Guildford High School 11+ Results

[waitinganxiously984]

Does anyone know when Guildford High School send out their offers this year? Is anyone else waiting anxiously?

I guess you will receive the result this Saturday. Good luck.

Do you think it will be that quick? The interviews were on the 8th....although the written test was last November....

We are also waiting on the GHS result... @violinandpiano where did you get your intel from? I checked the website and it didn’t give a date....it makes it harder when every day might be “the day” to get food news or bad...

They sent the result out on Saturday in the middle of January before. I just guess ahh.

@violinandpiano I think it might be later this year as the interviews were only on the 8th....and they haven’t announced anything on their website. I am too scared to call up admissions and just ask....

In a normal year, the exam and interviews are done on the first Friday of the school term in January, and then the letters sent out two weeks later (arriving on a Saturday). Had this been the usual process, the exam would have been last Friday, so letters would have been due to arrive Saturday 23rd. Given the unusual circumstances this year, I really would just phone the school and ask.

"within 2 weeks of the interview"....so posted this Friday, with us on Saturday 23rd.

Yes, it was sent out yesterday.

No one from my prep school has received anything yet? Did anyone on this forum get a letter?

I got it early today from the post. Good luck to those waiting

Yes, I know friends who applied and received letters today. Esher/Cobham area. I’m sure you’ll receive on Monday. Annoying that you’ve had to wait longer though.

We haven’t received anything either - I have a bad feeling that they send the rejections out later? So annoying to have to stress about this all weekend...

@dozymum2020 did your friends who received post today all get a “yes”? I was thinking perhaps the rejections go out in another batch? We are in claygate so clearly no issue with the post?

Yeses from those I know, but I’m pretty sure they send out yeses and nos together so don’t read anything into not having received anything today.

Sadly it was a no for DD...however she received an offer from Tormead with an academic scholarship and also an offer from St Cats with an invitation to interview for an academic scholarship so that has helped cushion the blow. Must admit I was a little surprised that DD did so well academically at St Cats and Tormead yet failed to even make the waitlist at Guildford? Is Guildford hugely more academic or do they look for a specific type of girl? DD is hugely sporty and so perhaps not suited to a school so focused on academics.....It’s a tough old process isn’t it. Well done to all the girls who did get offers though!!

@Waitinganxiously984 sorry to hear you didn’t get the results you may have wanted. It is tough! The process this year has been odd, remember that GHS did a different (CEM test) to Tormead (ISEB year) and St Cats (well, my DD still doesn’t know what that was all about!), so perhaps your DD is more suited to doing well in a different testing system.

This year certainly isn’t the norm. Also more parents are moving to independent education after the last 12 months and GHS has a wider, national standing, so will attract kids from all over the South, unlike the other two who are more local, so perhaps a much bigger group of academic applicants this year?

I did think, however, that your ‘cushioning the blow’ thought might come across a bit ‘meh’ and perhaps I’ve taken it out of context... GHS is in the top ten in the country for results, Tormead and St Cats are circa top 50 - girls that get into either of these two schools should be incredibly proud of themselves, as it’s very hard and the bars are set so much higher than in the other 250+ Independent schools below them.

If you look at the TM & St Cats results from previous years they are very good so don’t panic about either one of these from an academic point of view, their university destinations speak for themselves.

When faced with such an academically excellent trio of schools locally, for us we will pick (A) whatever she gets offered! But then (B) where she will fit in and be happy. My DD is smart but will not do well if thrown into the rapids of an intense academic machine. For me we loved Tormead, great results, excellent sport, brand new athletics and cricket facilities being built imminently and even GB winners at gymnastics. Plus the new head seems great and has big visions drawn from his experience at a seriously successful academic London school. At cats for us was nice too, we enjoyed visiting as it has a country feel, but haven’t been impressed in the leadership this year and the mood music is meh at our prep. But who knows!

Good luck and grab a scholarship, we live in such a outstanding place for girls education! Well done! X

Hey PP, I found the GHS process (As expected) impersonal and cold. They don’t need to woe you at all, they know they’re amazing academically and they will draw the applicants. We personally found the Tormead process a positive one, the test is a test, but the interviews and other communications from open days to follow ups has be very personal and all focused on my DD and how they believe they can nurture the ‘whole kid’ should she do well in the admissions process.

Perhaps your DD didn’t quite tick the profile that GHS wanted, but you certainly ticked St.Cats and TM’s! These two schools are strong, lots of people don’t get it, lots! So they can’t both be independently-wrong at offering your DD a scholarship, she should be super proud and just take whichever one makes her feel happiest. Good luck!

@pollytastic - thank-you for your kind words...we are indeed very grateful for the offers we have and I am sure DD will embrace whichever school she goes to. We really are spoiled for choice in the Guildford area and the university destinations from all three schools are fantastic.

