Wilson or Sutton

[user1477164389]

Any ideas about Wilson school? Do they give places to children who are outside the catchment area , my son passed? This year no scores were given, I am not sure what to do whether to put Wilson which is outside my catchment area or my locals school in common application? Very confused.

It seems pretty clear from Wilson's website how the places are allocated.

Do you live within the London Borough of Sutton?

If not, the chances of your son being offered a place depend firstly on his score in the exam (which you don't and won't know) and, secondly, on the straight line distance from the school to your address. If you live within LB Sutton, that gives him an advantage over other boys with the same score, who live outside LBSutton.

If you don't put Wilson's on your CAF, you won't stand a chance. If you do put it as one of your choices, it won't diminish his eligibility for a non-selective school.

If he is trying for other selective schools, they can't all be the first choice on the form, but whether any of them would make him an offer has no bearing on whether Wilson's would make him an offer.

Scores are given only to candidates not passing the exams.
Keep in mind that even though your DC passed the tests a school place is not secured yet.
I would put on the CAT application form the schools in order of honest preference but being realistic in terms of distance from home.
In our experience the traffic in the morning and after school was terrible around Wilson's and the vicinity a few years ago; therefore, we turned down their offer after trying out the journey to-and- from Wilson's a few times. In the past they did offered school places to candidates outside their catchment area. Not sure about this year though. Sutton Grammar situated behind the High Street 2 minutes away walk to bus stops and 5 minutes walk to the train station. Good public transport links.
If I were you I would try journeys to and from both schools during school days. Good luck!

Thank you so much , does anybody know if Wilson has good mix of kids? I missed the open day and when I asked for a tour they said it was only possible after March 1st. Since I haven't the school, I am not sure if it is suitable for my Dc. We live 1hr away and happy to move if he gets a place. My son is not used to big schools too.

Wilson's in much bigger than Sutton Grammar but no bigger than your average secondary school. Not sure what you mean by 'mix of kids'? They are pretty much all very swotty - this year the school had 88%A-A* at GCSE. The discipline is also quite insane - I was there during a fire drill once and with all the boys leaving the building it was so quiet that you could hear yourself breathing... In terms of backgrounds and ethnicities, it is quite a cool mix.

thank you so much. we live in a small village and my ds and the children who attend the school are from the same local area. not sure will he be able to adjust. it would be a big change for my ds. looks like the school is very well disciplined too.

Wilson's doesn't have a catchment area. This information is on the website - does no one read the websites? For the last places offered, preference is given to boys living in LB of Sutton in order of distance for the school. This is to decide on the last places for boys with the same score. Other than that it is in rank order of the exam results.

An hour's travel to Wilson's is not at all unusual.

Both my sons are at Wilson's and they are both happy at the school. Secondary school is a big change wherever they go.

Wilson's is a lovely school and is not the academic boot camp people talk about. It is also not an "exam factory". There are a lot of clubs and they stress that it's not all about school work.

Obviously all the boys are academic, but there is plenty of scope to find what they like and to mix with boys with similar likes. Some boys like sport and do loads while some do only what they have to. Other boys will prefer chess or music or drama. CCF is very big at the school, but it is not compulsory. All boys in year 7 get free music lessons/instrument hire for the year, which is very unusual for a state school.

It's generally a massive change going from primary to secondary as students don't have a class teacher but a lot of subject teachers, the schools are a lot bigger and there are many new children. However, all schools are aware of that and will make sure they do things to help children settle. On a plus side, in the grammar schools around here, there are lot of children commuting a long way as well as families moving into the area so your son wouldn't be joining a school in which he's the only boy from a different area.

Thank you so much. it is true that secondary school is a big change, after reading your messages i feel that i opted the right school for my son. Hope he gets in, i am about to fill in the caf form , thanks again for making it easy for me..