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Secondary education

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Original poster

Kingston Grammar 10+ exam 2018

153 replies

nononsencemum · 10/01/2018 22:10

Hi Does anyone know how many sat the 10+ exam this year for Kingston Grammar and when you can expect to be called back for an interview? Thank you

OP posts:
itschilly · 10/02/2018 11:58

Although I genuinely have no idea which one we will go for until we visit again so probably guilty! If we get an offer from another school next week we'll definitely decline it though.

testbunny · 11/02/2018 16:33

itschilly and rosetedvelvet, we have Emanuel, KGS and a girls school offered too (the latter we went for as we thought we had better include a girls school as the probability is better ie don't have to compete with boys as well as girls for a place!). Preference is def for co ed.

itschilly · 11/02/2018 16:59

Testbunny- when we went to a kgs open morning someone asked how they get a roughly even mix of boys and girls. The HM said in general the girls do much better across the board at 11+ so they offer more girls places but as there are lots more girls only schools than boys a higher percentage of boys accept so it all works out in the end! I think the attainment all evens out in the years after but I suspect girls as a whole are a little more 'diligent' at 11+- sweeping generalisation there from me!!

testbunny · 11/02/2018 17:25

Ha ha. And maybe they make it 'work' at interview stage....

testbunny · 11/02/2018 17:27

Linked to what you just said..doh!

Roseredvelvet · 11/02/2018 22:02

Dd is concerned that in co-ed there may be pressure from the boys that she won't experience at a girls only school. She's always been co-ed. Maybe I should rejoice that she wants to stay away from the boys, though down the line she may regret it. It's a more natural environment. I wish the tour was in Feb!

testbunny · 12/02/2018 06:59

SHS was by far our favourite out of the girls school. We found it more down to earth and less intense. Roseredvelvet What do you mean about pressure from the boys? Academically?

Roseredvelvet · 12/02/2018 10:07

testbunny she's worried about the social pressure, I blame social media. I pointed out that the boys from her school with offers are lovely, kind little boys. I think they've had talks at school...

Clueless01 · 12/02/2018 11:10

Can vouch for kind boys at KGS. Our oldest DC already there and, in our own narrow world, we’ve had very good experiences.

testbunny · 12/02/2018 13:09

roseredvelvet, ah, I see. I think it is everywhere, unfortunately. My friend has a DD at an all girls school (not the ones discussed here) and always goes on about various issues in friendship groups that manifest themselves on social media . Go with your instinct where you can see DD thriving more (and where she can see herself). If she chooses girls now, she can always move coed in 6th form.

testbunny · 12/02/2018 13:10

So different social pressures, but pressure nonetheless. I'm sure all good schools will monitor this

nocampinghere · 12/02/2018 14:40

i can only talk from my own narrow experience but i've noticed that my DCs who are in a mixed school are less bothered about going to parties/meeting boys/girls than their friends from single sex schools.

I guess when they're with them all day and have opportunities to mingle they are less bothered?

Every child will be different though i guess.

Roseredvelvet · 12/02/2018 19:15

Thank you ladies for all the very helpful feedback 😊. Testbunny that was my impression of SHS too!

Greenleave · 18/02/2018 13:31

Just got home from our holiday and found out we have a 10+ offer too, see you all next year in the scholarship round!

derivaz · 23/02/2018 12:22

Is there a tour next week prior to acceptance or did I imagine it? Is it just for 11+?

Clueless01 · 23/02/2018 14:18

For 11-plus acceptance, I think, this Sep entry.

thesunalwaysshines · 21/04/2018 18:35

Resurrecting this thread!

I'm just trying to weigh up the merits of DC sitting the 10+ in January (KGS being one of the schools), then doing another load of exams the following year! I understand DCs that pass the KGS 10+ then sit the 11+ scholarship exam, but how much do the school actually give academic scholars as a % discount in fees? Just trying to decide whether I could be faffed to do it all again for the 11+ if DC got offered a deferred place, or indeed bother for the 10+ if DC is going to sit the 11+ anyway.

Thanks

Sunshine5050 · 21/04/2018 20:28

From experience as my ds sat the 10+ and 11+ for KGS, I would say sit the 10+ for the experience of turning up at a school with 100's of dc and getting over the nerves so yes do work but not loads. (Plus the VR paper is quite tough so good practice). Don't sit the exam to expect to get a place, there are only a handful given out etc. My ds was confident going into the 11+ "weeks of hell" this January as he had previously sat an exam and the KGS 11+ format is similar to the 10+. We got a 11+ offer from KGS but accepted another school. The feedback from the KGS 10+ was work on the VR which we took on board.

My ds also sat another Surrey school that interviews for the 11+ during the Autumn term so into went to the 11+ period having had exam and interview experience.

thesunalwaysshines · 21/04/2018 22:02

Ah, with those odds makes sense not to stress too much about the 10+. Thanks!

Greenleave · 21/04/2018 22:40

My daughter didnt prepare for 10+ at all. She just went straight into the exam. She said she didnt do VR well as she couldnt finish it, never seen a seperate answer sheet and didnt know how many questions in total and how many questions she missed. It was a great experience as after then we know much more about exams type, simple technique(timing in multiple choice etc). Due to some family circumstances, we are so distracted with other things in our life now and think about 11+ the last. I am so glad we took it and got the offer so at least we have something in our bag for next year and not too worry about 11+.

thesunalwaysshines · 22/04/2018 15:32

Wow, she must have done really well to get an offer! Out of interest, does anyone know how much a scholarship is worth at Kingston? Thanks

Sunshine5050 · 22/04/2018 18:08

I think from memory of other posts Greenleave has an exceptionally talented dd in music who would be a benefit to any school. Re scholarships, I don't have experience but I believe when offered by KGS the % is confidential and disclosure can lead to its withdrawal. For other private schools in the area they range from 10-33 %. For an exceptional child being chased by several schools & the grammars it will be much higher. If your dc can get an academic scholarship from KGS then they are likely to get into Tiffin too.

helloallllll · 22/04/2018 19:33

Definitely worth doing KGS for the experience and feedback I would say. DC did it with very little preparation and it was very useful in terms of sitting a VR paper with a type of answer sheet they'd never seen before, sitting 3 tests in a row etc ( state school with no practice for exams). The feedback was spot on. They tell you what quartile their results were in and where you need to improve for 11+.
Didn't get a place but did at 11+ along with several other offers.
I remember being slightly relieved they didn't get a place as although they loved it at the time I thought we could all change our minds over the next year and we did! That said it would have been very nice to have had an offer and had we got one we may not have sat any more.
Will def put next DC in for it and may even do a bit of preparation beforehand! Not sure whether to do any other deferred 10plus though.
Weren't remotely thinking about scholarships - know those who have got sports scholarships there but not academic ones.

thesunalwaysshines · 22/04/2018 20:58

Yes, will do for practice, although apparently companies that offer mocks are cheaper! Thanks for your advice everyone. I’m not sure we have the stomach to go for Tiffin...Anyway, we like the all-rounded education / extra curricular that indies offer and can just about afford it so luckily can (for now).

Greenleave · 22/04/2018 21:25

It must have been maths and English which made it up for VR(however she likely got it right for the one she could answer, she is the double/triple check -type). Maths and English are “ordinary”, meaning solid foundation from state school like her didnt find it too hard. Her strength is creative writing, so it must have saved her too. Unfortunately they didnt have a section in the application for extra-curriculum so they didnt know about her music. In the interview, she talked about science and the book she was reading. It was also a very short interview, 5 mins I think, very relaxed one.