Applying to sixth form boarding school places

[topaz100]

Hi, we have agreed with our daughter that changing school for sixth form and boarding would be an adventure and a good idea for her.

She is at a good private day school. She is very academic and is interested in studying medicine at Oxbridge. With this in mind we have visited a few schools and settled on four that tick all the boxes.

She is very bright and predicted 8/9's in all her gcses. However it is pretty hard to get a sixth form place at one of these schools and lots of children are darn clever.

So my question is ....I feel comfortable applying to three, but is four too many? I was told that they expect you to apply to others.

Many thanks in advance for your help

I can't remember there being a limit when we applied a couple of years ago. As long as you're able to get her to all the entry exams, I don't see a problem. Also, if she sits the entry exams for every one and spends further time at all schools, it might give her a better idea of which one she'd prefer.

If you want any feedback from parents on the schools you're interested in, let us know.

DD sat for Westminster and really enjoyed the process. We had no great expectations she would get in, though she did, so there was less risk that she would be disappointed if it was a "no". The exams were challenging and interesting, much more so than GCSE as were the interviews. The latter were also good practice for her medical school application. However it essentially used up two weekends and could have been distracting.

So I would suggest three or four is more than enough, and that you select schools so though one or two may be a stretch, there is a resonable chance of getting at least one. And watch for the fact that some boarding schools will be attracting a number of good applicants from abroad so the competition may be tougher than you expect, especially if you are aiming for high demand subjects.

Thank you for your helpful comments.

The schools we like are Wellington, Westminster, Wycombe Abbey and Oundal.

Oundal is the one we may drop.

I have the exam dates for Westminster. She has passed the pre entry assessment for Wycombe.

Westminster was a late entry to our short list as we went to the open day last Saturday.

I'd be happy pleased to get any feedback.

Many thanks

DD found Westminster a magical experience. Everything she might have wanted from a school and more.

Be warned though that, with large numbers applying, entry is unpredictable. They are looking for a mix of subjects, boarders/day, overseas/home and pupils who will hit the ground running and adapt quickly to co-ed and Westminster’s teaching style. We know some extremely clever girls who did not get places. It is worth seeing it as a long shot and trusting the school to know what they are looking for.