SW London boys 11+ 2022 entry

[Sweetnhappy]

Hi, my DS is in year 5 and we're struggling with not being able to see schools in person. We're having a think about where to apply and at the moment KCL is a favourite geographically but we haven't seen it so don't have a feel for the vibe. We went to see Hampton and KGS before the first lockdown without DS and liked them both. The Emanuel tours booked so quickly when they were released a few weeks ago, I think they are releasing more slots soon. Just wondering if anyone can give us a feeling of the vibe of these schools. Does anyone know what is happening with the headteacher at Kings? They seem to have an acting head at the moment.

Thanks for resurrecting this thread, slight name change I can't work out how to get back into the other account. We've got Hampton coming up this weekend. Then Emanuel and KCL next week. Whitgift the week after. Only KGS left to do in January and that's done from home.

@WCC1985, which schools are you comparing it to? While the maths wasn’t as hard as I (or DS) was expecting, I didn’t think it was easy either. I think the English paper is actually a good test of understanding and analysis and the long answers would give plenty of room to differentiate between boys.

For instance, Dulwich and City of London Boys are both much more difficult (even city of london english exam is multiple choice, many answers are very similar and hard to pick, while KCS paper is more about retrieving facts/words etc, and seems easier to grasp).

City of London Girls' papers are even far more difficult. Wonder what scores are they expecting, or do they expect girls to do much better?

I don’t think the English is easy. I think it stretches the children on vocabulary and understanding of the text. I am doubtful as to whether KCS expect full marks on any of their papers. The benchmark will surely depend on how the cohort performs. Does anyone recall how many pupils are called back for interview? I recall 600 odd usually sit the exam.

I believe around 150 are called for interview. Ultimately, 60 boys join in year 7.

Thanks @Jumpalicious, that makes sense - I assume they make say 75 or so offers, so call back about twice as many.

@Gettingcloser21, I agree the English is not easy to do well. I suspect it’s not just about the marks, but also about how they express themselves and convey their ideas.

Also, it’s possible the VR paper could contain some of the types of multiple choice questions others include in their English papers, given that they set it themselves.

DS finished the ISEB today. Not sure NVR went that well, but he did feel he got some challenging questions in the others, which I’m taking as a good sign.

Suspect they will make quite a few more than 75 offers for 60 places. Despite being ‘top tier’ they are still competing with quite a few other schools.

@Hongkonggal

Suspect they will make quite a few more than 75 offers for 60 places. Despite being ‘top tier’ they are still competing with quite a few other schools.

They operate a waiting list, like all other schools. They will NOT take more than 60 boys. Just like the Super Selectives. They will over offer by a bit tho. They also ask the boys which other schools they are applying to, and then hedge their bets on which one the child will pick (eg based on location).

Does anyone know roughly when St Paul’s issue the stage 1 results? There doesn’t seem to be much news on this although I know the latest date for completing the ISEB is 6 Dec.

Hello all, did anyone sit the Hampton 11+ today? ds had his heart set on the school but found the maths paper hard and missed a lot of questions, which I suspect will put him out of the running as it’s so competitive! Sounds like they really made it a supportive experience for the boys though. Wondering how others found it?

Good question @Gettingcloser21 my DS sat it last week at his school, but we have friends whose DS’s are sitting on the 6th at the school. I’m estimating before Xmas hols? Gives some notice time before the second stage?

Hi my boy sat the 11+ at Hampton as well. He said Math was hard too and missed few questions as well. He also said VR was also tricky. I thought they put some NVR but there was no NVR section in the exam.

Yes ds said VR was tricky too. He was happy with the image for creative writing though which is normally his weakest area! His first ever exam, so very proud of him for managing it either way. Does anyone know how many boys sat?

@Blandpedant don’t be disheartened.
A lot of boys, if not all, would have found the Hampton Maths paper challenging. My ds did the 10+ last year and came out saying the same thing. He finished the paper but had to miss a few along the way and he ended up getting a place... The Hampton paper is notorious for being very hard to finish. If you look at other Hampton threads, you’ll see you’re not alone. Best of luck to all the boys who sat today’s exam. They’ve done so well to complete it.

Is the Hampton math paper much more difficult than the sample on its website?

@WCC1985 where have you obtained a sample from as they specifically say they do not release these.

I think @WCC1985 means the three example questions on the website? From what I can gather the paper starts reasonably straightforward, and covers a real range, but includes some which are considerably more complicated than those on the website. To be expected I suppose, as they have to identify the scholarship candidates.

Thanks @Gettingcloser21, and congrats on your son’s place!

@Blandpedant

Hello all, did anyone sit the Hampton 11+ today? ds had his heart set on the school but found the maths paper hard and missed a lot of questions, which I suspect will put him out of the running as it’s so competitive! Sounds like they really made it a supportive experience for the boys though. Wondering how others found it?

I think it's meant to be hard tbh. My son sat it too but won't say anything about it.

Thanks @Blandpedant

What exams does everyone have to look forward to this week? KCS on Saturday for us. They’re very cagey on the VR.

Hi all, my DS sat on Saturday too. He couldn’t finish the maths paper, and is usually very strong there. He found it tricky and said a child asked the invigilator if the question had been worded correctly because it was so confusing! Love kids 😂. DS found the VR much trickier than the Tiffins (which he seemed to be quite happy with) was also quite pleased with his story.... all in all we were prepared for it to be tough and it was...

@Blandpedant I vaguely remember staff at the tour saying about half of those sitting will be asked to interview, and then said about 400 boys. So I’m guessing between 800-1000 will take the test.

@Mumchumof2 that is funny about the boy raising his hand. I also understand no working was to be shown on the paper, which is what they did in the 10+ too. All working out is done on scrap paper. How do they award marks for the 6/7/8 mark questions if the child’s method is correct but accuracy in the final step is wrong?

@Gettingcloser21 , I don't know the answer but from my ds's class I know the maths scholars get near full marks on the maths entrance exam paper. It's fine to not finish the maths paper and get an offer which was the case for my ds a few years ago.

Very good question...I always encouraged DS to show working out as marks can be given there 🥴
I guess they just want the answer and clean papers to mark 🙈