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PART 3: SW London Girl's Indies 11+ Results, Decisions & Panic Over?

361 replies

MumsRule20 · 26/02/2021 14:27

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WELCOME TO PART 3!!

Previously…

PART 1 started by Oceane11plus in July 2020 for the SW London Girl’s 11+ 2021 cohort (pandemic year).
PART 2 continued the journey (exam pandemic panic).

Both Part 1 & 2 quickly reached the MN quota of 1000 posts!

Will PART 3 be our final episode? Keep supportively posting as we make our final decisions on offers, WL movement & starting Year 7 (hopefully post-pandemic)...

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OP posts:
dinosaurinmybelly · 01/03/2021 11:23

Fabulous news Trialsat11! So delighted that you have had news today.
Fingers crossed for others on the WL for their first choice and good luck to those waiting for state school results later.

WarmAndco3y · 01/03/2021 11:25

@Stircrazyschoolmum
I think the London ones will all be after 5pm. As they use eadmissions.
Good because I won’t be refreshing my emails all day 😅
Hopefully between me leaving work later and driving home the results should be out.

HeliK · 01/03/2021 11:34

@Trialsat11 That’s great news. Congratulations.

Iamsodone · 01/03/2021 11:38

@Trialsat11 congratulations !
were you given an indication about her place on the list at all ?

Trialsat11 · 01/03/2021 11:55

@WarmAndco3y*@Stircrazyschoolmum@helik*@iamsodone@stellagibbons@dinosaurinmybelly Thank you so very much . I'm looking forward to getting an undisturbed sleep today after sleepless nights since the last 2 weeks !

It is definitely one of our top choices and I think it will suit our Sporty DD well .
DH is more keen on Tiffins but I have my doubts on whether firstly we will make the cut and secondly if it is a school suited for mine...

@iamsodone I think she was at the top as we were always told she has a very strong chance of getting an offer if there is movement

Globaliser · 01/03/2021 12:02

@Trialsat11

Our PHS waitlist turned into an offer . So happy for our DD and I’m so glad we don’t have to shift for the other option now Wishing all on the WL all the best . I’m sure there will be many more offers coming through
Congratulations!
MumsRule20 · 01/03/2021 12:09

@Trialsat11 amazing news! What a relief for you and DD. Do glad it all came good. Well done. Lots of celebrating and sleep catch up to do x

OP posts:
Trialsat11 · 01/03/2021 12:17

@MumsRule20 definitely .. the wine will come out in the evening :-)
Did you get to a final decision on the school of choice ?

I was just reading through the old posts and we all have experienced so much joy and misery together without even knowing each other . Kudos to all of us and cheers to many more awaited successes !

Fenou1 · 01/03/2021 12:20

[quote HeliK]@Fenou1 We too have an offer from Croydon High. My DD is at Croydon High Junior school and it is a good school. Though we also have other offers so we are thinking to accept other offers. I think Woldingham and Caterham are more academic compared to Croydon High and also bigger campus as well compared to Croydon High. I heard that Caterham is very good for sports.[/quote]
@HeliK Thank you, well done to your DD, and good luck with the decision. Croydon High (and Woldingham) do seem to take a wider spread of academic abilities than some other schools, but we get the impression they still stretch the most academic. The sport at Caterham is certainly impressive and a draw for many, I'm sure, but our DD's extracurricular interests are much more arts-based so we're not sure that Caterham would cater for her interests as well.

MarshaBradyo · 01/03/2021 12:20

@Trialsat11

Our PHS waitlist turned into an offer . So happy for our DD and I’m so glad we don’t have to shift for the other option now Wishing all on the WL all the best . I’m sure there will be many more offers coming through
Congratulations!
HeliK · 01/03/2021 12:38

@Fenou1 Ya that’s right. Croydon High takes wider spread of mix. Congratulations to your daughter. I agree if your DD is not in sports then not sure about Caterham. My DD is also more on music and arts side. We are also bit confused at the moment. It is not easy to decide.

MumsRule20 · 01/03/2021 13:06

@Trialsat11 Haha enjoy the merriments this eve! Nope, still agonisingly undecided here and v sleep deprived. Awaiting state allocations this eve. DD would prefer our narrowed down Indie option, but I am struggling to fully differentiate between the two as state first choice is high achieving so trying to weigh up if cost, practicalities like journey are worth it for us. Wish it was an easy call to make and feel bad dragging it to the last moment, but needs must. Quietly working this out today to make the final commitment based on many considerations. Tomorrow will be an interesting day is all I can say!

OP posts:
Scorpio1980 · 01/03/2021 13:24

Congratulations for all those amazing offers !
We are still on SPGS waiting list! Anyone else waiting for that too ?

Flossietea · 01/03/2021 13:40

That’s such great news @trialsat11! I’ve been thinking of you. I’m so happy you got PHS!

Iamsodone · 01/03/2021 13:50

@Trialsat11 thank you ! you can relax now !

yellowspanner · 01/03/2021 14:09

Iamsodone, Alleyn's don't seem to make the children put their phones in their lockets although they are not allowed to use them. Our DC has it in their bag.
We have bought DC a laptop but their seems to be a variety of devices.
They use their phones on the school bus to chat and listen to music.
DC couldn't be happier.

southsouthlondon · 01/03/2021 14:28

@Stircrazyschoolmum and @Itisa - we are also caught between Jags and Putney - really like Jags but DD would leave the house just after 7 am which feels a long day - and do really like the smaller/warm/creative feel of Putney - what has tipped you over in favour of PHS? We haven’t been inside either school although have spoken with (happy) parents at both!

