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.

@secondaryquandries hope all goes well. As you say, all rather hectic in coming weeks... very much looking forward to Christmas for a break (also, we do not expect to have much in January, mostly interviews).

Same for us. All exams finished by second week in Dec phew! What was the interview like? Do they do regular kind of questions- favourite subject etc?

Last year, different schools asked different questions. GL was a 2:1 and my DD said it was the most difficult of all interviews. WH and FHRP were group exercises. WH had everyone pretend to be going a space colony and debate which things were most important. LU and SHHS were straightforward interviews. SPGS was easiest one, tell us about you. Good luck everyone.

Thanks Futomaki. In the group exercises do they put their hand up to contribute or all just have a chat? At least our kids will be well experienced by the time they get to job interviews!!

As I recall, WH allowed each DC to state their case, then afterwards there was opportunity to put their hand up.

@futomaki , thanks for the insights. I am always quite mystified about group exercises and how they will cater for different personality types... really useful to see how it may play out.

Hi @futomaki that is really helpful. Thank you.

what school does your daughter go to and how is she finding it?

WH last year sounds similar to the year before when my eldest DD sat it. I can't remember the exact details but I think it was like they were on a desert island and could pick one person to take with them e.g. builder and they each had to give an argument for why they would take that person.

They also, from memory, had to pick a word and explain why they had picked it e.g. environmentalism. It was friendly and online but they were clearly observing the kids and their interactions with others, even though it was online. Some kids were very well prepped and had big speeches to give about certain things (although obviously they couldn't have known what would come up). DD came out of it upset that she hadn't had as much seemingly prepared chat as others but got a scholarship so I think they must really look at the kids rather than being bowled over by those who have been exceptionally well prepped.

GL showed her 5 images and asked her to group them or rank them for any reason she wished, they then asked if she could think of an alternative way to order them. Then they asked her to select one image that stood out to her and explain why she had chosen it. It was friendly but definitely more academic and there were two teachers interviewing. She was offered there too.

LEH and Surbiton were more straightforward and friendly. PHS was a bit intimidating as she had a slightly odd teacher interrogating her about how much she knew about Classics (absolutely nothing as it turns out 😂), he was the classics teacher!

KGS was just a nice chat.

Hope that helps!

The challenge with WH was that some kids clearly got easier things to debate. What's more important on a desert island...food & water or music?

My niece barely spoke a word in her WHS group interview (was online so her mother was eavesdropping!)- she is very socially anxious. She nailed a couple of off the wall questions though. She got offered a scholarship. They can't have a year group full of uber confident girls. Definitely need a mix!

Hope you don't mind me joining. DS has first exam on Friday (KGS). We are applying to two boys schools, and the rest are co-ed. If it's any help I have been through the SW London girls process with DD (now at WHS) and happy to share any insights.
If there's an equivalent boys thread (which I haven't spotted), feel free to point me in that direction instead!

Hi Nelly. I'm a boy parent interloper sitting kgs Friday too! I have been welcomed, I'm sure that you are too. There is no boys thread as far as I can see. Which schools is your son sitting?

@NellyCortado welcome! As @secondaryquandries says, all welcome! Not sure if the title of the threat can be changed but if the number of messages get too long I think that we would need to start another thread ... and then we can rename. In the meanwhile, let's use this one!

welcome @NellyCortado the more the merrier. I’ve emailed them requesting to change the thread. So I’ll follow up on that.

does your daughter enjoy WHS?

@EmotiveBubblez for following up on the change of name (and for creating the thread in the first place).

KGS tomorrow will be interesting - it seems that really popular (not sure how it compares with other years but about 1/3 of my DD's indie seems to be entering). We are due to attend in the afternoon ...not sure if there are other slots, as everybody else that we know seems to be in the same slot as us (wondering if they create the groups according to school of provenance).
Our next one is Sutton High on Monday.
We also got now bookings for our slots for SCHS and Ibstock, so all becoming very real.

Loads of luck to those doing KGS tomorrow and Saturday and also for Sutton High on Monday. Lots of kids from our state primary going for KGS too, mostly in the afternoon also.

My son is in the morning. I think it must be staggered throughout the day. We've booked the afternoon for Ibstock as he has Hampton in the morning!!

Good luck to all the children

@EmotiveBubblez thanks!

@secondaryquandries , we are at the mid-morning slot at Ibstock. It seems the 26th is popular, as we have friends that are, on that day, combining Surbiton and Ibstock.

Thanks for the welcome. DS has an afternoon slot at KGS today also. Good luck all!

@EmotiveBubblez yes, DD is really enjoying WHS and it suits her perfectly. She's in Year 9 now, but I remember the entrance process (for WHS and the other schools she applied for) well. Very happy to answer any questions.

@secondaryquandries On the boys school side, DS is applying to Kings and Reeds. The rest are co-ed (Emanuel, Epsom College, IPS). We were overwhelmed with girls' school options for DD, but it feels more limited for DS. We ruled out Hampton and Whitgift due to location, but I am wondering whether co-ed may suit him better anyway. Who knows!

We have very similar lists Nelly! Sitting kgs, reeds, kings and ibstock too. Where are you based?

KGS done! DD thinks it went 'fine' but creative writing felt rushed..But always difficult to guess how it actually went [well, we will know in some weeks]. Main thing is that she did not panic and said that it was less scary than she thought it would be.
Now relaxing and a bit of light revision over the weekend ahead of Sutton High on Monday. Then Streatham and Clapham group exercise and creative writing on Tuesday.

@QuiteAJourney that’s great news! My DD also found it less scary than expected and actually seemed to enjoy it! No idea how it went really but at least it was a good experience so she’ll feel a bit better going into the next.

Good luck for next week!

@confu5ed thanks for your message. As you say, so difficult to know how it actually went so I have not asked her in much detail although I think she was a bit taken by the creative writing ask, including how short (time limited) it was. Our take is that she did her best, gave it a good shot and did not panic... so all reasons to be happy about / proud.

Well done to them all. My son sat it went ok too. Also said the English was a bit herder due to time pressure. One down only twenty four billion (it feels like) left!