SW London Girls' Private & Grammar - applying for year 7 in 2023

[EmotiveBubblez]

i myself have been looking for this thread and have been unsuccessful. Saw a couple people mention it over the past day or so on the 2022 one.

so here we go, albeit a bit late.

has everyone visited all the schools on their lists?

how many schools are everyone applying to?

what schools are you applying to?

how is the preparation going?

i know some exams have taken place, how did they go?

wishing all the whirls good luck with preparation and exams, hope we all find the right schools for our daughters.

@emanonsah DD1 is at LEH and yes, I think it is a trickier school to get into. They've changed the exam this year (maybe it was the same last year?) to include the ISEB. We had it up there as our reach school with G&L. If you have any questions about it, I'd be very happy to help if I can.

It's such a different ballgame this time around for us, it didn't seem it at the time but actually DD1 was lucky to be applying during lockdown - everything online, no school playground time where they could all chat about schools and stress each other out and shorter, more spread out, online exams.

We went for 6 with DD1 which felt like too many. We're going for more with DD2. It makes me feel slightly sick but with the waiting lists not seeming to move much last year, and with DD2 being very hit and miss and dyslexic, we feel the need to go for more. She's at a state primary and so we don't have any guidance on which schools we should go for and how she will fare.

Wishing you all the best of luck, I'm sure they will all end up at the right schools for them. Looking back on two years ago, they all ended up somewhere and they are all really happy two years later xx

@confu5ed which others are you looking at? Also, could you offer any feedback on LEH? What is the experience like for your DD? I think the current Headmistress is leaving too. Do you know who is taking over? It’s another one I’m considering for DD number 2.l, so would greatly appreciate any thoughts on the school - good and bad.

@confu5ed I would also really appreciate your thoughts on LEH (like @1forward2back it's on our longlist). I loved it when we went to see it, but I do slightly worry about the enormous catchment area. How do girls ever socialise out of school (esp as they get older and want to be independently socialising)? And with so many girls doing long journeys, how do they fit in all their homework and extracurricular too? And yes, any news on when the new head might be announced would be great!

@1forward2back @LondonMum20222 We and DD1 love LEH. She's made great friends and it has a great vibe. We're disappointed the Head is leaving, no news yet on who is replacing her.

Pros: amazing sports facilities on site, in fact, amazing everything facilities! Great music, drama (amazing productions), art. Very busy, like a little university, loads of lunchtime clubs, theme days, loads of sport during the week, late bus is amazing as everything after school finishes so they can get on that at 6pm. DD has made some great friends (a couple are walking distance and the rest within a 20 min drive between our house and school), the classes are partly organised by bus routes so they should have local friends. Not too much homework, no holiday homework so far (apart from revision in May half term). Pastoral care seems good. We like that they mix with the Hampton boys.

Cons: DD found the busy-ness a bit overwhelming at first, typically they all signed up for everything, now they seem to be a bit more selective and so less busy as a result but there is a lot going on and sometimes DD finds that a bit much. Lots of girls and so more competition for sports teams, productions etc... The Lacrosse matches can be MILES away and it can take up their entire Saturday.

If they are involved in sport, they will be expected to attend after school clubs and also matches on Saturdays for Lacrosse (but not every Saturday and not the summer term). Netball matches seem to be after school. DD doesn't do music or drama but I expect it's the same in terms of extra-curricular rehearsals.

@LondonMum20222 re. fitting everything in, it seems to be going ok so far. For DD the journey time was comparable to the other schools we looked at. Most days she's home at 445, or if 645 if she's getting the late bus. She has time to do her homework after school as they don't get loads. And they get to socialise with friends on the school bus on the way home so that's nice too.

Sorry that turned into an essay! Hope it was in some way helpful!

@confu5ed incredibly helpful - thank you! Will you update us if you hear about the head please?

@confu5ed Thank-you so much for this. It's incredibly helpful. We were bowled over by the facilities when we visited (the "boarding school facilities in a London day school" line is actually true!) Great to hear that friendships are strong and that your DD is so happy there.
So is it the case that most girls are doing a fairly lengthy coach trip? (DD's would be about 40 mins). I was worried she'd be in a minority - struggling with travel while everyone else got on with extra curricular and homework!
We're actually less keen on the close relationship with Hampton. How much do they actually do with the boys?

@1forward2back yes will let you know if we hear anything. @LondonMum20222 I'm not sure how long coach trip most are doing. I would say my DD and her friends are all doing around 25-30mins on the coach. It might be worth asking the office or admissions, they might be able to give you more information on how many girls are travelling from your area.

