Sevenoaks year 7 entry

[WCC1985]

Our family will move to UK shortly and will settle in or around London. Sevenoaks seems to rank very high in all types of ranking except A level results (because it does IB), and is also quite famous outside UK (perhaps because it has boarding). However, when I look into the FAQ of its admission section, it says only about 3 applying for 1 space, and it is also very adamant to say some would actually go for grammars and thus seems competition is not very intense vs those in London (I read in MN many lower ranking schools are 6-8 times oversubscribed).

Is it really relative easy to get into and would that be because it is not in London? The university placement stats and IB scores are very good, and would this be mainly due to strong intake in the 6th form and those from boarding students that get into in year 13?

I’m not sure how much help I’m going to be as we don’t send our DC to Sevenoaks nor have we gone private. But I do live in Sevenoaks so in view of it being a less competitive school to get into this has probably got quite a lot to do with it being not a particularly popular local option. This is a Grammar County with local very high performing Super Selective’s (Judd & Skinners for boys and Tonbridge Grammar School for Girls for rather obviously the girls!). Understandably, the majority of parents who do want their children going to academically high performing school, given the lack of difference in academic performance between the likes of Judd & Sevenoaks go for the option that isn’t going to cost them. And why wouldn’t they? Going Private is more common when DC have failed the 11+ and parents don’t want the local secondary modern .. & in this instance they’d go for Radnor House school. Wally Hall (Walthamstow Hall) is a more popular option than Sevenoaks for girls, it performs well academically and is cheaper.

Isn't Sevenoaks School has a better ranking than Walthamstow and Radnor? On FT, Sevenoaks rank 11 vs Walthamstow at 81 and Radnor at nowhere.

Anything negative about Sevenoaks?

If the best performing students won't choose Sevenoaks, may I assume that its ranking and strong university placements are mainly due to its boarders that come in at year 9 or 6th form?

Most of the intake from prep schools will enter at year 9 plus overseas students. At year 7 most applicants would be grammar candidates, from state schools and local prep schools up to 11. As it is not a cheap school, an offer of a grammar place is attractive. They probably over offer as a result.

It is quite surprise to know that it is not very popular there, as the school is quite famous outside the UK (among the boarding community in particular).

It is not unpopular but IB schools are still a bit niche in UK and there are plenty of alternatives. It is academically selective. They probably have a very proactive marketing department with agents abroad.

I had thought this is a good alternative to London private schools (those of similar ranking) as competition seems much less, and as I heard daily commute to central London is viable.

Yes Sevenoaks outperforms Wally Hall but not hugely so and Wally Hall is cheaper without the big cohort of International boarders. It appeals to parents wanting single sex education and a more local cohort of friends for their girls. The DC going to Radnor locally will be the ones who either failed the 11+ or didn’t take it - so as above of the (v small) cohort of parents going Private for Secondary locally, it’ll get the kids who’s parents who do not want the local Secondary Modern. Admittedly the DC going to Radnor would unlikely to have got into Sevenoaks but Radnor and Wally Hall seem to be the 2 most popular options from my observations for local parents who have gone Private. But this is a well off area where parents are largely choosing not to go Private.

Honestly, I’ve not heard anything negative about Sevenoaks school and the pupils I’ve met around the town are polite and well behaved. But it’s just not a popular local option! The children heading to Grammars are just as likely to have well off professional parents as the DC at Sevenoaks. Coaching/tutoring for Grammars here often starts around Year 4 and a red mist of stress and anxiety descends at this time of year at Kent Test & results time over well off parents!

As for it being a viable option from central London, yes it’s 30 minutes into Charing Cross & stops before at London Bridge. There is also a stopping train which stops virtually everywhere (I’m exaggerating here but it is slow!) in South London which is usually packed full of commuting Private school children). But if you didn’t live in South London and your child had to take the tube to Charing Cross, then the train down and then the bus from Sevenoaks train station to the school it could actually work out to be a very long daily journey. My DD has a long daily commute and quite honestly with the daily homework load she has by the time they reach Friday they can be pretty exhausted.

