Upcoming girls’ independent SW London schools 11+ exams

[Oceane11plus]

Are there any parents on this board with DDs due to sit independent school exams in January? If so where do you stand in terms of shortlisting schools, revisions etc Are you planning to do any work over the summer?

We are still in the process of fine tuning the list of schools... We will probably end up applying to about 4/5 schools, of which 2 are in the same consortium which means 3/4 exams max.
As far as I am aware, our prep has not recommended any specific revisions for the summer, but I was still planning to make her write some maths, English and VR/NVR past papers, as 2 months without doing anything seems too much so close to the exams. I was thinking of making her do one paper a week in each subject, on top of reading and boosting her vocabulary, with two weeks in August without any paper/formal work.

Any tips on what we should be doing at this stage and over summer holidays, notably from parents with past experience, would be super useful!

Thank you

It’s a tricky one isn’t it? I managed to see five of the seven we’ve applied to because I went to visit them when DD was in year 5. But DD has only seen two of them and one of those she didn’t much like (although the only explanation she will give for the dislike is she didn’t like where the canteen was).

It is really difficult to get them motivated about exams and interviews when they only have a website to go off, and it will be even harder to make a final decision (assuming we’re lucky enough to have a choice). I really hope they can manage to hold some sort of on-site visit for offer-holders, even if only the kids can go and parents have go stay away.

PHS has sent out interview invites for music and sports scholars .Such a nail biting time for other applicants like us :(

@Trialsat11 do you think that means they’ve done enough to pass and possibly get a place? We haven’t applied to PHS, just wondering.
Did PHS also do interviews and creative writing?

Yes, they would have definitely cleared their ISEB baseline to get invited for interview along with scholarship assessment .
A longer wait for the rest though as the next set of invites will only come in Jan !
PHS didn’t do creative writing and will invite only those who clear the ISEB for interview

When and how are the Putney invitations been sent ?
Just wondering as some children are still sitting ISEB despite being after the official deadlines

We have done interviews for two different drama scholarships without knowing whether we've done enough to clear the ISEB. (One of the schools has its own exam in Jan so no one has sat it yet!) Therefore, it might be that Putney have changed their process this year?

Sorry the above was for @Trialsat11
Thanks !

PHS had a deadline of 7th dec for any ISEB tests . Interview invites are being sent by emails but only for music and sports scholars as of now . For the rest ,they will be sent in Jan

@ stircrazyschoolmum we have done the same for our drama scholarships .
I think Putney is coupling it as they already have the ISEB results and calling only those for auditions who have an 11+ interview as well to avoid too many people together on the late Jan interview date for other applicants

@Trialsat11 - can I check did you actually receive an email from Putney in regard to this information? The last time we heard from Putney was the advent calendar - so just want to check we haven't missed anything! (not applying for any scholarships though) Thanks

Sorry @dazedandconfused11plus didn’t mean to cause a scare. The invites sent now are only for people who applied for music and sports scholarships . We didn’t apply for any scholarships either and it is a wait till Jan for the interview invites !

Thanks for letting me know @Trialsat11 (so I'm guessing you just heard from others then, rather than an email from Putney). Sorry, I think my nerves are shot already, and still not even Christmas!

Yes @dazedandconfused11plus I heard from a few in DD’s year group but nothing for us till Jan .You are definitely not alone on the panic .. Hopefully New year brings only good tidings !

We received an email from PHS saying we have not made the shortlist for music and will hear in January about interview. The standard of music must be particularly high this year - DD has Grade 5 in 2 instruments, which we had thought would be enough to make the shortlist.

We liked the postcard from PHS - nice touch. It’s still our favourite but we are trying not to think about that and putting it all to the back of our minds for a few weeks. Is everyone done now until Jan?

Sorry to hear that @dinosaurinmybelly was DD very disappointed? Grade 5 seems incredible to me.. in 2 instruments!

We really like Putney too, but fortunately (in a sense) DD hasn’t seen it and won’t be devastated about any particular school unless she f
gets no offers..

The wait seems sooo long!

Thank you stircrazyschoolmum. She's not too disappointed as we know all too well that there are some extremely dedicated and gifted musicians in this pocket of the world and we know how much work goes into it, so we respect them immensely. It's the same with sport, DD does enjoy her sport and by the standards of our family back in Scotland, her achievements are impressive, but here in SW London there are some children her age already identified to play at a county level. It's inspiring thankfully, rather than off-putting...

@dinosaurinmybelly Is piano one of your DD’s instruments? If so the competition is particularly fierce. Even if they play another instrument, unless they are exceptional at it, we heard applicants need to be G7-8 in piano (with distinctions...) to be considered for music scholarships at very selective London day schools. It sounds crazy to me, G5 in 2 instruments for a 10yo is already so impressive!

I have a friend who’s child is learning the harp, another the oboe and a third some kind of Cornish trumpet.. I admire them all for putting up with the racket they make! 🤣

When do we hear back from school regarding interviews/rejections? So far I believe it's: 7 Jan for G&L; 15 Jan for WHS. Any others? Hope the fixation on dates doesn't make this wait even worse though!

@dinosaurinmybelly sorry to hear your news, glad you're able to be so philosophical about it though!

@dinosaurinmybelly two grade 5 instruments is quite a feat .. You can take heart from the fact that both the music scholars I have heard of in the shortlist play rare instruments and that may b the primary reason

For LEH the website just says "mid January 2021"

Re music scholars, I know a girl who got one as she plays the tuba. I also think they’re very hard to come by for more usual instruments.

For final offers/rejections are we all mostly expecting offers to be sen out on 11th of February? I’ve just got that date in my heading, even though I’m willing for sooner

We did a walk past of SCHS yesterday as we were in the area! (That was the one DH and I messed up on as we each thought the other had taken DD to see it!)

I really hope that girls with offers get a chance to be taken round the schools before final decisions are made.

And on a side note, we still haven't received our SCHS creative writing assessment in the post - which makes me wonder if it never actually got sent rather than held up in the post.