Between St Cats and Tormead I would definitely have said that St Cats would be our preference but I must admit I was quite disappointed with how the pre-test situation turned out. I also don't know much about how they dealt with the pandemic and remote learning but I would be interested in finding out more (as there have been a few comments that suggest it wasn't good). I always thought the sports at St Cat definitely had the edge over Tormead (with the exception of gymnastics) but I am open to learning more! LU (where the new head has come from) isn't a particularly sporty school so I am not sure if that will be where the priorities will lie in the future? Its a shame about this pandemic as at times like this a second look would be most beneficial!

@nathbiker I know what you mean about the GHS process - it was very cold and you definitely get the impression that you’d have to impress them and not vice versa! Personally I like to be wooed!! 😂

@Waitinganxiously984 congrats!
We haven't had a GHS offer either, but did get a St Cats and Tormead like you. StCats Lockdown provision wise, my Neigbour's DD goes there and my daughter was getting a 100% better, online education from her primary than StCats we’re offering. In fact they joked about sending her round to actually learn something with my DD! Lockdown provision isn’t everything though. What sport is your DD into, as long as she doesn’t want to be an Olympic performer, all three schools have a solid sporting provision.

Latymer is not known for its sporting prowess generally.... but it’s very well known for investing heavily in girls sport. They have excellent (girls) rowing, rugby, swimming and netball teams. Plus the new Urnfield sporting facility... seems like sport is definitely one of the focuses. St cats on the other hand does have the outdoor space being a non-city based school, which always gives it a sporty ‘feel‘.

My best mates daughter didn’t get GHS either, just been checking in with her. She also didn’t get Tormead either, but did get StCats. She’s a bit disappointed that she won’t have a choice now, but like @PollyTastic said, St Cats is a good school.

@Waitinganxiously984 agree totally that Tormead hasn’t focused much on sport in the past. They’re obviously great at gymnastics! Although a friend of mine works at the Junior School was giving me some inside gossip over a zoom-wine a few weeks back... Theres definitely a shift towards sport investment at TM, plus I think they’ll be some other ‘exciting’ things coming too. I think one of the first things the new head actually did was sort the girls out with an entirely new fitness suite, which I think is being built this summer. So it’s hard to gauge isn’t it!
I guess you’ve got to go with your gut (Oh and what DD wants!)! On and well done on at least one guaranteed scholarship, maybe two’, So good luck with the StCats interview!

@nathbiker oh my lord that sounds terrible! I can't believe they got away with doing nothing. I wonder if that was the junior school as I have another friend with a daughter at the senior school that said the provision was great after a few teething problems at the start? Difficult to know what to believe. I thought my prep schools online provision was rubbish while some of my friends have thought is has been great - I suppose it depends on your expectations. In terms of sport, she is into it all and plays netball, cricket, hockey and lacrosse at club level. She has applied and been shortlisted for a sports scholarship at another school (in the opposite direction!). I wish she had applied for a sports scholarship at Tormead but we were a very late applicant as we were already sitting the ISEB for another school!!

@strandguildford that's great that TM are investing more into sports - when I visited last year the sports facilities looked like they really needed to be upgraded. I have a DS too and after looking round the fantastic facilities at boys schools it probably felt particularly underwhelming. Thats also interesting that your friend's daughter got a "yes" from St Cats and a "no" from Tormead - maybe a sign of changes in the pipeline. From my prep school Tormead has always been seen to be the "banker" school but maybe this is changing?

@waitinganxiously984 the lockdown online learning provision at St Cats this academic year has been excellent.

@Italianna good to hear they sorted themselves out! @waitinganxiously984 there’s always a mixed set of opinions on everything, guess it’s all about what you have to compare it to. Like Italianna said, If it’s been good this year, that is great news - after all if the general consensus that last lockdown it was crap, is true - then they really had to pull it out the bag this time round!

That’s a good mix of sports she likes, so she’ll find something anywhere with such a broad, healthy interest. I agree that Tormead, like StCats, have always been perceived as the backup to a GHS application, however I’ve always felt they were standalone decent schools too and if they weren’t in local competition with each other they’d be seen as the ‘best in the area’ type schools. Tormead wise, always thought it was a good school with shed loads of potential, perhaps we should watch that space!

@waitinganxiously984 totally get you! Boys schools have always pushed the boat out on sports, time for girls to catch up I say! If you haven't seen it this is the new, cricket (with pavilion), hockey, football and rugby and athletics facilities TM are getting, its off site, so a 5-10 minute walk, or 1 minute by their shuttle busses.... But like most inner city schools, pros and cons come with space, and most have their larger sporting facilities off-site. The site is owned by Guildford County School, so they will get shared use, with a very long lease, with Tormead getting the prime slots, Saturday Mornings and early evenings etc.... as the'yre paying for it (about £3million is the rumour)! The rest of the time, late evenings and Sundays, Tormead are giving it away for community club use. So a step in the right direction and certainly better than when my DDs went many moons ago!

www2.guildford.gov.uk/publicaccess/files/4331C41167610C029A824D7263387DFF/pdf/20_P_00825-PROPOSED_SITE_LAYOUT-1440448.pdf