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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

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

969 replies

FlumePlume · 26/08/2018 18:15

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.

OP posts:
TheExtraGuineaPig · 13/09/2018 09:30

Just wondering what papers anyone is using for preparation for the Tiffin test?

Original poster
FlumePlume · 16/09/2018 18:24

TheExtra We’ve got a mix of CEM, Bond, CGP and a few more I can’t remember. Amazon is doing very well from us! From what I’ve been able to google, Tiffin designs their own test so there isn’t any particular type that helps in terms of preparation.

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Original poster
FlumePlume · 22/09/2018 15:55

We’ve just received the Tiffin stage 1 letter - very comprehensive instructions. It’s all feeling rather close and real now!

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Jimjam68 · 22/09/2018 20:20

See you there FlumePlume, we did the Sutton SET test this week and the Wandsworth Test today. Hoping exams will become like water off a ducks back by the time we get to the Indys!

ChristopherTracy · 23/09/2018 11:12

Feedback from the SET is mostly that the English was much easier than expected and the maths was a real time crunch.

jackblue · 23/09/2018 13:49

Theextraguineapig - have name changed so not to out myself but have been helping students apply to London Indys for years and my advice would be for your daughter to definitely sit for more independent schools than just LEH and SHS. The schools attract children of quite different academic levels and there are other schools in between which may suit your daughter if she is not successful at LEH. The entrance exams for the two schools are quite different too so you need to ensure you have prepared her for the different papers and formats. I generally recommend students sit five schools - an aspirational, three good solid choices and a 'banker'. If you are unsure whether your daughter is at the right level for LEH it is possible to get advice about this and I can provide you with more info about this if you want to PM me.

Greenleave · 23/09/2018 15:27

Suddenly, it feels real when the time comes. My husband is doing the pick and drop so I am free of any responsibility now. We plan to take a cab as its only 3 miles from where we live. I have although booked leaves for January drop and pick up which are her top choice. Seriously thats all we could do for them now isnt it, providing favourite snacks and making sure the drop and pick ups are smooth(which isnt easy!!).

montenuit · 23/09/2018 16:36

I generally recommend students sit five schools

FIVE?!
Many of these schools have their exams altogether in the first 10 days of January. Any child sitting 5 will be in pieces by the last one.

The general advice is 3:
a stretch, a realistic, a one you should get. Heads/prep heads don't like to write references for more than 4. Their advice also is that 3 is sufficient (in addition to state / Tiffin etc.)

And from what I hear of LEH applications they are very good at identifying bright children who haven't necessarily covered all the curriculum / done a ton of prep / being tutored.

Glaciferous · 23/09/2018 20:49

Five seems loads. I would say three is plenty! We actually only did two, both of which were slightly a stretch, because we did not like the others enough to think it worth the extra hassle.

Having said that, I know of some children last year who did seven or even more. I think that is probably not great for the children involved and I felt sorry for them.

tvfriendagain · 23/09/2018 22:36

Went through this last year- most of DCs friends from school did 5, some 4. A couple did way more. DC did 6 but was totally unfazed by the exams and they were fairly spread out. Some of their friends found taking exams super stressful so their parents decided to put them in for less. In retrospect I probably would have got DC to do less but we had no clue how they'd do (state school and no guidance) so we went for a bit of a scattergun approach!

Original poster
FlumePlume · 24/09/2018 06:38

tv We’re in a similar position - no tutor and state primary, so hard to know what is realistic. I’m wondering whether to add another application, as we basically have theee ambitious (SPGS, Tiffin and WHS) and only one easier option. But we do have a good local comp...

I’d like to be as confident as glaciferous and keep the stress on dd as low as possible, but I’d also like her to come out of the process with an offer or two. I think dd would be happier at an academically selective school.

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ChristopherTracy · 24/09/2018 09:42

I think 5-6 is too many. There is a limit to how many you can feasibly commute to surely?

I mentioned up thread that we are doing the grammars and if we don't get in then a private banker. If we were doing all private then I would add another private banker to the mix but I would rather have a very local good enough private option than a schlep to a much more academic one.

If you have a hard working child then I think the results will be similar

Plus 5-6 schools will be best for very different types of children - normally 1-2 schools will be just right. Prep school heads make this very clear and often you just know what sort of girl you have I think?

