SW London boys, 11+ grammars and independents

[Jumpalicious]

Hello, I know there’s an excellent thread for the girls. Not sure if there’s one for the boys? Anyone want to come on board? I know we can’t divulge details of round two grammars since there will be late sitters, but was thinking more of a support thread. Any takers?

Just make sure your to tell your son to sits at the front of the coach when he starts😄. There is a real coach etiquette... when my eldest started he made the mistake of sitting too near the back and was told to move when the older boys got on at the next stop. The back he was told is for the older important boys... Haha it is good to know these things.

Is good also that they run a late coach in case boys do an after school thing.

Just wondering does anyone know how many went for 13+ entry and how many places they have this year? Thanks

See these are the sort of comments that worry me....Hampton is our current favourite but my DS is about as un-sporty as they come! So I'm not sure if he'll actually fit in. DS genuinely wouldn't care if he never played rugby, football or cricket ever again and probably couldn't name a famous player of any of them even if you put a gun to his head!

I loved the general vibe of the school (was lucky enough to look around it back in 2019 when such things were possible) and the down to earth honest approach of the head teacher and staff - but it does worry me that if we accept the offer there, DS will be among a load of sports mad boys. He'll be miserable if he is.

FlyingPandas don't worry my eldest is not sporty at all and he is very happy at Hampton. It caters for all.

Yes I agree Hampton has all types, it's a lovely school and full of down to earth boys.

Thank you both that's good to hear!

I don’t really get why that would worry you - all schools will have all sorts of boys - Hampton I’m sure has it’s fair share of boys who are not sporty - all boys are different

@Ptarmigan68 I heard approx 500 for 40 places for 13+ this year. Half were invited for interview.

Has anyone heard from Ibstock?

I have experience of Hampton and my history, classics and English loving child (only one from his primary ) is flourishing .
Desperate to be back there face to face .
Boys are kindhearted and have a love of learning .He has so much to say about lessons so excited -so many new experiences .
Wide variety of boys where everybody can find there crowd .

@245jammydoggers this is so lovely to hear. Our hearts our screaming Hampton and I’ve only heard positive things from parents. Thank you

@Summertime2 Ibstock offer arrived in the post this morning- good luck!

@Jumpalicious the 11+ is always tortuous. Well done everyone for getting through it!

Does anyone on here have any experience of how easy it is for boys to settle in at 13+ at Hampton? We did a different route for eldest child. I would be interested to know how it was for anyone who had a son starting at 13+. They mix them all up after second year and I gather not all are too enthusiastic about that...Thx

@Singingrain1223, @Goingcrazy101, @Ptarmigan68, @FlyingPandas, @Sterou, @Iffiyas

Thank you very much for your kind words. Likewise, congratulations to your boys on getting the offers in this most unusual year.

DS had a little cry about Trinity ("But what have I done wrong? I answered all their questions and did all the 'social fake' stuff so well!" with great big eyes of his), but otherwise I think he is OK. He wasn't that married into CFC or Emanuel, his main objective is to go somewhere he can pursue serious learning with like-minded children, and his measure of that is how well they rank up on the league tables...

Now we just need to decide whether we will take KGS on their kind offer or brave the grammar route...

@GrammarHopeful KGS is a wonderful school and we have heard of many that didn’t get interviews/get offers including ourselves. Well done to him.

Sterou, thanks for your useful update. What’s the plan for your son now then. The whole proceeds stinks doesn’t it?! Out of interest what were your sons CAT scores as that will really help someone next year when they ate deciding which schools to apply for... thanks

Think you're on the wrong thread @Alexendra1234

Hi all, we are in a real struggle picking between three schools, including Emanuel (close to where we live), Reeds (close to where we want to move to), and St Johns (seems fantastic, but concerned a bit too far away). I nice problem to have I know, but the process of chosing seems even more stressful than the exam and results process!

A question on the sports side - i know that St Johns tries to be very inclusive and help all children get into a school team, would be interested in views on that for Emanuel and Reeds - ie is it only the best kids that make an A and B team that get to play weekend sport? What if DS is good but not a superstar?

