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

@trialsat11 which e-mail was this? I haven’t heard anything from them since before Christmas?

I think the holding mails from WHS and JAGS have been really nicely written and I appreciate them managing expectations. We haven’t applied for scholarships and both are aspirational for us as DD’s NVR is a bit ropey!

@EITEL welcome to the thread, I’m sorry to hear about your first choice and was having similar thoughts last night around what on earth could we have done differently. It’s such a numbers game and I’m guessing your first choice is very popular? Keeping fingers crossed you get some positive news soon. Is Maida Vale school on your list? My friends daughter started there in Sept and has been very positive about it?

I haven’t had an email from LEH. 🤔

@Normalisboring@waitinganxiously984 I had dropped LEH a mail in the morning to check on when will they send in the results.
In response to that , I received an email in the afternoon that they have posted the letters today .

I haven’t had an email from LEH either. 🤷‍♀️

Thanks @Trialsat11

Ah ok, so not a general email. I was starting to panic! Thanks for clarifying.

It’s awful isn’t it....I have been through this twice before with boys and this year seems worse than ever with all the chopping and changing. I thought the girls process was supposed to be easier but it certainly doesn’t feel that way! The pandemic doesn’t help as there are none of the usual distractions - we’re all stuck at home waiting for e-mail or post...

@eitel if it makes you feel better both my DSs got into good schools despite getting rejected from other schools that were perhaps less academic and supposedly easier to get into....I am trying to keep the faith that they all end up where they need to be.

@EITEL I’m so sorry, it’s a truly horrid process. My DD is notoriously slow at creative writing and comprehensions so the 25 min multiple choice style ISEB actually suited her better, perhaps your DD will find the same? Is there any opportunity to go on a waitlist?

Evening all, I have also been through this process a few times w other DC all attending different schools and have received outcomes much more in line with what we had anticipated those times. This year, we must have completely misgauged things, because our state educated DD also has now had three rejections having done quite well on practice tests both online and paper based. Having said that, in the past the process, terrible though it is, has sorted our DC into schools which do truly suit them. I am hoping this will also be the case this year. I admit that I am starting to worry slightly and am very glad we have two others which are 'easier', but can appreciate that for every school including those two, there is stiff competition. Of course, this is always the case and every year we swear this year is the weirdest, but for us this one is throwing up a few surprises. I realise though that many many DDs are doing extremely well which is of course fabulous, so clearly we have just gotten the wrong end of the stick and aimed too high. Just venting here because as others have mentioned, can't talk about it too much with the family and few students at her primary are sitting exams. Best of luck, everyone!

Oh, I am sorry to hear this, @EITEL. It's just such a weird process. I wonder if there will be some sort of second round after the dust settles - but I guess of course that is only for DC who are waitlisted. Possibly once things calm down after offers are accepted, slightly less competitive schools could be approached for late applications, I If they have places? Just wondering out loud, not sure this is the case by any means. Incidentally, do not lose hope- there are many many cases I know of in which children receive offers to schools having been turned down from others considered to be perhaps slightly easier to get into.

@wagonwheelcoffeetable sorry to hear things are not going your way. For the record, I doubt you have misread your daughter, in any other year you could have been very accurate but with everything so topsy turvy and the goal posts continually shifting, it seems like black magic this year!

Given it’s looking increasingly likely that offer holders days wont happen and parents will be forced to choose ‘blind’ I can imagine there being quite a bit of a shuffle in the first term of year seven. (Especially with growing financial uncertainty, Brexit and a looming recession.) I guess what I’m saying is hang tight.. vent as much as you need.. and keep faith this whole situation will right itself..

@Brot64 and @MumsRule20 I’m really not happy about the self invigilation of the Emanuel exam.. it’s so ripe for cheating that it renders it pretty much pointless..

It is also concerning that schools have used the same paper sat over several days. What is to stop people discussing the content? Particularly as I know some feed back to their tutor, who can pass on to other children. This year really seems like a bit of a lottery.

@Stircrazyschoolmum neither am I. They say they wouldn't view it as intended but how will they view it then and what is the point if it will not be accessed as an exam (which of course it can't as it's not invigilated).
They might as well have cancelled it. As you say I suspect too that a lot of cheating will be going on. The entire Emanuel process has been disastrous.

Has anyone heard from G&L with interview details yet? It just occurred to me to today that it’s in two days and we don’t have any log on info or anything.

@Flossietea we've heard nothing from them and are first thing on Friday. DD won't even be properly awake!
It's so unnerving & I keep panicking that we've missed something we should be attending

...and has anyone had post today from LEH about interviews? Our post is always late so don’t want to get into a tizzy for no reason...

@Yossahughes nothing so far but our post sometimes doesn’t come until the afternoon. I doubt it will come today anyway if only posted yesterday. WHY they couldn’t send emails I don’t know!

Our post is usually due at around 1pm.

@PatoPato I’m relieved it’s not just us! I’ll be calling them tomorrow morning if we hear nothing today