I've known a few hop over the border from Surrey to Sevenoaks as day pupils but doubt many would commute from London.

Fee paying schools cannot be the most popular for the obvious reason: they are fee paying. Unfortunately it is not really everyone’s cup of tea. It is very wrong to assume only 11 plus candidates who do not get into grammar go to indies. There will be few. But remember sending kids to private is lifestyle as well. So majority if do not get a grammar place go to local comps. Only those who can afford a private ( and yes there are bursaries and nominal scholarships, but can be bit of a hit and miss) choose private. But good private schools offer lots of other facilities and can be very strong in sports, music, drama. Academically as well they can turn around kids from mid to better performing with their resources, smaller class sizes. Many parents with bright all round kids choose private for this reason as well. Communication between school and parents usually will be very good as obviously parents are paying for it. It is unfair to compare a fee paying school with non fee paying ones, be it grammar or comprehensives. OP if you choose private, there is separate indie school ranks you can look into. Popular ones have individual strentghts. You choose one that serves your criteria.

It is an amazing school and not easy to get into. Perhaps look at the past papers on the website. Many people just can’t afford the very expensive fees, but I know a number of children who go there and they all passed 11 plus very easily. So the standard is high.

I am a City lawyer grammar school educated - most of my colleagues are sending their children to schools like Sevenoaks and can see a vast difference in what they are getting in terms of opportunities to what we did. However, clearly without family money or a big City job who can afford 24k per year per child these days.

@annaseal, if ‘ It is very wrong to assume only 11 plus candidates who do not get into grammar go to indies.’ is in reference to my comment about Radnor House then I’m not sure you have properly read what I’ve written! It’s an option a handful of parents I know locally in Sevenoaks have taken as they don’t want their DC going to the Secondary Modern and it’s unlikely these DC would have got into any highly selective school, indie or state.

At selection time, parents naturally do compare both the fee and non fee paying options.. and it’s a process in which the seemingly more advantageous Private option might not actually win if there are very high performing non fee paying options which are popular with parents in a similar demographic to yourself. But hands up, I don’t really buy the whole lifestyle, added benefits arguments.. I’m ex Public School and quite honestly I don’t think this has added a great deal to my life!

@Thejoyofslippers 😊 no offence, I have not quoted any ones opinion. So chill. Its an open forum where OP wants others to express their opinion and hence I did. Lets not argue with each others educational background and see if we can help someone who really need some as I can understand how stressful this entire process of choosing a school is for our kids. Going through this process myself second time now. Feel so stressed even when I am in this country and has the opportunity to have friends and families around and can do school visits to understand the suitability of any particular school. Cannot imagine this if I am actually not in the country at all

Does a big group of overseas boarders put off locals? Not just Sevenoaks but other boarding schools too?

@Thejoyofslippers

As for it being a viable option from central London, yes it’s 30 minutes into Charing Cross & stops before at London Bridge. There is also a stopping train which stops virtually everywhere (I’m exaggerating here but it is slow!) in South London which is usually packed full of commuting Private school children). But if you didn’t live in South London and your child had to take the tube to Charing Cross, then the train down and then the bus from Sevenoaks train station to the school it could actually work out to be a very long daily journey. My DD has a long daily commute and quite honestly with the daily homework load she has by the time they reach Friday they can be pretty exhausted.

I am actually thinking of the reverse: we live in Sevenoaks and my husband commutes to Central London daily. He already got a job, and the enrvironment in Sevenoaks seems very nice, as I was told.

@annaseal, i don’t think I was arguing with your educational background (seeing as I’ve no idea what it is!) but fair does, I’m having a rubbish week and apologies if I misread you and was a little strident! Yes it’s a horrible process and so hard to know if you are getting it right or not. Best wishes and go with your guts ladies!

