Would CAT score be mentioned in school reference?

[AC7001]

Does anyone know if CAT score would be mentioned in school reference?

I am not going to engage with you @Feef83 - I am going to only try and help the OP.

OP I think you are stressing about the wrong thing. Your child’s CAT scores are great. Your prep will do what it wants to do with regard to school references. You will likely not see them anyway.

Focus on the schools you have applied to for your bright DC. Focus on their websites and all the information you can get on the exact tests he will need to take and coach him accordingly so he is prepared. Remember that some of these schools do multiple rounds which is incredibly exhausting for a child.

Every child needs to take an English Lit and English Language GCSE and in most independent schools eg Latin and a Foreign Language. Verbal reasoning scores tend to feed into their ability in that.
So work on his English and whatever reasoning format tests the schools you have applied to will do.
Some schools have a very predictable process with ample past papers on the websites, others do not. Find out from other parents.
Before interview, decide whether your child is going to go in and tell them they are his first choice or not.

OP- to answer the original question I'm sure a spiky profile is fine. I know someone with a very spiky one who got loads of offers including scholarships.
Lots of applicants won't even have CAT scores and most schools don't do NVR tests for 11+ either, particularly the Boys schools and LU.

They know what they're looking for- I know a fair few boys who applied to Kings, St P and LU- Of the ones that got offers, A couple got 3 offers but most only got 1 or 2 with various different combinations.

“A couple got 3 offers but most only got 1 or 2 with various different combinations.“

The schools want to fill their A lists with students who have them as a first choice. Some kids are so exceptional they do get offers everywhere but even for an exceptional student, if eg St Paul’s realises the kid definitely prefers Westminster (and knows from their calibre that they will most likely get an offer there) they won’t necessarily offer.

It's not quite so simple as that (I have some insight...). The schools won't necessarily know the first choice as rarely will a boy say 'I prefer Kings to St Pauls' and vice versa. I know boys who have been academically OK for both but haven't been offered post interview for being too arrogant etc. (prep school received feedback...). And boys who've got into both and not into LU - when LU was actually their first choice.
St Paul's used to interview parents- not sure if this has stopped.
Of course academics is the main thing but its not everything.

And that’s my answer re your experience!

@boredboredbore - my impression was that most schools try and build a balanced Year 7. So if you are told your DC was too arrogant, essentially they are stating that too many academically able and arrogant boys applied that year and they can’t take them all. Because an overabundance of arrogant boys= Whole year group tends to work less and underperform and intimidate the quieter boys.
I thought they will always try and make sure they are offering to enough summer borns too, ethnic minorities, some state school kids too etc. So they are balancing their year = hence god knows what they actually want= do not take it personally.

Wasn't my son! He has his faults but arrogance isn't one of them!
Indeed- they do have to have to have a mix of personalities, interests etc to make the school work.

As one of those you consider naive to the point of making you laugh, I would be really interested in the "anti craziness test" that is, according to you, applied.

As for "affordability test", how does that work? You refer to primary school fees not paid ... how would that apply to parents from primary schools? Or are you implying that schools have access to financial information from credit rating companies? !

Like @Feef83 I am curious about your background, given it seems to allow you to provide such insights across the board.

Many thanks for all the above advice. My main concern is that his English is not as good as others (as you can see from his VR score in CAT, which is quite consistent with his average in English/VR in the atom site). According to his prep teacher, he is very good in writing (particularly the creative element) but weaker in comprehension (the depth of the answer) and vocab. English is not his first language in his early years and he has not read as many books as I wish.

My concern is most 11+ or 13+ exams have at least a 50% weight on English (some more I guess) vs one-quarter in the CAT test. I guess his exam scores in some schools may be at the lower end of those that can proceed to interview (if at all).

What “insight” have I provided?! Bugger all! But I am student of independent school and my children go to independent schools. Oh… and my BIL is the head of a prep school.

So the post but @Aleaiactaest ahout wanting compliant kids etc…. Made me chuckle

Oh @QuiteAJourney i have misinterpreted you!

well, I asked @Aleaiactaest and I think her response is quite clear bugger all experience in any shape or fashion

No worries. My message was just questioning the experiences and insights informing the posts by @Aleaiactaest (and the tone, which was quite unnecessary).

@AC7001 English- “ is not his first language in his early years and he has not read as many books as I wish.”

There is your answer. If English is EAL - the head should make sure that is in the school reference and I would put it on the application forms. It explains the verbal reasoning score. Is he still fluent in the other language? That is an advantage, bilingual children are viewed favourably, generally speaking.

To help him, go on websites of lots of private schools. For example, Sevenoaks School has some really good English papers to practise with.
Also get short cut vocab books like Synonyms and Antonyms by Christine Draper or 11 plus vocabulary by Rose McGowan.
All the best to your DC. He sounds very talented and I am sure he would thrive at any of these schools.

It is illegal to run credit checks in England without consent, but certain private school parent contracts may include terms to that affect. It is already a done thing in many other countries.

If you think about it, although the commitment tends to be just one terms’ notice (so lets say around 8k), what these schools are actually looking for is someone who stays from 11-18 (year 7- year 13). So the financial commitment is 7x minimum 20k these days= £140k outlay. No bank would lend that kind of money without due diligence.

Admissions teams can do a sanity check - parental professions, estimated income, house prices all widely available online. Questions may be asked when there is a doubt rather than by default. Questioning may be subtle.
All independent schools are obviously also bound by money laundering regulations so every bursar needs to know source of funds to a certain extent.

The real scrutiny of finances is in bursary cases, but a sanity check is undertaken in most schools for all pupils (often in the heads of the admissions team). But “know your parent” is definitely a thing.

Craziness factor is more things like messy divorce situation. It can pose some real consent challenges for independent schools.

In addition, coming from a state primary school is a good thing… so nobody needs to worry in that regard. If anything, if the child is bright and on par with prep school kids intellectually, the state primary background can be an advantage.

That was to @QuiteAJourney