Feeder school for Reeds?

[MrsOCR]

Hi parents!
We are relatively new to the UK and I’m starting to feel VERY stressed by the secondary school ‘issue’ we are currently living in Kew and have found Reeds in Cobham (been to the open day - loved it) think it’s perfect for our son entering at +11 plus. How can we secure a place? We are Irish and choosing a secondary school there is as simple as putting your name down and then going for an interview 😓 Is it all down to a positive entrance exam/interview only 😬 or are there feeder schools in Cobham that give more hope of getting in? Happy to move if that would help also. DS is bright but not that bothered academically but VERY sporty - his heart is set on the place and we don’t have a back up. I’m trying to motivate him to do extra work with the threat of not passing the enterence exams but it makers me feel like I’m piling on pressure when that’s NOT what we want for him at all. Any advice would be great! Thank you!

Yes exam, interview and current school heads report. Not aware of feeder schools, I think boys go from all over. We liked the school too, didn’t find the exams difficult but know a few boys who we were surprised didn’t get an offer. I would look at St Johns in Leatherhead as well? Epsom? There are lots of not too academic, fab sporty Indy schools around it just depends how far out you want to go?

Thank you @sazzy5 can’t believe the stress and near constant conversations about all of this amongst parents at this stage. Have booked to go to Epsom and will look at StJohns too. Am I right in thinking only boys that get through the exam process will get invited to interview? ( DS would do well at interview) Also heard recently that people get tutors to prep for interviews 🤯 how do people cope with this?

Currently for the 3 schools you have listed the interview is a tiny part - at St J's & Reeds it's on the day of the exam & at Epsom it takes place at a separate time but it's a general chat. Your ds really needs to be committed to get into all 3, there is no certainty anymore but a prep school like Surbiton Boys Prep really focuses on the entrance exams as all the boys leave age 11. For secondary look at Claremont Fan and Halliford too plus St James's Ashford if you stay in Kew. It's really best to not get stuck on 1 school as entrance is based on performance on 1 day taking into account the ability of those sitting. If you like Claremont Fan there is always the option of the Prep school too.

We were state school, so no help with the 11+. I did plenty of the bond books but mainly to help with the timing and learning to move on from questions he didn’t like. I agree don’t focus too much on one school it stresses you and your DS more. If you aren’t at a prep school and your DS has an area of weakness like writing I would look into a tutor for that area. Good luck.

All the schools you mention are very competitive to get into. It’s worth having a less pressure option too.

Thank you all so much. I’ll widen my search. I for one can not wait until this is over. What a complete nightmare. Reeds was actually suggested to us because it WASNT hugely academically competitive but now seems that’s obselete info.

Reeds isn't considered hugely academic anywhere outside of MN. Years ago when DS1 was looking at senior schools the exact same claims about numbers sitting, how comptetitive it was to get places etc. was made then. Just search around MN for the threads. That cohort finished A levels last year with results which will have been significantly enhanced by the high standards they demand from the girls joining at 16+. Despite that their results from the Surrey league tables are below a few of the comps as can be seen from the attached govt table.

It sounds an excellent fit for your DS, please don't be put off. If you want some extra assurance Surbiton Prep always sends huge numbers to Reeds, is that commutable?

www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/schools-by-type?step=default&table=schools&region=936&la-name=surrey&la-name=surrey&geographic=la&for=16to18&basedon=Overall+performance&show=All+pupils&datasetfilter=provisional&searchtype=&orderby=ks5.0.TALLPPE_ALEV_1618&orderdir=asc&datatype=integer&sortpolicy=inversepolicy