly not in the running for a music scholarship!

Re choices, I wasn't meaning to suggest that SPGS should automatically be the OP's first choice! I'm just interested in the choices people make and why. It is our first choice, btw, but not because of the perceived academic superiority. I am quite sure that any of the west or SW London girls schools would be pretty amazing academically. We are immensely lucky to be in striking distance of so many good schools.

godricshollow · 22/01/2018 12:18

I knew of two girls from the same school interviewed 3 days apart - one girl was offered and one wasn't. Nobody knows the way they organise it as they don't explain. Best just to give it your best and not think about it.

Hebenon · 22/01/2018 22:01

DD is actually really looking forward to it as she thinks it will be fun to do an interview. She has given it her best shot so far and I am sure will do the same on Wednesday. I expect, given her normal level of talkiness, she will still be chatting as they usher her out of the door. It doesn't matter if she doesn't get in - we have good state options in any case and she will do well wherever she goes.

Letter79 · 30/11/2019 02:47

Good morning ladies, my daughters will sit for exams next year. We are moving back to London from another country. My dd is academically strong in her own school but where we were working as expats is far easier I believe from London primaries and I think we need additional help. I know people don't like sharing tutors and tuition companies etc but I would really appreciate if any of you could help me. Please please send me a dm incase you do not want to share the details on the group chat. I am in a desperate situation, I do not want to waste my daughter's talent because she is not trained for exam methods etc. Thank you very very much for all your help.

RevolutionofOurTime · 30/11/2019 12:15

@Letter79, hi, I’m in a similar situation to you except DD is currently doing exams for entry next September. It might be better to start your own thread where it will get more attention.

I share your concerns about schools abroad, I also think my DC (I also have a DS) are at a disadvantage because the school they go to is not at the same level as the very good independent primaries in SW London.

Are you looking for a tutor in the country you are based, or in the UK?

There are loads you can do yourself without a tutor - there’s plenty of past papers online, and books (eg Bond) to prepare for VR and NVR.

Letter79 · 30/11/2019 12:51

Thank you for your reply. We will be spending all Summer holiday in London to catch up as much as we can with the London schools. If anybody can help with a tutor who is experienced in teaching girls for SPGS , City of London or any similar school I will be very grateful. Thanks in advance for your help.

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