SW London girls independent/grammars thread 2020

[autumnnightsaredrawingin]

Last year, there were two amazing threads which were super helpful about exactly this, so I wanted to start a thread for girls due to start September 2020. If anyone from last year wants to contribute please do!

We have narrowed our choices down to 5, sadly not in the right postcode for Tiffin, and decided not to do the Sutton grammars.

So, she will be doing PHS, WHS, LEH, SHS and Woldingham. Also registered for Emanuel but we may pull that one.

It's a yes for DD from WHS! Absolutely thrilled

Yay!! I've been checking back regularly waiting for your update @ColaPip! I'm so delighted for your dd! Good for her. Time to go celebrate

Congratulations @chevronrosie @Springboard @almost231 @ColaPip!!! Amazing news. A clever bunch of girls! @PhilippaFawcett top third is amazing and like you say, WHS wasn’t your first choice. Don’t worry about LEH etc as they’re very different exams and schools.

Those who now have places at WHS and Surbiton- are you going to release your Surbiton place or wait a bit? Well done to everyone!

@givemesomewineplease thank you so much! Keeping my fingers crossed for your results

We’re going to release surbiton , well done Colapip !!

Wonderful @ColaPip!! I've been looking out for your news, and I'm glad it is good news 🙂

DD also got an offer from WHS! We released the Surbiton and Sutton offers. She’s a very happy girl 😁

Well done everyone on yet another very successful round!

I wonder if this thread is a representative sample of all the girls on this 11+ circuit. Seems we all stressed for nothing!

Congratulations @Revolutionofourtime!

Amazing news!

Two girls on the Surbiton wait list will be very happy- good on you for releasing your offers. I am so impatient to see what next Friday brings for us for Putney- I am keeping EVERYTHING crossed!

Out of interest- those who did PHS/WHS/LEH, if your girls are lucky enough to get two or three of these, have you an idea of what you’d take?

Thanks @Autumnnightsaredrawingin!

I’m not sure what our choice would be between WHS and LEH (should DD be lucky enough to get an offer). It would be a very tough decision. PHS is also a great school, but DD was less taken by it.

Better not count our chickens yet! 🐓

absolutely amazing news @ColaPip @Springboard and @almost231! Congratulations to your dds. @PhilippaFawcett, top third on the list sounds very promising and from what people say those lists tend to move. I only have experience from my DS with a wait list which luckily in the end moved for us. So all fingers crossed. I can’t believe we have another week of waiting, feeling very anxious for next Friday!

And to you, @RevolutionofOurTime!! I replied before seeing all the messages...a very clever bunch of girls!

Thank you! We’ve been having a tough time lately as we decided to evacuate from Hong Kong last weekend due to the coronavirus outbreak. We’re staying in France waiting for things to get better, while DH is in HK working from home. It’s been quite a whirlwind, but DCs have now settled into a routine and are on top of their distance learning.

We really needed the good news!

oh my goodness, I am so sorry to hear that @RevolutionofourTime, I can’t imagine how unsettling all this must be for your family. So nice to have some good news to lift everybody’s spirits. wishing everyone a lovely weekend.

Wow - all the best to revolutionofourtime. Puts it all in perspective .

In response to autunumnightsaredrawingin we will 100% go WHS although still waiting to hear from
PHS and LEH and she felt interview went very well at both. My DD is probably much stronger at interviews than exams but WHS was fine as was VR and NVR which is better for her . Grammar and spelling her hardest thing. I loved LEH but for WHS she would leave home at 8am and for LEH at 6.45. So a no brainier plus she has medical issues so although I know travel can be great for independence the more sleep she gets the better .
Plus we loved WHS in terms of what suits her. She’s very independent, confident and driven and less outdoor space won’t even be noticed by her . We try to encourage sport with her alot but she’s not really sporty so I also think a smaller school would suit her well.
If she does get an offer at the others it’s nice to know someone potentially on a waiting list will be delighted to get the place .

Congratulations to all whose DDs have received great offers so far. Hang in there to those still waiting for that elusive large envelope. Anyone with a Harrodian offer thinking of turning it down? We are on the waiting list there. They offer very few places at 11 plus apparently, around 30 I believe, and over 350 sat this year, so statistically quite hard to get in at this point.

Blimey @RevolutionofourTime - how unsettling. Delighted you've had good news. Congratulations!

We very unexpectedly had an offer from Harrodian this morning - very much a surprise as was a bit of a wild card for us. WHS is DD's clear favourite, so we will be releasing Surbiton on Monday. Sad to be declining a school that we liked so much, but feel WHS would be a better choice for DD.

@Blithespirit we will more than likely be declining Harrodian, so keeping my fingers crossed for you!

Best of luck all x

Great news about Harrodian @ColaPip - your dd has done so well, she must be feeling pretty chuffed. What else are you waiting for now apart from LEH? Putney?

Thanks @givemesomewineplease. DD didn't do LEH, but yes still waiting for quite a few - Putney, Consortium, Ibstock, Emanuel. On reflection, DD probably sat too many but genuinely didn't have high hope after Y5 feedback from her primary school.

We declined SHS this morning - feeling quite sad about that, as thought it was a fab school. Hopefully another family will get good news from SHS today

Everyone else doing ok?

Sorry @ColaPip, am getting muddled with everyone's schools. I can barely remember all the schools dd applied to that I don't know why I think I can remember everyone else's . I swing from being optimistic that it's all going to be ok to being gripped with fear that she won't get any offers. I can't stop reading all the random 11+ threads on MN about schools I've never heard of, as if knowing that others are in the same boat is somehow comforting . 4 days to go - we are awaiting results from 6 schools on Fri. Lots of in the meantime!

When do Emanuel and Ibstock offers come out?

This wait is killing me 😩. I can’t wait until all this is over!! Good luck everyone.

Emanuel is this Friday, Ibstock and LEH are a week later, on the Saturday for LEH. Does anyone know for sure that Putney is this Friday?!

The lady with the clipboard at Putney said they were aiming to get the letters in the post on 13th to arrive Fri 14th.

Wow, LEH and Ibstock are leaving it late this year!

Are they not running the risk that people will just take other places on Friday out of sheer exhaustion?

I’m sure last year, PHS came out a week earlier than the others? SPGS, LU, G&L and other Consortium all came on the Friday before half-term. I think they always do that so they don’t have to sneer the phones and people have a week to calm down / absorb info.

answer the phones! Hopefully no sneering is going on.

PHS interviewed a more limited number this year based on the exam results, so I think the interviews were perhaps later than in previous years. I'm assuming that's why they're 14th this year. I'm still hoping they might post earlier!

I don't get the thinking in LEH waiting until 22nd when almost all the other competing schools have offered a week or more earlier. Half term is a good break to consider offers and work out what to choose, but then with one offer outstanding you don't have the full picture. This is assuming we have any offers to consider of course!