Trinity/Whitgift 2019 thread

[enterparentone]

Is there a thread yet for parents with kids doing entrance exams in Jan? It's been so helpful looking through previous years threads and now we're going through it I'd love a hand-hold and any advice on what to expect!

I'm definitely opening first so, like others say, I can be prepared. I want to be able to support DS especially if it's not good news so better to have dealt with my own feelings earlier.

I heard of people being given hints of a scholarship and it not materialising but not a normal offer.

Can any existing parents tell us what happens after offers? Are there any induction days or meet ups before Sep?

DS2 is now in his last year and in "my" W interview they said "... when he gets offers, and he will get offers..." and also that he was a "potential scholar". He got an offer and a scholarship (which we didn't take)

SoupDragon thanks for sharing. Sounds like if there were strong hints in the interview, the least to expect would be a full fees offer otherwise they'd be a lot of angry parents!

I think that in the majority of cases there would be no hints though.

Soup Dragon, can I ask why you decided not to take the scholarship? I've heard of other people not accepting scholarships but I've never understood why.

Quite simply, T was a better fit for him.

soupdragon can I ask, what type of boy suits Trinity and what type suits Whitgift?

Would whitgift bring out an academically strong but quiet/reserved boy, or would the softer approach by Trinity work better?

Enterparentone - the school organised an induction day the June before the boys start at T (ds1 is in 2nd year there)
Mr K usually tells you about the likelihood of a scholarship at the time he sees you (usually at the same time as DS is being interviewed elsewhere). He also tells you their scores.

Regarding what type of boys suits each school traditionally I think more sensitive types have tended to go to T and more sporty to W but I don’t think that rule applies now as T likes to take the really outstanding sporty types too and has excellent facilities for them. W is great for music too but having said that the opportunities ds1 has had through the T boys choir have been pretty spectacular.
Be warned the boys are pushed academically at T and the sixth form entry requirements have recently gone up to keep them on their toes.
The school is definitely wanting to be in the super academic schools league and each class has some extremely bright boys - great for dS1 as it’s keeping him on his toes.

@plasterdisaster - I think both schools work for a wide variety of types of boy
The main difference is the size - Trinity is smaller than Whitgift - not sure of current numbers but I would guess 140 per year vs 220 ?

plasterdisaster In DS2's case I had the impression that T would gently round off his sharp corners whereas W might try to hammer him into their regularly shaped hole. He is very bright, very lazy and very stubborn coupled with an immature impulsive streak a mile wide! I don't think I made the wrong decision given how they dealt with him and how he is now in the U6th - he does seem to have been smoothed off somewhat without losing his, ahem, character

Thanks Wimbles. I wonder what sort of scores merit scholarships? I'd love to know what they're thinking as they consider all our DS applications! What kind of wizardry goes into the decisions they make!!

Indeed enterpatentone! DS keeps asking about this and I keep telling him I don't know! He's had various theories over the weeks - most slightly crazy! I'm sure it's different for each school too.

I don't think it is a specific score that merits a scholarship. I think the top 100 or so are selected for academic interview/assessment and from there they work out which ones have the most ability/potential. Its entirely possible that someone with a very good score would not be selected for a scholarship or even a place if their behaviour was poor or they seemed scripted. On that last point I think I talked too much at my DS before one of the interviews and as a result I think he flunked that

I think you're right plank.

I saw on 11+ that some girls schools had emailed offers this year - I wonder if W&T might too? I imagine it would still be Friday to benefit from the half term break but it would be nice to all get an email first thing rather than waiting on post arriving...

Thanks Wimbles, SoupDragen and AveEldon.

It's so difficult to tell which school would suit a boy all the way through secondary. Can't wait till Friday!

walkingtheplank I think you’re right there is no specific score that merits a scholarship, however I doubt the top 100 would be considered.

When my DS sat the W&T exams I got the impression that they had to be in the top 5%-10% (of those that sat the exams) to be considered for a scholarship. What I was told is they scored the individual papers and then somehow combine the scores together so they can put them in order from 1st to last and consider scholarship based on this order.
If you go to the Whitgift Foundation website there some information. From there about 47% of students get help with fees (scholarships & bursaries). If you consider they give scholarship for sport & music then it would be reasonable that around 15% get help with academic scholarship.

From the website £5m is given to 47% of students at the three schools. The average level of scholarship is probably around £2,500, some will get more and others less.

My c.100 was based on the numbers that were present at the he third academic scholarship assessment morning, and I've assumed that each of the mornings had roughly the same amount. It could be a move away from just taking the top 5% who can be trained to pass an 11+ paper and a move towards more imaginative, creative, sparky characters.

I can’t actually remember the exact scores DS1 got tbh - they were all quite high and VR was exceptionally high.

Quick 10plus question - we are gearing up to do this with DS2 next year for w and T- wondered how people found it this year?

I only did 11plus with dS1 at T so this is new territory to me but DS2 really keen to go to big bros school

When I had my meeting with the HM at Trinity he informed us my DS wouldn’t be getting a scholarship as despite scoring very highly in Maths, he didn’t fair so well in the English paper. When my DS was offered a good scholarship from a different school, I rang Trinity and asked if they would reconsider the scholarship and they came back offering a decent scholarship. My point is, if you don’t get what you want initially, there’s no harm in asking...especially if you have some leverage from another school. Good luck everyone.

Still no news here, not even a whisper about an interview. So I'm assuming no offer

Sorry to hear that OleannaWimple. I thought that if it was a definite No they'd tell you by the end of January.
Has your son sat 10+ or 11+?

13+ walking (and overseas application, so normal timelines are a bit out anyway - but still....)

OlennasWimple sorry to hear that you’ve not heard from the school. I’m assuming that it’s W? As T would have sent out letters.

If I was you, I would give the school a call or send them an email.

Yes, definitely seems worth a phone call, just in case you've slipped through the net.

Panicking too much today as the results day is approaching. T is really our backup, for DS has cleared all grammar school exams. However I am getting super nervous of how much he would've scored in Grammar school tests as he wasn't invited for an academic interview at T!!!!! It is such a shame that unlike girls, boys don't get to know the scores. And they pass out too many candidates anyways!!!!