As the Tiffin deadline looms, is there a girls SW London grammars / indies thread yet?

[FlumePlume]

I just realised that I need to get the Tiffin Girls form in ASAP, and wondered if anyone else is in the same position? I could do with company in this process!

We’re not yet decided but probably applying to Tiffin, WHS, SPGS, Sutton High and maybe one of PHS / Emanuel / KGS.

PHS interview is pretty relaxed. I seem to remember there were about 10 questions and none were particularly tricky. It's this Thursday isn't it? DD thanks you for the afternoon off school

I think DD was also shown a picture and asked to talk about it. Was all fairly straightforward though. Good luck!

thanks so much! She was shown a picture in the Emanuel interview too, any idea what sort of thing they are looking for here?

Is anyone sitting LEH in January? I heard a rumour there was no creative writing part to the English exam but just comprehension & verbal reading. Does anyone know if this is the case? Thanks.

Hi I’ve just spotterd this thread - thankyou to whoever started it! Does anyone have any idea how many girls get through to the “second round” at St Paul’s Girls? Someone told me they invite back 400 out if 700 who sat the computer test, but someone else told me they practically invite everyone back.
Any advice about St Paul’s Girls exam welcome please!

I can help with info about LU if any use to anyone?

Hi 1ndigo0!

I have no idea on numbers, but we got the letter today too (dd got through stage 1, yay!) and I was also wondering. I think SPGS have the longest process of all - after the exam it’s either a no or an interview, and its only after the interview that they post offers (or not). All I know about the process is what is in the letter, and also the past papers on their website.

When we sat, I understood that SPGS only cull the bottom 20% or so who really have no chance. The big one is being called back after the written paper.

Thanks Flume and Coconut.
I wonder how many actually apply for SPGS in the first place? One person who seems very “in the know” told me 700 take the initial computer test.

That would seem quite low because Latymer Upper have 1,400 sitting this year! I guess LU would have more applicants being co-ed? Of this 1,400, they interview 400 for 140 places. I heard SPGS interview 200 for about 100 places - in which case the odds seem better? Who knows? As long as they get in somewhere. DD also doing G&L.

I think that is right about the first round. It's around the bottom 25% who don't get called for the exam. It is hard to estimate numbers as the first round takes place in such small groups. The interviews take place over a whole week so you only see say ten other applicants waiting at that stage so no real way to work out numbers there either. DD enjoyed hers and did not find it at all intimidating or difficult. They do the thing where they show them a picture (I suspect this is to do with seeing what they come up with/how they react when they are talking about something they don't know about). DD was asked things like what did she want to do when she grew up and what did she like/not like at school and why.

Re the exams, DD found the Maths very hard. She did not quite manage to finish the paper and still got a place so worth mentioning if your daughter finds it difficult too as it might reassure her! There were apparently lots of hard multi-stage questions so my advice is read carefully to find out what is really being asked. DD said there was one question where she got completely muddled and had to go back and start again.

DD really enjoyed the English paper - there was a longish piece of creative writing at the end so leave enough time. It is probably worth a quick scan through to see if there is a long question at the end.

The Comprehension paper is different every year but DD enjoyed it the most out of all of them. If your child likes puzzles, she will probably enjoy it too.

They also do other activities during the day - games and singing etc.

Hope some of this is a bit helpful.

Has anyone had a Sutton High letter yet? I’m hoping it’s this week, as their term ends next Tuesday, and their bumph said they would send them before the end of term.

Also, many thanks to glaciferous for all the SPGS exam info. My dd will be very happy if there is singing!

Haven’t received anything from Sutton High yet. Hope they send them out soon- the waiting is torture

It will be this week, but they only had the second assessment day on the 6th, so I’m thinking towards the end of the week might be more likely.

DD was also really happy there was singing! Singing is a massive deal at the school so encourage your DD to do her best there. It's not explicitly marked or whatever but I bet they are looking out to see who is trying their best etc.

Jimjam That makes sense. You sound very sure, have you asked the school?

glaciferous Dd is a very keen singer, so I hope they do take some notice of that bit! The music is one reason why we applied to SPGS, though the journey for us is quite long (an hour, with a tube change).

How much work are you expecting your DDs to do over the hols? Since hearing we didn't get through WHS we have just stopped bothering. We fully expected not to just lost our mojo. Which i realise is silly but i want her to just enjoy the concerts etc that go on all this end of term.
Anyway if any of you have any advice about what is necessary to get her through SHS and PHS exams i would be grateful as tbh we have lost interest in the whole process. I have a bright state school girl who has little interest in working.

No Flumeplume, I’m just guessing. I’m giving them about a week to decide who to offer to from the 2nd assessment day and assuming they have to get the letters out before they break up on Friday. Anyway, it’s tuesday and no letter!

Kalifornia, we won’t do very much between now and the 1 Jan, but will do a few practice papers between now and the exams in Jan. There isn’t long to go now, the end is in sight. Use bribery or whatever to get your DD to do a little work with the promise of a big treat when it’s over - regardless of the outcome. Best of luck

That should say we will do some practice papers after 1 Jan and before the 11+ exams. It definitely shouldn’t dominate the Christmas week!

I didnt know there was a second assessment day...

Yes mentioned up thread, for anyone who was ill presumably and also open to late registrants.

KaliforniaDreamz, Re SHS I posted on another thread about 11Plus on 1st Dec that you must focus on the short questionnaire at end of exam session about your dd. She needs to cover all her strengths, hobbies, interests, future career path, what she find difficult etc. Talk to her over the holiday period so she can give full answers to all possible questions, ie What are you a star at? Answer = I have grade 3 ballet and I'm leader of my Guides group etc. I love helping the younger girls at Guides etc.
Make sure she reads a good book that she can refer to in any interview and copies of The Week junior.
A different type of challenge to check vocab is on the St John' leatherhead admissions page. Check out the Lower Third admissions Sample English paper - it's just another way to keep the dc ticking over.

We plan to do a past paper each week, just to keep things ticking over. Dd doesn’t get any holiday homework (very little homework at all, in general) so otherwise she would be doing nothing at all over Christmas, and the first exam for her is the first day of term.

You can't really compete coming from state sector.

Of course you can! DD was educated in the state sector at primary level and definitely not a high attaining school. She is not a genius, though she is a clever girl and has a particular aptitude for English. However, she did work hard in the lead up to the exams, not on content but on her exam technique. I would suggest that this is what you concentrate on, rather than past papers as such. The drilling those private school kids have had is at least half in how to take an exam and it is teachable.

Talk through the scenarios about how to deal with a tricky question, how to pace yourself, how to manage if you haven't enough time left to answer a question fully, how to get the maximum possible number of marks from a question you can't get to the end of, how to lay out your answer clearly so the examiner can see what you were driving at etc etc. It is all largely common sense, but these are children and they might not think of any of these things unless you point them out!

Totally agree @Glaciferous ! DD was at a state primary and got offers from all the school she sat for including two scholarships and a place at Tiffin. It's defeatist talk to suggest that it's not possible to do well from a state primary. And let's face it many of the state primaries in SW London are rather good!