Hampton 10+ 2020

[TriTri82]

Is anyone’s DS doing the Hampton 10+ this Saturday? I’m hoping the new lockdown doesn’t affect it. Be good to hear from others in the same boat.

@VLCC you summed it all up perfectly! Couldn’t agree more....

@VLCC yes, made some very good points. Not starting an argument as far as I can see. Real eye-opener to read the parent of the 6th former who posted before you. Rather sad. But thank you for posting as it's info like this that can help so much.

Even 7 years ago when I was visiting a very selective school for 11+ I heard two Mums discussing their sons at Hampton, both in GCSE year at the time. We were all being show around in a group and they found out they both had sons at the same school. As time passed they started to discuss how they felt about the school and it quickly became clear both were feeling sad that their sons felt like they "weren't good enough" having got a couple of Bs in their mocks, "when everyone else had got a full set of As and A*s".

Both lamenting how little it had done for their sons' self confidence and esteem. They both said their sons should feel on top of the world with such a great set of results but instead the school had had the opposite effect on them and they felt quite stupid and like they hadn't made the grade. Literally.

I still remember it as I was astonished that such a 'good school' could have parents who felt like this.

It's very hard to match up to shiny open days and the absolute bun fight to get in only hear desperation and sadness on the other side.

I'm sure not every parent feels like this but even a few is a few too many in my opinion. It's shocking for the price you pay to feel like this.

@VLCC it's very interesting that you listed all the reasons not to go to hot housed private and you did actually let your kid to join the exam.

The point about good comprehensive school, which not every area has. You can join the private school as long as you can get there, but a good comprehensive one, you will need to move house (to a location which might cost the same as sending the kids to a private school?), be CoE or Catholic - go to church, which also not everyone can do.

A lot of the local schools also don't have the same facilities as the private schools, so you have to pay and drive your kids around to do those activities.

It's not only the academic education that people choose to go to private schools, they're after the school for various reasons.

@TagMeQuick we have the children who feel they're not good enough everywhere! The children who are on top of their current classes will also meet the kids that are much more clever than them.

My friends who were from Cambridge and Oxford told me what happened to them. Of course they were the most clever ones in the schools, and they both got scholarships to read in Cambridge and Oxford, and they both were shocked because of how competitive it was and they're nobody there. There were children who were 13 and 15 who are super clever that could study there already. We can't just try to pamper the kids and tell them they won't feel disappointed in life, or that they should always be the top ten of their classes. We're the parents who're responsible for making sure the kids are prepared for life.

@Everh0peful Thanks for the infor. I heard many good things about the school as well.

I wouldn’t disagree with what you wrote Ross11, of course there will always be a brighter person at this or that but the difference is you can have fun in the sixth form, still get a good set of results and go to oxbridge. Or you can go to Hampton an exam factory and get your self esteem dented/become exhausted from exam preparation burnout - and from potentially not being the right fit for the school. If you’re not overly competitive it might not be the right school for you and as has also been pointed out going to a school like Hampton might work against you if it’s oxbridge you’re after. There are no right or wrong answers here, just different types of children with different characters and parents who only want what’s right for their kids.

I stated in one of my comments I don't actually want my kid to go to Oxbridge. My kid has to decide where he wants to go himself later.

I have friends who have children that got offered to Oxbridge but they declined at the end, and went travelling and then decided to join the universities in other countries instead (US and Germany).

I don't want my kid to feel too pressured being in the school, hence I don't want to get him heavily tutored for the exam. My son is the least competitive kid I know (among my friends' children and his classmates), he just doesn't care and does what he likes.

You either get the kids prepared by the schools, or hire the tutors, or do it yourself, but the kids are going to spend extra hours to study by the sound of it.

I'd rather let my kids do the hard work in school, than spend time in school thinking they can't get much from there and then have to get extra tutoring at home.

I was one of the bored kids in schools because I didn't get much stimulation from a normal school. They have to spend time helping the less able kids to catch up with school work, leaving the more able kids have nothing to do.

I don't have a problem with kids being privately educated. I spent 50% of my own schooling in private education. My two eldest boys have both been entirely privately educated. My youngest is at an excellent state primary (which is genuinely better than the highly regarded prep school my two eldest went to).

So I don't have any sort of philosophical problem with private education, nor with selective entry - both my two older boys passed 11+, with the middle one being awarded a 75% scholarship.

