Help!! Moving to UK: good website for school entrance exams?

[NewUKmum]

Hi, we are (hopefully!!) moving to the UK permanently later this summer. I want to start preparing my children for school entrance exams. (son 11, daughter 10 and son 8) and, as an educator, have found real exams the best way to prepare. Also, I can't buy any of the "bond books" as it's ruinously expensive to send here. I don't know which schools my kids will apply so I want to look at different schools' past papers. Are there any websites anyone recommends to see these? Thanks from Trenton, NJ!!

Your post is a bit confusing. If your eldest is 8 or 9 years old, he has two years for both 11+ and 13+ exam but it is nonsense to do past papers at that age. If he is 11 years old, he should be Year 6 or 7 right now. He clearly missed all school 11+ and many 13+. Again it doesn’t make sense to do past papers.

Even if you have a long list of schools for your three children, you should check the admission pages of all of them by yourself. Otherwise, it is better to find a school for children from 4 to 18 or preparatory school (prep school. It is private primary school for children from 4 to 13). Even if you missed registration/exam of 11+/13+, the headteacher at prep schools will help you to find a school in private sector by his/her connection/experience etc because you are paying for that.

Lol OP - still not given their ages and still a confusing post! They maybe over two years away from taking those exams but that is still too late as often they pre-test a couple of years before and register before that.

I'd strongly recommend a consultant if you don't want to divulge their ages here.

@NewUKmum...as you can see the independent/private school system is quite complicated regarding ages and entries! ...never mind boys only, girls only or mixed ;-)
As suggested above , i would ring a couple of admission departments of London day schools you are interested in.Explain your situation and give them your childrens ages , and I'm sure you will find them very helpful.

As said by mumto3little if you want to look at a mixed school from 4 to 18, then a couple in the west/south west London to look at are Harrodian and Ibstock Place.

www.ibstockplaceschool.co.uk/
www.harrodian.com/

 if geography forms any part of the entrance exams you may want to engage a tutor @NewUKmum

@NewUKmum. I do think, in the nicest possible way, that if you are moving to the UK but aren't even aware that it is made up of 4 countries, then your dc may not have the broad general knowledge background that would be expected of them by a "top" private school.

The reason people asked you which country you were moving to is because different countries in the UK have different education systems. England is very different to Scotland for example.

I'm still failing to understand how you can afford private schooling but can't afford to have exam books posted from the UK. to the US.

I am always a bit surprised when people suggest Bond books for academic London private schools.

I would check which subjects will be examined...normally maths and English and then buy the relevant Galore Park “So you really want to learn...” books.

These tend to reflect private school syllabi, and are suitable for home education..you can also buy the teacher’s book.

Be warned that London preparatory schools can go at a cracking pace.

So none of this is a thing. There are two plus exams. The +11 (state schools exam) and the +13 (this is common entrance exam for private schools). At other entry points different schools may set their own exams or they may have different entry procedures. You will need to prepare your eldest child for CE but for the others you will need to find out what the admissions criteria for your preferred schools are.

It’s a much better idea to narrow down your choice of prep schools (and possibly consider sending your second youngest to a senior school as some of them start at 11 these days) and then go from there. In particular you need to think about what you want from a school. I would advise steering clear of anywhere too academic, ideally look for schools that offer pre-U and IB rather than just A-levels as this will provide more options. If you want your children to return to the US look for a school with a track record of sending kids to US universities. Consider things like sports/music etc.

If you are really struggling you can hire an education consultant to hold your hand through the process but the Tatler good schools guide can be a good place to start (it is just a starting point though, don’t take the information in there as gospel truth). Once you gave an idea of which schools may interest you, you will have a better idea of how to prepare your children.

I’m not sure the pp is up to date. I thought pre-U was being dropped, and that schools were moving away from Common Entrance relying more on the 11+ pre test.

OP might look at the independent school section of the elevenplusexams website.

Pre-Us are being dropped, the current Y12 will be sit the final exams next summer. The numbers sitting were far too low and there were too many scandals where the teacher was also the examiner and gave "helpful hints" about the papers.

