FHS NW1 and SHHS- interview offers 11+?

[clevud]

Do you know when these schools are likely to send out interview invitations?

SHHS said the interview just over half of applicants (I think there are around 900 applicants) for 55 places.

For a school like SHHS it seems far too many candidates for 55 places.

This comes straight from the deputy head so I trust it to be true. But yes, I was surprised (and slightly disappointed) too.

Yes - surely most people with an offer from SHHS would accept it? Unlike some of the other consortium schools where they over-offer as they know many will accept a "better" offer elsewhere?

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They will massively over offer. All schools have to. SHHS is a lovely school and will be first choice for many. However, they'll have a huge swathe of applicants from West London who'll prefer one of the Hammersmith schools. Then there maybe some who want the co-ed of Highgate. Others who live Islington/Hackney way who'll prefer City etc, etc.

The top applicants will have multiple offers - if they've applied for four schools, they'll likely to have four offers and they can only accept one. It's the unfair nature that some will have lots of choice and others none.

Patience, I know you are right. I’d temporarily forgotten about the non-consortium schools!
There must lots of complicated mathematical formulas being used behind the scenes! It would be really interesting to know how many offers these schools make for, say, 55 places. I guess possibly 100-200 if they are assuming that a good proportion of girls will accept elsewhere.

Hi all. Just found this thread as I, like lots of you, now have an anxious wait until 14 Feb.
Does anyone know whether schools offer waiting list to everyone they don't offer to, or whether some people get a straight no?
I feel so worried my dd will end up with no offers although I have no particular reason to worry apart from that it is all so stressful.
Is anyone else feeling the same?

all schools have a proportion who get a straight no. The selective schools have a large ‘no’ list and the recruiting schools have a shorter one as they are less popular.

Thanks @BruceFoxton. It all seems so unnecessarily brutal. I only hope it will all work out and everyone will get somewhere in the end. I will be happy if my dd gets one offer so just crossing fingers for that. Not sure how I will remain calm for next 2 weeks.
How are others remaining sane?

@Nightwriter2017 I was there last year, don't worry, they do all get somewhere and it usually ends up being the right school for them. From what I remember last year it all felt a bit random. I know girls who applied to both those schools who didn't get waitlisted after interview, but then that was before FH decided not to interview all applicants, so maybe everyone who gets interviewed will now at least be waitlisted. And the waiting lists seem to move a lot. What seemed random last year was children not getting FH say but getting offers from other consortium schools like Channing or St Helens. It made me wonder if the schools perhaps talk to each other about some of the children who might be borderline and spread them around to make sure that the schools are all full and everyone gets a place somewhere they are happy with. I could be wrong but the way it worked didn't really make sense to me given that it was the same exam.

Sometimes the schools who recruit rather than select don’t bother offering to the top 10 percentage in the exam as they know they’ll get offers from SPGS, G&L etc so a kid might get turned down by a more prestigious school but offered by a less picky one.

FH head said they will send out letters with no offer, waiting list and offer. Currently 300 interviewed for 77 places. 100 will be offered places. He was honest and said, as expected, that offers go by exam results.

FHS will be depending heavily on waitlist. With 100 offers for 77 places they’ll be lucky to get 25% of those accepted. That’s a tiny offer list for a recruiting school.

Thank you @mamabyname that is very reassuring to hear.

@brucefOxton not sure what you mean by select vs recruit. FH had
more than 500 applications for 77 places. They select and heavily. And fill all places . No chance to call and find a place like at both bridge house.

@clevud thank you for the detailed info. Did the Head actually say 'offers go by exam results' which means.....I guess........tell me if I've understood incorrectly.... they offer to the top 77 + 23 more to make up your 100. Then if that top 100 do not fill his 77 spaces they offer another 10 more then another 10 more then another 10 more off the waiting list? So a lot of people who went for interview have little chance should they have 'scored' 200th - 300th on that test.

That was my understanding. He said that whoever got the highest scores are almost certain to get an offer. But those are also the most likely to get many offers. He also said schools do not share lists of offers rejections and waiting lists

That does sound a little odd as really no point in inviting people for interview if you are so unlikely to offer them a place.
Oh well, I guess we just have to wait and hope it all works out.
I have tried to plan lots of nice things for me and dd to do to take our minds off it. I really feel for her as she is very worried.

Selective schools v recruiter schools basically differentiates between those who Are people’s first choices and those who are back up choices. Yes they all “select” but recruiter schools Will get v few first choices.

Having gone through this a couple of years back, I’d say that even though the Consortium schools may not share their offer lists, it’s probably quite obvious to them all which girls will have scores for G&L and so on. They probably also look at where you live, as well as where siblings might attend. Also, they know which other non-consortium schools you have applied to from the application form so they can have a good idea as to whether they are your “stretch” school or back up.

For instance, my DD a few years back applied to FHSS, PHS, LU, G&L and SPGS. She was offered an academic scholarship from FHS (only a token 5%) and it stated on the offer letter that this was because she was one of the highest performers in the consortium. I think they do this because they could see that she had applied to G&L and knew she had the scores for that and that G&L will invariably take the top x% from that list.
Later I heard about a school, Faulkner House, which gets about half of its girls into SPGS every year and I went on their website to see if this was true (it is)! The leavers’ destinations are shown and you can see that pretty much all the girls who were offered G&L and SPGS tended to have also applied to FHSS and were awarded academic scholarships there. So I think they offer a lot of these 5% scholarship offers as incentives.

Having said this, I think these days, FHSS is definitely starting to give the “top” schools a run for their money!

DD was also offered a small scholarship at PHS and I wonder if this was an inventive because they could see that she’d applied to three schools higher up the league tables?

At the G&L interview, they blatantly asked DD and her friends if they had got through to the SPGS interviews (if they had applied). No other school - just SPGS! I’m not sure if this means they’re more likely to make an offer or less

Wow Falkner House has amazing results @zefi.
FHRP feels like a school on the up to me. The head seems fantastic and I can totally see how it would be some people's first choice as it seems very warm and nurturing. I have been very impressed both times I've been.

Yes, never applied to FHRP but I’m sure it’s great too. I think FHSS matched LEH in terms of GCSE results last year, while someone told me PHS had a dip year and got similar GCSE results to Ibstock etc, so this might affect popularity this Feb (in terms of uptake of offers)?

Faulkner House and Bute House are essentially SPGS feeders.

I really like FHRP and its head and agree that it's becoming increasingly selective. I know lots of bright girls who weren't offered a place.

That said, the idea that they'd make 100 offers for 75 places seems ludicrous to me. You only have to look at those lists of offers/places from those fancy preps to see that even very selective schools (e.g. Godolphin) have huge amounts of girls turning them down. The top 100 scorers from the consortium who've applied to FH will have also applied to one or other or both of SHHS and G&L and the majority (not all) will more likely opt for one of those.

@PatienceVirtue exactly. Schools like FHS usually make hundreds of offers unless, this year, they’re only offering to those in the middle end of the exam results.