north london private girls 11+

[Parietal]

DD is only in year 3, so this is still a few years away, but what do I need to know?

when do I start visiting schools & putting her name down?

what schools do you recommend?

Crikey, talk about an all-encompassing question!! Asking for strangers' blanket recommendations is a bit pointless, since it all depends what you're looking for - everyone has different criteria. Start with the schools' websites and in the context of what you're looking for, consider everything including fees and particular focus on journey (not distance alone, but time & complexity) and how it will work for an 11 yr old and your family life. Never too soon to go to open days to get a feel for the places but typically you can't register until the year before they sit for 11+ (Jan of each year for most schools). Depending on where your DD is currently, you'll also need to think about exam practice beforehand - again that will depend on which school your considering. Some are with consortia but increasingly schools are leaving (Habs, NLCS & St Pauls have own exam and CLSG announced yesterday that they are coming out of the consortium too). I'm not talking here about heavy duty tutoring to get a child into a school at which they will later struggle, but rather mastering exam technique, timing etc. for each. Good luck with your research !

thanks. it was the putting her name down that suddenly had me worried - was I about to miss some deadline I'd never heard of to get her name on a list 3 years in advance.

But are you saying that is not something to worry about?

You're fine, the deadline for secondary school application is normally in the autumn term of Y6 - check the websites of each school to confirm. You'll need to think about exam prep a bit before that probably, and of course you'll want to go to open days.

I don't know of any of the North London independents accepting registrations 3 years in advance for 11+. But each school's websites clearly lays out admissions procedures, so if you've a certain school in mind, refer to that.

Your current school should advise you