NLCS 11 plus 2nd Round

[BABSYA]

My daughter has got to 2nd round of NLCS interviews for the 11 plus for January 2020. No idea what to expect any help appreciated please.

Hi
You and DD will be offered coffee, tea, squash and biscuits with a group of 8-10 other interviewees and parents. Encourage her to eat - it will calm her nerves. There will be yr 7 and 8 NLCS girls there to talk to DD and answer her questions (and distract her). There will be current parents on hand to answer your questions. There are no silly questions. We will answer anything. A member of staff will take DD in for her interview which will be about 20mins long. There is nothing to prepare for. The interview is about finding out how DD thinks and if NLCS is the right place for her. Please remind her that she has done fantastically well to get to this stage of the process and it's just about seeing if the school is a good fit. Nobody is interviewing parents. Don't feel that you need to dress to impress or worry that they care about what you 'bring' to the school (I have seen the odd parent who seemed to have had a sales pitch prepared and were disappointed not to get to deliver it).There is an opportunity for a further tour and you can meet with the bursar. If you're relaxed, DD will be too.

Hi horsemadmom

Thank you for your reply was very helpful. I have heard rumours that the interviews are arranged based on the child's score in the exam. I have no idea if this is true...

I am very aware of the culture of the school and to be honest we just wanted her to sit the exam over the moon she has passed not worried or stressed if she does or does not get the place.

Just want her to give it the best shot.

Interviewees are grouped by school and usually alphabetically (if they come with friends, they are more likely to relax). Nothing whatsoever to do with score. In fact, at the interview stage, it's a level playing field. Except, if they did exceptionally well in either maths or English - and not so well in the other- they will tease out whether DD can cope in the weaker subject. They are happy to have mad maths geniouses /keen writers who may be just ok in the other subject. But, if DD will struggle, it's going to be a poor fit. Happy girls do well. Key advice- eat the biscuits, keep her talking, don't worry. They are very good at figuring out who will enjoy the school and plenty of very bright DDs who have stellar academic careers ahead are better suited to smaller, more nurturing schools or prefer to be the top of the class in everything or big fishes in smaller ponds. If your DD is right for NLCS, they'll know.

That would be very strange to interview in order of exam results! Why would a school do that?