Stircrazyschoolmum · 01/03/2021 14:39

@southsouthlondon we really really liked both schools so and if DD had chosen jags we would would have happily gone that route. (Our commutes were pretty much identical.)

So what it boiled down to for us was...

  • gut feel, a busy and buzzy school with lots going on
  • a general 'have a go' spirt where you were encouraged to try lots of new things with no pressure to do well at them - i.e. H teams in sports, novice gymnastics and opportunities to learn a new instrument without having to take exams
  • lots and lots of clubs - not all academic, for example knit and natter, or scrabble club
  • Very close to the river - DD desperate to try rowing which starts end of year 7
  • The new building and its focus on drama and sciences (DD's favourite things) plus lots of DT space (another favourite)
  • very articulate girls at the open events - came across as grounded and well rounded
  • a sense that DD would be very happy and therefore thrive academically almost as a by product. A bigger fish in a smaller pond in one sense.

I'm sure jags is some or all of these things too and like I say, I really liked both but she can only go to one!

TomorrowOnce · 01/03/2021 14:47

Like reading this thread.
Congratulations to all re: WL and hopefully final choices today!
More will come.

@Stircrazyschoolmum - I liked what you wrote about Team H. Remember H = Happy, G = Great, but Team F = Friendship!

Stircrazyschoolmum · 01/03/2021 14:50

@southsouthlondon I forgot one quite big difference that ended up contributing to our decision.. the location of the school in Putney Centre was quite influential. DD could imagine herself hanging out with friends there after school and grabbing a hot chocolate or a burger. The option of a train and a bus meant that she had options coming and going and as she gets older I can see her whizzing in that direction on weekends or after sports events too.

Jags is in beautiful surrounds and a lovely leafy location. The sixth former on our offers event said most girls head home straight after school due to the coaches and are pretty well scattered across a wide area. Again, this suits some.

I suppose its a case of town mouse v country mouse but we could visualise us spending more time in Putney that Dulwich. All personal preference!!

Stircrazyschoolmum · 01/03/2021 14:51

@TomorrowOnce that's a great way of looking at it!

Itisa · 01/03/2021 14:59

Hi all, thanks so much for your responses about Putney.

@Stircrazyschoolmum that's useful information in your PM, thank you so much! @southsouthlondon I'm not sure really - and now having last-minute wobble about it all! Mind made up a couple of nights ago...and then started re-thinking it all...!

We've released all other offers and now it's just between Wimbledon High and Putney High. I know they are very similar, especially being GDST schools, but at the same time there are some subtle differences. Distance-wise we're very slightly closer to Putney but I don't think a difference of 5-10 minutes in commute will be the deal-breaker.

Previous MN posters have provided some useful insights (autumnightsaredrawingin, pink flamingos1 and sandybayley), so been going through these threads.

WHS is the slightly more academic one, possibly more STEM-orientated? However, I believe that historically PHS was the more academic option. And obviously the league tables can go up and down, and in 7 years' time anything can change.

Both have similar size year groups and similar size grounds. DD isn't massively sporty so the hockey vs lacrosse difference isn't very significant.

Love the focus on fun at Putney!

Possibly WHS has better links with a boys schools (i.e. KCS)? Meanwhile, I see from the GSG that the parents' community is very sociable at PHS which I see as a strength as you get to know who your teenager is spending time with.

Love Putney riverside but also love Wimbledon village!

Like the 9 GCSEs at Wimbledon (rather than 10 GCSEs) as feel that takes away some of the pressure during the teenage years. Also like the lack of assigning grades in years 7-8 at Putney as, again, this reduces pressure.

But stuck now! And would love to make a decision as very much aware we are holding onto an offer that could go to another girl.

Just so difficult without seeing inside the bloomin schools!!!

sandybayley · 01/03/2021 15:13

@Itisa - WHS doesn't have particular links with KCS. There is an overlap of siblings between the two schools but there is at PHS as well. WHS, I think, keep their distance a bit as the loss of girls to KCS at 6th form is an annoyance. But that's just my guess.

We had the choice of JAGS, WHS and PHS for DD. Loved JAGS but the journey was too long from SW19. The Thameslink should theoretically be OK but if it goes wrong there aren't many alternatives (it happened on the day of DD's scholarship interview).

We opted for PHS over WHS because it felt a bit more buzzy than WHS at the time. Also WHS felt too local for us as DD had spent her life in Wimbledon town centre and we thought she'd like a slight change of scene. But there's very little in it. DD was very happy at PHS but moved for Sixth Form to go coed.

Stircrazyschoolmum · 01/03/2021 15:23

@itsa I’ve forgotten which year group it’s in but PHS collaborate with SPGS on an innovation/enterprise project at somepoint.

Jags and Dulwich college do some co -curricula things together too.

Itisa · 01/03/2021 15:27

Thank you so much @sandybayley and @Stircrazyschoolmum - everything helps with the decision-making, which now needs to be done very soon!

The MN community is fantastic! So glad I found this :)

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