Hi @NewUKmum

It's tricky - various options in the UK at various ages....

There are two main entry points into UK senior schools: 11+ and 13+. 11+ for both boys and girls and 13+ for mainly boys ( a few girls boarding). Good prep schools should prepare for both.... Some UK schools are now 'all though' and therefore avoid the exam pressure points...are also worth looking at.

Some UK schools are now refreshing scholarships as many Overseas students are now not enrolling owing to CoVid.....seize the moment ...amazing schools with registration at birth offering 50% discount in fees - never heard of before! My Nephew just got a place at a coed, nondenominational, wonderful school with 50% overseas scholarship!

Hampstead is a good place to start.
K

Hi UK! Thanks for all of the feedback and let me address your kind concerns (I’ve was in the admissions office for 7 years for one of NJ’s top boarding schools so I know the drill).

We have plenty of time for my kids to register and, having worked in admissions, I know that the best place to start is the school’s own requirements. But thank you all anyway! I’ve talked to several admissions offices (Wetherby, Alleyn’s, SPGS) who assure me I’m fine and can register.

@SerenityNowwwww thank you for those schools, we are looking at them. I had a girlfriend I’ve lost touch with who moved to London and she was absolutely obsessed with Westminster and St. Pauls. They look great!

@Lucinda76 thank you we are looking at Hampstead, which our relocation company has sent us a few houses to rent, but I think if we go there we can only choose schools in the north.

The company seems to know NOTHING about schools though so I’m thinking about places like Belgravia or Knightsbridge which are more central.

she was absolutely obsessed with Westminster and St. Pauls. They look great!

Many Americans are obsessed by St Pauls and Westminster. However they are quite specific schools and don't suit everyone. By all means try, but if you are finding that you are really having to cram a child to get in, I would not bother. There are plenty of other good schools in London, and neither St Pauls nor Westminster are happy places if you are trailing along towards the bottom of the year group. Both my DC went to W and were very happy there, but DS certainly had little idea that he might be clever until he got to University. Both now realise that they were probably better than they thought, and that some who were getting higher marks and in higher sets were being insanely tutored, and did not have much left in the tank for the next stage.

Alleyns, which is in South London so quite a long coach journey from Belgravia, , is again popular. Quite arty. There is a numbers issue, with a lot more applicants than places. Obviously admissions say you can register, but the real question is how likely you are to get a place.

Pimlico, just south of Belgravia, might be an option. You can access south London schools from Victoria, and West London schools via the district line. The Dulwich schools coach (JAGS, Alleyns, and Dulwich College) has a route that takes in Central London. Its also a bit more down to earth, with small restaurants and a street market, and Battersea Park (lots of football schemes) The Queen Mother Sports Centre (which hosts a good swimming club) and St James Park are nearby.

If you're looking at hampstead the easiest thing to do would be to get them all into a co-ed school that goes up to 13 and then sort out the tutoring when you get here. Something that always has places like Devonshire House. The enlist the tutors.

The three schools you've listed are enormously different and coming from the US system it will be difficult - 2 are tricky even for exceptionally bright children coming from top prep schools in the UK. Remember your children will not have learnt UK history, UK spelling, geography in our hemisphere and we start school 2 years before you do in some cases (too bloody young!).

You may want to consider what your medium term plans are. If you are planning on returning to America whilst your children are still at school age, or if they wish to attend an American university then it may be better for them to stay in the US system and attend the American School in St Johns Wood (which is close enough to Hampstead). It’s a great school with amazing facilities. They say they are set up for many students to go to U.K. universities too, but I found them lacking in details on that so wasn’t so sure. All your children could attend the same school - I wouldn’t underestimate the stress of getting three different children to three different schools in different areas of London in rush hour (whether that’s on public transport or not). There are other co-Ed school like Latymer in Hammersmith and Highgate which also very ‘academic’ if that is what you are after. Latymer also has a junior school.
If you want single sex, then SPGS / Godolphin & Latymer and Westminster / St Paul’s boys are generally at the top of the academic league tables and are therefore the most fiercely competitive to get into. But they all have very different ‘feels’ as schools so do look on their websites, speak to admissions and look on here for previous threads about the schools.
Generally speaking though, when applying always have a ‘stretch’ goal, a middle achievable option and also a back up school. Look at the schools within the London Consortium as well - it’s girls schools only but one exam for their whole group which allows you to cover a few options.
Good luck!

