Trinity/Whitgift 2020 entry

[Breathe10]

I've read through lots of chat re 2019 but can't see a 2020 10/11+ 2020 thread. How are your DS's getting on?

We just don't know - what is the SEN provision like at T, and what is their general attitude towards boys with SEN?

I believe their general attitude is positive - there are a good number of boys there with a variety of SEN requiring extra time, scribes, laptop use, breaks... they also test all the boys to pick up any that might not have been spotted before.

castlepanic on my (small, day time) tour of T the head of admissions told us that they screen all boys individually upon arrival as lots of bright kids make it this far using their intelligence to compensate for any SEN they might have, but as they progress through secondary it's harder and harder to compensate/work around the SEN than address the SEN head on (if that makes sense). so they want to make sure all their boys have the best tools and tactics to do the best they can.So it seemed a really positive approach to me (though i've no experience of such things)

FWIW, at our W interview (which was granted for scholarship so may not be the same for every one) the interviewer specifically asked if DS had any special educational needs we wanted to disclose.

So on balance, I think if there is a way to mention it you should even if just so yo can ask what their support is like. I think you can say that he's had this diagnosis but it's quite mild (or something like that).

Castle my Ds2 has some SEN/mild disabilities and I talked to T a number of times before even entering him for the exam.

I did write a medical note to accompany his application.

I also talked to them again once the offer had been made, before we accepted, to make sure I was happy that they fully understood his needs and could cater for them.

He started in j bugs with an academic scholarship, so it clearly didn't put them off! They have been amazing with him, and I can't really fault the support at all.

I don't know about their dyslexia support. If you get offered a place, you will be asked to fill out a form when you accept to tell them about any SEN type issues, and they are pretty clear that if you don't, then there are consequences. (this is because apparently they have had some boys turn up with unexpected quite major issues that they'd had no time to prepare support for).

I did email and say just that politely which I think sped up the no - I have to say I do not like the way they leave you hanging. There’s no excuse. Unless it’s good news for you hope so let us know

Does anyone know how the W 11+ Sports Scholarship recalls work? My DS has the assessment today and I was wondering what to expect .....

@KandCa You will get a call or email normally a few days after the initial assessment to say whether your son had been recalled for a specific sport. You won’t hear if not recalled. If they have seen enough on the initial day they may not recall but could still offer a scholarship. There is no recall for swimming x

Thanks @Yey22. DH was saying that but I was not sure...so no point going on crazy and mode.... Valentine's day it is. X

I remember it well from last year, you feel so out of control, the wait is awful. Goodluck x

Hi, I was wondering whether anyone knows that if you have a Trinity interview where you aren’t invited to meet the head does it mean you won’t get an offer? My oldest son is at Trinity and we met the head at his interview. My next son has an interview next week and we’ve been told we won’t meet him. I’m now super anxious that it means he won’t get a place. Does anyone have any experience of this? Thanks

@pinkpeony4 I know plenty of parents that didn’t meet the head and their child has a place including the Saturday interviews x

Not meeting the head doesn't mean no offer at all. There would be no point interviewing them otherwise. With DS2 we didn't speak to the head.

An interview with the head means they are considering an academic scholarship I think.

Thank you! I really appreciate you taking the time to answer. Good luck to everyone. The process certainly doesn’t get any easier second time around!

@pickpeony4, did your son do 10+ or 11+? We just had interview at Trinity, for 10+. We were told that there were approx 200 applicants; around 100 will be interviewed, and probably most of them (around 80) will be offered a place (for 55 places). So interview definitely means you're pretty likely to get an offer at 10+. Not sure if it's the same percentages at 11+ or 13+ though. I expect they might give you that info at interview though. Good luck to everyone!

Hello Everyone - for those who are interested in and have applied for a bursary...if your child is offered a place at either Whitgift or Trinity does it follow that the place will be offered at reduced fees?

No, it doesn't. The bursary isn't guaranteed unfortunately. I suspect they offer them to the children they want the most.

This is secondhand information - I know people who applied for a bursary and only got a full fees offer.

SoupDragon - thanks for responding. Helpful to know that and have a real think about what it might mean for us as a family if we get offered a place. We really would like a place at Trinity for our son but let's see - fingers crossed

@EccaMoldcan that’s really interesting Re Trinity 10+ has anyone heard any stats Re W 10+?

He’s done the 11+. Id love the stats for that if anyone knows them? Good luck to your son EccaMoldcan

Thanks @EccaMoldcan that's really interesting - any interview tips!?
Feeling anxious! Did you get that info during your/son's interview? I'm scared to ask too many questions - I resort back to a 12 year old in front of teachers!!!!

@Brrrr10, yes, the HM just told us the stats without us asking. He also told us our son's marks on all papers, possibly because they were quite spiky (v g Maths and VR, not so good English). I'm sure it's fine to ask if they don't tell you.

There was a lovely current parent who welcomed us and told us loads about the school while we were waiting to see the interviewers. For the interview itself, I'd say to be ready with a few questions and to tell them about your son. It's all quite relaxed. We probably didn't say all the things we'd intended to say, but hey ho.

After talking about his 'item', our son had to do an English comprehension during his interview, due to his lower English scores - yikes, not sure how that went. But that was because his Maths/VR scores were scholarship level.

However, we were told that unless our son swore at his interviewer (! I don't think he did!!) or did something really weird (who knows?!), he'd probably get a place. Fingers crossed!

Whitgift interview tomorrow, and then I think we're all done and just have to wait for the letters in Feb...

Thank you so much for the valuable wisdom @SoupDragon , @PopGoesTheWeaz , and @PiedImperial !
Very reassuring, and really interesting that they test the boys when they start anyway. We will have a chat with T.

Now it all comes down to the interview performance and offers of places. We have been really surprised at how high the standards are. There are so many children. I must admit we are pretty nervous about getting a flat no on Valentines day.

I'd love to know the T 11+ stats for numbers of students. Assuming the candidate decoding method (I saw on some other thread) is right, there were about 1000 applicants. My DS's number was 1000, to the nearest 100 :-) ...and I think there are 80 places... some other thread suggested 150 interviewees, but I don't know if this year is the same. Given these numbers would they make 120 offers? ...or more?

@EccaMoldcan thank you for your response - much appreciated. So your interview was for a potential scholarship as you met with the Head? Ours isn't as we are not being interviewed (or at least it didn't mention that) just our son. I'm a little confused as to whether the Head will be around or not. I'd like to know our DS's results. It does say there will be a current parent to talk to. Good luck for tomorrow - it sounds like your son has done very well indeed.

@Brrrr10, thank you. Yes, I think it was potential scholarship - but with the not so good English, who knows what will happen. I'm sure I've read that you might be able to get hold of scores from admissions team after the process, if you don't get them at interview. I'm afraid I have no idea what will happen in other interview situations and who will be there - we didn't get to interview stage with our first son so it's all new to us. All the best for you and your son, I'm sure you will be fine!

The first thing they did when we got in was tell us DS's results, so you shouldn't have any problem asking for them. They seemed to have a stack of papers for each boy and that included their marks. DS said the interview was really fun, amazingly! He was terrified going in.

Is anyone waiting to hear back from T regarding the 13+ Pretest route?