This process has simply got me thinking about what I am trying to achieve in all of this, and this site is a great place to share thoughts, opinions and information. I am entirely open minded about the relative merits of state v private and of different schools.

i am simply saying that as I think it through, there seem quite a lot of compelling reasons not to send your kids to an exam factory type school (and I am not at all suggesting that Hampton is such a school). We know a family who have a girl who is currently at Tiffin in Kingston, and she has had a very rough time of it. I had put that down to girls having a tendency to perfectionism and often being extremely competitive with each other, but I am beginning to wonder if it isn't a symptom of a system that has got out of kilter.

That's all. I'm not trying to persuade anyone of anything.

Personally I think the type of questions that seem to be on the Hampton Paper 10+ do not require a knowledge anything beyond Year 5. They certainly don’t need to be taught simultaneous equations. Basically if a child is very bright they will see ways of solving these problems that do not require prior knowledge. That’s how they can pick the boys who have a real aptitude for Maths.

I’ve been reading this thread and just wanted to express a positive experience of Hampton school. My son started at 11 coming from a state school. He has loved it from the start and is now approaching GCSEs. He’s made some lovely friends who are polite and hardworking. Yes, the school is academic and competitive (between the boys rather than coming from the school), but the feel I get from the school is actually quite down to earth compared to some private schools. The head is very approachable and often spectates sports matches whether it’s the top team or teams c/d. They work at a fast pace so there is an expected standard they should keep up with. There is plenty of support for anyone struggling. The sport, music and drama are all amazing but there are plenty of clubs available to suit all. Most clubs are run at lunchtime to allow boys to attend who might get catching the coach. It does have to be the right school for your child as the academic levels are high. My son has been very happy there and it has definitely been the right fit for him. He does not find the work or homework too onerous even at GCSE but maybe that is down to him. Oh and they don’t do maths GCSE a year early as someone claimed earlier.

How were interviews today everyone?
My son answered the questions the way a 4 years old would answer haha, super naive and nothing special at all.
If he doesn't get through... I have to seriously think about getting him official help some way.

Don’t be too down on him. He’s only 10.

My eldest boy was hopeless in the interview stage . When asked if he had any questions he asked

“Are you for pupils getting jobs after they leave school?”

My best friend at school couldn’t even think of a question and simply remarked

“nice wallpaper!”

I’m sure schools are v used to kids being kids. Good luck.

Did anyone hear anything from Hampton today?

@Sunshine6363 how did it go? Emails came out very late today, but we had good news and our son has been offered a place. Positively surprised and thrilled at the same time. Hope you and @Ross11 received good news.

Congrats to the boys who got it! My acquaintance said her student got the good news yesterday too.
I have not heard from the school so I guess mine hasn't got in this time....

Thank you @Ross11. It’s worth checking with the school just in case email has got lost. Good luck to your boy.

Thanks. Yes I got the email now. My son also got in!

Congrats @Ross11 , well done to your ds.

Mine did too! I was not expecting him to, so am absolutely delighted! Well done to both your boys too!

Well done @Sunshine6363 and @Ross11. Brilliant news and very happy for all the boys (and families) for their hard work paying off.

Gosh this is eye opening - my DS has a 10plus offer from last year and is due to join next September.
@VLCC - he didn’t find the maths paper tricky - def no simultaneous equations 🤔 - so wondering whether they’ve made it harder this year? He’s just done 11plus grammars and they were def more challenging!
Interested in the comments on sixth form - really interesting.
DS is above average but def not top of his class - so I just wanted to say that they do take those kind of boys. Whether it’s the right school for him is another matter and one we are still considering ourselves.

Congratulations everyone who had success this time round. Any reflections for those of use preparing for 11+ gratefully received.

Also...

The chat here about hot-housing/ being neglected if not an A**pupil etc echoes my own personal experience of the selective school I went to as a child. In planning our approach to secondary schooling, I’ve had to consciously refrain from allowing my own experiences cloud the judgements I make regarding fit for DS - he and I have very different approaches to school/ school work/ competing for attention or with other kids.

@TriTri82 How did your son go in the Hampton 10+? My DS will be sitting it this November & I was searching here for any information I could find!

@LittleMissHappy3 I noticed no-one has replied. Please let me know if I can help. There were a few of us on this thread who ended up getting offers at 10+ and hopefully, between us, we can answer any questions you have.

@JustJuice187 did your ds end up starting at Hampton this year? How is it going?