Grey Coat... what are they looking for?

[ClaireSage]

Hi,

I posted about Grey Coat Hospital school before. Still unsure how a child is accepted.

DD took the test this past week at her primary school. It was a short 20 minute non-verbal exam.

Do they only go by the test? Do they do interviews as well? She is applying via Church of England.

What kind of child are they looking for exactly?

Thank you

I don't have direct experience but DN is there and their admission policy looks very similar to Lady Margaret's School which I do have experience of
They've carved up their 136 places (after taking in account siblings)
Church of England Places 88
Other Church Places 28
Open Places 20
and in each of those places they will take 25:50:25 Band A:B:C
so I suspect you daughter sat a banding test.

All things being equal, places are allocated on a who-lives-nearest-to-the-school-basis.
There are certainly no interviews at LMS - it has to stick to its strict allocation policy in accordance with National Admissions Rules and interviewing goes against this. They came unstuck a few years ago when it was reported in the press that they'd been been cherry picking the brightest candidates!

Have you read their admissions policy - it's all laid out here....
www.gch.org.uk/MainFolder/documents/Admissions/2020-2021/Admissions-Policy-2020-2021.pdf

They’re not ‘looking’ for any particular type of child and the school does not interview girls. The test your daughter sat was a banding test so that the school has a comprehensive academic intake.

Great. Thank you.

Grey Coat mainly decides on girls who live closest to the school?
But I do hear that quite a few girls commute an hour so I’m a little confused.

I email the school but hardly ever receive a response! This is the only school that does not respond. Has anyone else experienced this?

Thanks again.

Looking at the admissions policy I can imagine the language places could include those from further afield. Or of course those who have moved after joining the school.

I see.

Does the school usually not respond to emails/calls?

Hi OP. I have a DD in Yr7. Girls come from all over for church places - distance comes into it - all the church places are allocated on distance. Language places can come from anywhere. OPen places usually only go to those that live on the doorstep of the school. We know a child that went for an open place who lives only a few streets away but didn't get in.

The school are rubbish and replying to admission questions. That said, my daughter is very happy there so far.

@MrPanks

Amazing. Thank you!
Happy your daughter is enjoying her school. I do wish Grey Coat would get back to me though.

Hello,
regarding siblings - my interpretation is sibling gain a place IF they are COE… it’s not a given you get a place if have a sibling who may have gotten in on Langland is not COE?

State-funded schools cannot interview applicants (only specialist 6th forms like King's math schools can https://www.kingsmathsschool.com/admissions).

The admission criteria are fairly clear and have already been posted. Have you read them? What is unclear?
Reading between the lines, your daughter did not apply for a language place, right?

15 places are assigned based on the language test, regardless of distance (distance matters only if two girls have the same score, with the one living the closest getting priority).

So the girls who travel from afar will be a combination of girls who got in with the language test and girls who used to live close to the school but have moved far (including families who lived close when one daughter got in but moved far when another daughter applied).

For reference, the British Humanist Association has for years fought a battle against the injustice of faith schools, calling out how they are de facto socially selective, and initiating a number of successful legal challenges which have put an end to the worst practices of the past:

• Grey Coat Hospital had to publicly apologise for asking for donation in their acceptance letters, with wording implying that donations were not optional https://schoolsweek.co.uk/exclusive-gove-and-pm-school-made-forbidden-donation-request/
• The admission policy of the London Oratory was deemed illegal, because it asked for parents' baptism certificates and favoured those families which gave support to the church, "such as flower-arranging" - which de facto meant rich families which made donations to the Church https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-28319015

It is no coincidence that, even after these changes, the pupils on free school meals are 12% at the Oratory (which applies a lottery not based on distance) - while, in fairness, 24% at Grey Coat, which is more in line with local and national averages.