Also a question for Reeds parents with DS's who get the train - how do they find the walk from the station to the school? On a dark winter evening it does not seem very appealing!

@Thisonesfortheroad,

Hi, I was reading your comment and if my assumption is right, your child is in Y5 and you are testing the water. He is also in a state school, if I am correct on this, then this is my opinion.

Top tier in a state school doesn't mean anything in top selective schools in this are, sadly said, but a fact. I work in the maintained sector and have a very academic child in the independent sector.

In short, depending on the school, your child needs tutoring. A very small %, and I mean a very small % of children make it in their own steam into these selective schools. Your local state school can always recommend your child for the free tutoring programme at Hampton Boys, if nothing else, it will give your child an idea of what is expected at the Tiffin's boys exam.

We have opted for no tutoring outside school as my DC is a very academic school and my personal approach is that in the right school for him, he will make it on his own steam, but that has been a hard call to make, particularly when pretty much all of his classmates are being tutored for the top schools in England. We are sticking to our position and so far it has been the right approach for us.

Tiffin Boy, you HAVE to tutor for that school from Y3, if your boy is in Y5 it might be too late, but you know how your boy goes. You need to pick a Tiffin tutor to get him up to scratch.

I know a lot of parents are going to disagree with my opinion, but it is just my opinion based on my field of work and my personal experience with a highly academic child in his own right.

Also, check his CATS results, most of the top schools in the area are looking for a 130 as a minimal result and if your school doesn't do one, you can expect his next school to do it as part of his entrance exams.

If your child has failed the KGS 10+ exam, I don't think he will make it through phase 1 at Tiffin unless he starts some serious tutoring right now.

You might want to have a look at some "less academic" independent schools if you have your heart set on the independent sector. Said this, none of our friends coming from top set state schools without tutoring got a placement offered in the schools they applied. BUT it is NOT impossible despite me painting a very dire picture.

ATOM, BOFFA are good online tutoring websites, but you might want to find an online tutor that has the experience on 11+ exams to do the tutoring. Private tutors for these exams are not cheap nor in abundance, but make sure the person has 11+ exam entrance experience as it is a whole different ball game.

Good luck!

@Thisonesfortheroad
I know a ton of state school ( and prep school) kids who didn’t get 10plus places at KGS and Hampton and got 11plus places- much better odds.
I would also completely disagree about not getting through the Tiffin first stage if you don’t get KGS 10plus and about tutoring from Year 3 to be honest! Year 4 is the absolute earliest around here and that’s generally because when a slot comes up you take it! Perfectly possible to ‘tutor’ yourself if your child will listen to you!

Also- when we did KGS 10 plus they have really good feedback about quartile, what to work on, whether 11 plus was doable etc so well worth getting the feedback. It was the first exam DC had ever done and they were only 9 and a half! A year later it was a totally different experience and having sat the 10plus was really good practice.

The norm for tutoring to get into RGS Guildford is to start at the beginning of Year 5, I believe (although the school will tell you it is not necessary). Whatever the school may say, I still think children from the state sector need experience of sitting timed assessments under exam conditions to level the playing field with the prep school applicants.

"Whatever the school may say, I still think children from the state sector need experience of sitting timed assessments under exam conditions to level the playing field with the prep school applicants."

Yes I agree with this. DS is in top sets at a state primary and is very academically able, but I would have felt really uncomfortable putting him forward for independent school exams with no tutoring at all. Exam technique practice is essential no matter how able they are. Experienced 11+ tutors know what they are doing and can be great at building a child's confidence and making it fun - I also found it very helpful, as a parent, to get guidance and reassurance in terms of helping DS with general preparation as the exam date drew nearer.

DS didn't have a huge amount of formal tutoring - he had one-hour sessions roughly once a month from August 2020 onwards, so maybe four or five sessions in total? - but it was definitely worth doing.

How's everyone doing with their decision making? It's still looking like Hampton for us but we want to wait and attend both the online welcome events (both schools are running them on the same evening, though fortunately not at exactly the same time ) before we make a final decision and release our RGS place.