They don't do that much with the boys at all in the early years, just share a coach (and mostly ignore each other!) and it's nice to see the boys at the concerts (they have some mixed choirs and orchestra groups with the older years). But my understanding is that they mix a little more as they go up the school, they do some mixed drama productions and some Enrichment lessons amongst other stuff. I'm afraid I don't know much more than that!

@confu5ed Thanks so much for all this (again) - hugely helpful!

We just got a slot for the group exercise and creative writing at SCHS. School website refers to "During this time the candidate, along with a small group of other girls, will undertake a fun and interesting problem-solving challenge with plenty of support and encouragement from staff"?
Any thoughts on how they are run / what they usual look for?

TIA

I think it’s like a traditional team-building game and they will (I reckon) be looking to see how they work as a team player.

Hope everybody is having a good half-term and have finalised their decisions.
A calm week (maybe the calm before the storm here) with DD quite relaxed, which is good. We are keeping things light in terms of homework / revision and ensuring there is plenty of other activities. First exams in a week... will continue to share our journey here!

Thanks for the message @QuiteAJourney

Things heat up in November and December.
i have not booked anything for halfterm thought it was important for her to be relaxed but do the occasional atom mock test. What is everyone else doing?

Does anyone know if which London/Surrey schools are using ISEB for their entrance exam? My son is sitting It already and wondering if there are any other schools that might be of interest that we've missed.

@secondaryquandries I do not know about the boys ones. For girls, Woldingham and SCHS do (not sure about others). Co-ed, Harrodian does. And I think Alleyn's might do too. Worth checking the ISEB website.. I seem to recall in previous years a list of schools that were using it.

Just adding to this
atomlearning.co.uk/blog/iseb-schools?utm_term=&utm_campaign=AN+-+Search+-+Exams+-+11%2B&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=2083639780&hsa_cam=18312136202&hsa_grp=&hsa_ad=&hsa_src=x&hsa_tgt=&hsa_kw=&hsa_mt=&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gclid=Cj0KCQjw--2aBhD5ARIsALiRlwC0ehPPn8u7S2XG9cXDhxmc_7O2L19EoF3MUQN_UVyDP_Bl25C59GAaAsZ3EALw_wcB

Alleyns does not see to be there but there are quite a few co-ed (e.g. Caterham) and boys (e.g. Trinity). I am assuming it is up-to-date but also worth checking on each school's website.

Thank you very much quiteajourney very useful.

Just 'reporting back' in the spirit of sharing the journey... first in-person interview and creative writing exercise concluded. DD coped well and did, according to her description, 'fine' (I really hope that she was more eloquent in the interview 😂).... now onto first full exam (on Friday, KGS).
On the matter of exams, are you taking the full day off from school? Given how tired they end up, probably a good idea (but not sure if it is the done thing)

Never took full days off from school. Tried to make everything as "normal" and typical as possible instead of "this is the big day for you" stay home from school.

We cut out sleepovers completely for the full exam and interview period. (Our daughter still mentions that 'sacrifice'!)

Otherwise,we played it by ear. Her energy levels needed to be carefully monitored, especially with the whole enterprise being new and so unusual. Travel/traffic had to be considered as well - one day was one of the toughest snow-and-ice days we can recall! A morning session was usually followed by a lunch out as a treat and returning to school slightly late. An afternoon session was generally preceded by a quiet morning at home. Her primary school neither encouraged nor obstructed. We just kept them informed.

@Dido2010 Thanks for the experienced voice. I think that we might be going down a similar path. As you say, the travelling adds to it (today we ended up spending more than 2 hours in the car, plus the over 2 hours she spent at the school) and also need to consider how close some of the exams are (we seem to have a bit of glut in early November and another one at the end of November, so those will be periods to watch out for in terms of energy levels).

@QuiteAJourney

The school that's our #1 choice had their 11+ day today so I'll drop you a DM if that's ok?

Well done to your daughter quiteajourney. Did you do anything to prep for the exam. Our school has suggested to go in on the morning/ afternoon of exams but to be honest we are tempted to give him the rest of the day off. Bit of time to relax after exam and he has worked hard to prep so will not get behind with school work.

@secondaryquandries we just did some prep for interview the weekend before and then a creative writing mock. By the time we got back home and had lunch it was 2 pm so we did not go to school that day. She was really tired in the evening that goes to show how exhausting this is for DC. Our school has not said anything when I referred to "she has an exam to won't be coming on that day". I get the impression they are rather relaxed and trusting our judgment

Have you finalised your list? I think we may have some in common 🙂

Yes I think so. We're at kgs on Friday too! Feels like next few weeks will be super hectic! We have nearly finalised the list.