Jimjam68 · 24/09/2018 10:18

Wading in on the number of schools discussion, with DD1 coming from a state school background and really not knowing how DD's position in her class translated to the wider population - we applied for 3 schools, a banker, one she "should" get into and an aspirational one. At the last minute I panicked and applied for a fourth, because I wasn't sure even the banker was guaranteed. In retrospect three would have been plenty (in addition to grammar schools). However DD1 wasn't particularly phased by the exams and coped well so I don't think it was too awful for her, but you know your own child.

Glaciferous · 24/09/2018 10:39

5-6 schools will be best for very different types of children - normally 1-2 schools will be just right

Agree v strongly with this. I was keen to reduce stress, but also I thought there was no point in sitting DD for schools where she was less likely to fit the mould. It is a nicer experience to be at a school where you are just what they are looking for than to be at a school where you feel a bit out of step.

This is not about intelligence; I think schools all have their own ethos, atmosphere and priorities - what suits one child would be awful for another even if both are equally academically able! I wasn't confident as such, just picked the schools that I thought were a really good fit for DD's personality. For instance, I thought she'd be much happier at a girls' school so did not bother with co-ed options.

tvfriendagain · 24/09/2018 12:17

All the schools we applied for had a similar commute and all would have suited bar the local 'banker' which would have been fine but our least favourite.
I think 1-2 schools wouldn't be enough unless you were very sure of getting one.
There is often no logic to the outcomes unless you are super bright and sometimes impossible to know if you will get an offer.
But all depends on the child- as I said, DC was happy to sit 6 and took it all completely in their stride. They also had no preference between single sex and co-ed so we did both and the school they ended up going to was definitely not the favourite at the start of the process. In a funny sort of way they quite enjoyed the exams- days off school, seeing their friends there, comparing the 'refreshments' etc!

ChristopherTracy · 24/09/2018 12:32

I also think there's a 'banker' line which we wouldn't cross - i.e. we are not going private at all costs. My banker is a safe, comfortable GDST school where I would be happy to send DD.

If she doesn't get into the grammars or the private banker then she will go to the best comp we are eligible for - we aren't going to drop down to third tier (co-ed) schools just because they are private. I would rather go to the comp and then top up with tuition/outside sports/art etc when required.

tvfriendagain · 24/09/2018 12:42

Our local 'banker' is a pretty good school- just not ness the right fit for DC. We had a good state option that wasn't a definite either which we both preferred over the 'banker'. But I don't really think there is any such thing as a 'banker'. This year I know boys who didn't get into Emanuel but got into Dulwich, others that got into King’s Wimbledon but not into Kingston Grammar etc. Similar stories for girls.

Original poster
FlumePlume · 24/09/2018 14:47

jimjam That’s the dilemma I’m having - interesting to know what you decided.

ChristopherT I agree - our (hopefully!) ‘banker’ is also a safe, comfortable GDST school, at which I think she would be happy. I don’t want to go private for the sake of it, it needs to offer something extra that we couldn’t provide with extra-curricular stuff.

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ChristopherTracy · 24/09/2018 15:09

tvfriendagain - I think it depends very much on where you live - none of those schools you mention would be considered completely safe to me in that there are a lot of factors in play and they are oversubscribed.

tvfriendagain · 24/09/2018 16:02

Completely agree with you- yet people do consider schools like Emanuel a safe option and can be a bit sniffy about them and surprised when their children don't get in. We live sightly too far from the safer GDST options- all a bit competitive around here and I've got to go through it all again soon!

Glaciferous · 24/09/2018 17:49

I don’t want to go private for the sake of it, it needs to offer something extra that we couldn’t provide with extra-curricular stuff. Completely agree! This is how we felt too.

montenuit · 24/09/2018 21:14

Emanuel is NOT a safe option. It is one of the most oversubscribed schools !

iwanttoescape · 24/09/2018 21:45

Agree. Emanuel is not safe, and will be even harder in a few years with no cap on applications (could get to 1500, easily!). The fact it's co Ed and its central location makes it tricky. Same with Kingston Grammar it felt like a lottery this year. I would argue single sex safer, but not everyone's cup of tea.

iwanttoescape · 24/09/2018 21:49

TVfriend, yes, I know parents who were, as you say, sniffy, about Emanuel. Big shocks all around on offers day!

tvfriendagain · 24/09/2018 21:49

montenuit- I totally agree it's not a safe option- yet many people still think it is! But- lots of people don't take up their offers from there so I suspect they still over offer by more than some other schools, especially for girls.