SPGS Interview Please Help

[pkim123]

This week is the SPGS 11+ interview. St Paul's is giving the students materials to stimulate and challenge them. Does anyone know what materials they will be providing and what questions they ask? Thank you so much for your help.

If the girls know what materials they will be shown and questions they will be asked in advance then surely there’s no challenge in it.

They are looking for bright, free thinking girls, not those who need heavy tutoring or huge amounts of preparation. Just let your daughter be herself. Often there are no “right” answers to these things, they are just looking to see how your brain works. Don’t stress about it. Your DD is either what they are looking for or not.

Please don't panic. Tell your daughter to enjoy herself. Nobody here will know what they are giving the girls to look at anyway.

You obviously won’t get any pre-knowledge as that defeats the purpose of the interview. For a girl to thrive at SPGS she needs to be self motivated, resilient and extremely able. If she can’t get in on her own merits than please do not send her there as it will probably not suit.

Take a deep breath and let her get on with it. If it’s meant to be, it will happen.

Yes. Absolutely she needs to be HERSELF. With no prep. No trying to be this or that eg loud or polished etc etc. Fwiw, the two Spgs children I know who got in were/are classic introverts, albeit very bright. Determined, actually.

They don't like them to be over prepared. We actually did very little prep, other than the usual talking about yourself. They are looking for a conversation that isn't one way. I call it ping pong. Hope that helps. My daughter is very happy at the school and has really blossomed since she started.

@MaryleboneParent

They don't like them to be over prepared. We actually did very little prep, other than the usual talking about yourself. They are looking for a conversation that isn't one way. I call it ping pong. Hope that helps. My daughter is very happy at the school and has really blossomed since she started.

Thanks, you were right. Was the most straightforward interview of all of them. Simply, "tell me about yourself" and "what's your plans for the future?" All the other schools had these pictures, group activities, strange questions, etc. SPGS was more of a conversation than an interview.

Hope it's good news in the end! 🤞

I’m so pleased. Fingers crossed

hey hey! i joined mumsnet for a laugh and i currently go to spgs. this could be too late but hopefully it helps people in the future. in my interview (a few years back but i dont think much has changed???) they showed us some pictures and asked us to describe what we thought about them. they also asked really abstract questions that you probably hadn't thought about before - they asked me 'what is a floor' and i swear to god i actually struggled with that-
they also ask you one or two easy maths questions (im absolutely crap at maths by the way and it was easy even for me), like mental maths.
the best thing to do is to just relax. its not scary at all, you just have to get into it and enjoy it even, because all the staff are pretty interesting so just you know have a chat with them. best of luck to anyone applying!!! edit from friend: for some reason our general paper was on designs by like leonardo da vinci (I think) It was like how was this cannon design efficient and stuff) you really can't prepare for that kinda thing. you just have to be confident. they deliberately make it tutor proof.

@archieslayed You see, although you mean to be helpful, this actually isn't. My daughter wasn't asked any maths questions at all. Plus this is a site for adults and you've kind of got the tone wrong here.

@archieslayed I'm sure that your contribution is at least as valid as anyone else's! Some parents think competition is reduced by ignorance, so factor that into their responses.

The interview day (some time ago now but the principle is the same) is to get to know each other better, and aims at getting the best fit for the girl and school. Obviously outcomes are all relative, but there is very little that girls let alone parents can do to prepare at this stage, the prep has been done in the last 10 years. So mostly at this stage it is about parental nursing, anyway please don't be put off by comments, some 10/11 year olds may not realise maths questions come in a variety of guises.

The point is that she is giving misinformation here. What happened to her won't be the same as what happens to another girl. I could give you blow by blow details of my daughter's successful interview but it wouldn't help because nobody else will have the same conversation.

There is no misinformation, just an account of her experience wanting to be helpful which is absolutely fine. Obviously adds to the data points and provides an example of what may go on.

Yes. But it gives you an idea of what kind of questions they ask. Yes, every interview is different but, many people are curious. So no need to make the pp feel bad for just offering her experience. If anyone else wants to add more; please do because I’m sure many find it interesting.

Wow, do you always speak to young people as rudely as this?

@Glaciferous Absolutely no need to be so rude to a young girl sharing her experience. I think she was perfectly clear about the main point (creative questions that are tutor proof).

I'm actually laughing. Do you have nothing better to do with your time than fighting with thirteen year olds on the internet who are trying to help you? Jesus, I feel sorry for your daughter.

thank you very much, this was very nice of you. i don't have enough time to reply to everyone else who defended me against a middle aged woman who has too much time on her hands, but thank you all very much!

@Glaciferous lol this didn't paste the first time so second time lucky-
I'm actually laughing. Do you have nothing better to do with your time than fighting with thirteen year olds on the internet who are trying to help you? Jesus, I feel sorry for your daughter.
Look, I know your kid probably didn't get in. And that's not a bad thing, it just means the school isn't a good fit for her. Actually a lot of the girls are very toxic, and the staff are a bit... interesting. So maybe she got out while she could. Either way, it's no reason to be hating on a girl in her early teens. Do you realise how tragic you look?

@BonjourCrisette I never said that my word was law! just tried to help people out. If you want to give a blow by blow im sure some people would actually appreciate that, so feel free to.

@archieslayed Actually she did get in. Either way, I don't think this is a site for bored teenagers who 'joined Mumsnet for a laugh'. And if my daughter was posting here I would certainly ask her not to.

@BonjourCrisette anyone can join Mumsnet. I don't have kids but joined because it's a large forum where mostly women take part and most forums are male dominated. But there are even some men who participate on here too. If archieslayed finds she doesn't like it I'm sure she's perfectly capable of finding a wealth of other stuff to do, but I don't see why anyone feels the need to be unwelcoming to someone who posted in good faith.

Hi we have been lucky to get a call back for SPGS this year - please can you throw some light on whether for a 20 min interview they ask puzzles or english questions? Also is there discussion on current affairs?

Did you daughter get SPGS offer in the end? We had interview today.

I wonder if the lack of “strange questions” is precisely because the kids have shown they can answer very strange questions in the exam itself? Now they just want to under stand a bit more about your child. And they don’t want 100% extroverts or introverts or this or that (insert quality you think they want) hence it really is important for the girls to be themselves. Apart from brains. I’m certain all of these schools will still prioritise those children who scored highest - whatever they say. But apart from Say the top 10% they are likely just interested in seeing how your child might fit with the wider group.