then it may be better for them to stay in the US system and attend the American School in St Johns Wood

Lovely idea. However as I suggested up thread, it is really difficult to get a place. It’s not just new arrivals. Many London based Americans will select this as one of their 11+ options. It is a real lottery and the chances of getting three kids in at the same time are not great. South Bank and American School Cobham are more predictable options. And there are others.

OP, I would use a consultant.

@glass2014

For past exam papers we have always used this site, which has over 800 free exam papers:

metalrockseducation.co.uk/elevenplus-thirteenplus-past-exam-specimen-papers/

Our DS applied to seven schools and all of the schools were on here so that made it easy. Our second is applying to a few other schools and we just went here and downloaded the exams. There are a few other sites as well, but this one we found had the most free ones. Good luck on the move!

Really great site. They have more HABS old exams than the school has on their own website. Good luck.

Good morning UK!

@LondonJJ Thank you we plan on being in London long term.

We have signed on a place within walking distance to Bond Street subway station; it looks centrally located so we can go to schools North, South, East West. Thanks for all the input so far. Any other schools to consider most appreciated.

To the OP: agree that the best thing to do is to take actual past entrance exams and that site should have every school you’d be looking at.

Regarding Bond books, I find them quite repetitive and not targeted. Try the CGP books, they have everything by age and are much better. Safe travels.

I would employ a consultant www.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/education-consultants?gclid=EAIaIQobChMItpDW1bPM6gIVzbTtCh0dygTEEAAYASAEEgLzv_D_BwE

It's about £1000 (although this is possibly per child) and they will help you navigate the system here.

As people have said it's mostly 11+, very few do 10+ and 8+ (usually internally in feeder prep schools) . Some girls schools do the 7+.

Have you looked at prep schools - I don't think you want to be in the London state system! very few places and very mixed.

We use this one - most of the major London schools are on here

nickdale.me

What about Southbank International? Or are you dead set on not having an American education?

Morning @NewUKMum

Sounds like an all through independent school would be best to start with. So all of your children could start and then be supported to achieve their various routes at 11+ and 13+ etc....

There are some good all through, non selective, independent schools in NW London. Not sure whether they would have spaces for September though..... worth getting in contact directly with admissions teams.

Good luck!

Invest in an educational consultant if your company will fork out for one, especially as you are moving later this summer so your children will all be taking exams for 'occasional vacancies'. There are potentially more last-minute vacancies than usual as independent schools have lost some international students or those who can no longer afford fees due to the pandemic.

www.isc.co.uk/schools/ is a good search engine for location-based information and www.isi.net/ is great to read the most recent inspection reports on various schools. There are a lot of small, quirky prep schools around Bond St area. St Pauls and Westminster are highly competitive - your kids would need to be top 1-5% of their cohort to have a realistic chance of acceptance. Thomas' Prep schools go to 13 and are mixed so all your children could go to the same one (and if they want to travel to the Battersea would be at school with Prince George and Princess Charlotte). Kensington Prep is a GDST school with a great reputation for your daughter. City of London School for Girls and City of London School for boys are through-schools. St James' schools for girls and boys (single sex) are also through schools.

If you choose a school they can attend to transition between junior and senior this may allow them to settle better.

The tube (London underground train system - which is overground for many stations, but that's England for you!) can be a great way to get around but is also very crowded - London bus routes are plentiful and transport for school children is free with a Zip card. Of course, walking is always excellent if you can find a good local school!

Good luck and enjoy living in London - it's a great city!

Why private school?

The system here isn't like the US, where you go private because there isn't a public school at all, or the public school's been defunded and all the kids funnelled into a private one.

Save your money and move near a good London comprehensive. Give your kids an actual "UK" lifestyle and not an elite bubble.

As mentioned. If you can't afford some books in the post, where's the five-figure-a-term sums going to come from for London school fees?