And welcome to Sevenoaks @WCC1985! Yes it is very nice, good luck with the move. In terms of whether a big group of overseas boarders putting off locals, I heard it mentioned as an off putting factor by someone local who looked at it for their DC as a day pupil but that could have just been them. Perhaps others will have a better idea on this but I would assume that would depend on the percentages of day v boarders?

My DS is in the around top 10% or so ability range (my guess really based on the few Atom tests he had done, though I will have a clearer picture after landing in UK), and I was advised not to have any real hope for grammar schools or top independents in London. So sevenoaks appeal to me (again my guess that the entry hurdle may be a bit lower).

If say at this ability range, can he try Kent grammars, and if so, any grammar (boys or co-ed) can he realistically target at this part of Kent?

Or may be top 15% (not 10%) ability range. The standards in UK may be higher.

We don’t live in Sevenoaks but South East London and so know people with children at Dulwich independent schools, Sevenoaks, Central London schools eg Westminster/St Pauls, Highgate etc and lots of Bromley, Bexley and Kent grammar schools and Whitgift/Trinity. My observation for what it is worth - keep your options open and apply to various schools and do enough preparation focussing on exact nature of exams at your favourite schools. Yes, London schools are very oversubscribed but some people also apply to lots rather than just 1 or 2.

The kids I personally know at Sevenoaks also got into grammar schools. Just passing the Kent test or Bexley test if you are in catchment for Kent or Bexley grammar schools is far easier than getting into superselective grammar schools like St Olaves, Henrietta Barnet or Tiffin.
So if you are local in Kent, yes Kent grammar schools easier to get into and a top
10 per cent child with enough preparation “should” be fine. You can’t always guarantee on the day. Personally I doubt there are many children at Sevenoaks school who would have failed the Kent test. It is a very academic school.

I would agree that it’s unlikely that many Sevenoaks pupils would have failed the Kent test. If they’d taken it that is.

Re London grammars, not that I’ve ever been through the process but were you considering sending your DC to a London grammar from Sevenoaks then OP? Would you have been in catchment down in Kent? There are obviously Out of Area kids coming down to Kent grammars but I don’t know if any going the other way!

Re boys grammars are you looking for 2022 entry? If so the Kent Test was last month with results out shortly so you will have missed that for next years entry. Quite honestly I’m not sure how you would go about applying at this point. There are the odd places that come up in Year though but they go to waiting lists.

If it’s not 2022 entry you are looking at then it depends on what part of Sevenoaks you live in I think. The PP is quite right, the Kent Grammars are easier to get into than say a Henrietta Barnet but how ‘easy’ (around 25% of children pass the Kent test) will depend on whether you are looking at a Super Selective as v an ‘ordinary’ grammar.

From Sevenoaks the closest boys Super Selective is Judd in Tonbridge. While you’ll be ‘in area’ your DS will still need a high score. It’s very high performing and in DDs class on 2 boys who passed the Kent test got in.
Skinners is another boys Super Selective and again an easy commute from Sevenoaks although slightly further away than Judd. I think they’ve changed their catchment in the last 2 years so you might not get in unless it’s an Out of Area place (but you’d have to look).
If you live in Outer Sevenoaks further towards Maidstone you would be in catchment for Maidstone Grammar School for Boys, again another Super. The Maidstone grammars are less over subscribed than the others so entry can be easier.

We now have our own boys Grammar in Sevenoaks. It’s a non Super (so your DS would just need to pass the Kent test) and it’s an annex of Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys.

I’d speak to KCC ‘s (Kent County Council) and ask their advice re how you could go about applying at this late stage if you are looking at 2022.

My DS passed the Kent test and got a place at sevenoaks. We are in SE london and ended up going for a more local coed independent school but a handful of his former prep school classmates get the train to Sevenoaks from Hithergreen every day. It is a lovely school but in the end DS' organisational issues and lack of robustness meant we thought the long days with 2 hours commuting (and Saturday school) would be too much for him.

www.judd.online/

www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/118843/the-judd-school/secondary

www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/118835/maidstone-grammar-school/secondary

www.mgs.kent.sch.uk/