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.

Thanks Jimjam. I guess those figures include the junior school too. I wonder how many they over offer by as Surbiton has been viewed as a back up in the past. Did you find the offer open day useful? What was the format of it? We’ve booked into one later in the month so hoping it will help our decision.

It was quite like the open days but minus the tour. Some additional info on all the extras they have going on outside the academics. Some current pupils answering questions, refreshingly honest in some cases. Q&A plus a market place afterwards for various subjects. Useful if you have any outstanding questions. They did a good PR job. It’s a great school in many ways. I know it’s a back up for many but if you end up choosing it I suspect you wouldn’t regret it.

Thanks for info. Yes, i agree it’s a great choice.

How’s everyone doing today?

Our head just sent round an email to say that the school may well be working behind the scenes in cases where people have been given wl places only. Also, to remind us to release any places we don’t want asap and that the head will intervene in this scenario.

I makes me feel even more strung out to think that the primary schools know before us - when we paid the registration fees and filled out the applications. Aarrggghh!

Good luck to all and hang in there!

1ndig0, does your head know what everyone’s preference is? I assume he’s not pushing for waitlist places that people probably wouldn’t accept?

I’m sure you didn’t mean to, 1ndig0, but that just makes me feel even more nervous, knowing my dd might be bumped to wl from offer, to do a deal with a prep head for one of their students.

I feel I've been so naive through the whole process and maybe I shouldn't be surprised but the thought prep school grads have any influence at all over the process is shocking to me too :(

Sorry Flume, I think I expressedit wrongly. What the head means is that in cases where DC have no firm offers - eg the school know that 5 wl places are coming in because they have advance warning, they can get on to the “banker” option school and try and push them to make an offer instead. It’s to avoid DC having no form offered at all.

Otherwise, they will only get on the phones after half term if you are in the wl for your strongly preferred school and you ask for help.

And they’re very strong on reminding people to release any unwanted places ASAP.

Sorry, I didn’t mean to make anyone feel more anxious.

“Form offered?” - should read firm offers.

Would love to know how successful they are given the school heads and admissions people must have spent hours pouring over exam results, interview notes and school reports and have their offer letters printed and ready to post (if not already in the post). Find it hard to believe they can make much difference in the majority of cases.

@TheExtraGuineaPig I agree it is absolutely shocking. It makes a mockery of a merit based system.

As a side note I need to correct my autocorrect! Should have read "prep school heads" not "grads!"

If it's tinkering with waitlists maybe it doesn't make a huge difference but it could if there's another family with no influence and only a WL place themselves

I think it’s because prep school reputations largely rest on their ability to find the right school for the right child. Some people may have a state school back up, or a faith school, but not many do, so the schools can’t have a situation of pupils having no schools to go to at all. They can’t turn a “no” into a “yes” of course, but if you ask them to make a call if your child is in a waiting list, they will do that, but only after half-term. How much difference it makes, depends on the school. I have no idea because I’ve never had to ask the school to do this for any of mine, so far. If all else fails, the prep have a responsibility to find an alternative for the child - eg. some schools like St James Boys will allow boys to sit an entrance exam in Feb. It often means going further out of London, but there can be options. They just want to avoid situations if DC having no school options by the end of Jan. This is also why everyone has to sit at least 5 schools.

I just wanted to add that the Head at our prep doesn’t get involved in this way. He also would see it as unfair to all the children who don’t have prep school Heads advocating on their behalf.

Also, the head said that you can do very little to influence the waiting lists of the super competitive schools, but where schools have longer waiting lists and are the so- called “softer” options, there can be more leeway because often they don’t fill their places as quickly and want to take children who actually want to go there. So I doubt any phone call would make a difference somehere like LU where there’s 1200 for 120 places, or G&L where 900 sat for 100 places this year. The numbers and competition are just too fierce.

Also (sorry to go on), I totally agree that the system is unfair. Even more so because some schools have their “feeder” preps - eg. every year at least 10- 15 of the 100 places at SPGS go to girls from Bute House down the road, even though there’s no connection between the two schools and Bute is only semi-selective as it takes girls on a ballot system at 4. Or Latymer Prep pupils automatically move into the senior school, even if a few hundred DC from outside have scored higher than them in the entrance exam. Or Hampton now have a feeder prep where boys are told in Year 5 if they have a guaranteed place in the senior school. Boys from “Squirrels” or the other prep school in Wimbledon ( can’t remember its name) have a similar advantage getting into KCS. Having said this, about half the intake at the senior schools is always pupils from state schools all over the place, so how much difference it makes ultimately, who knows.

Someone I know told me that their prep head had rung City Boys to argue that her son had been feeling unwell on the day and was generally v strong at whatever subject it was (English, maths, VR, can't remember). And she believed that had meant he got offered a place. It was a school that sent a lot of kids to City Boys so I daresay that it would have backfired if he'd oversold this particular boy. But City Boys is a competitive school, so slightly contradicting 1ndig0's point.

It is really galling that those of us with children in state primaries don't have this recourse. I suppose that's the choice we made. But it does make me think that it's worth being your own child's advocate if necessary. Ringing/emailing to make it clear you'd accept a waiting list place immediately for example.

Best of luck to everyone- it is nerve wracking waiting. You can only hold on to one offer so there will be a lot of movement. Don't despair or give up but start ringing the schools if you are on a waiting list etc. By and large, the children end up at the right schools for them.

In fear of running out of posts on this thread, I’ve created a new Tiffin looms 2 thread.