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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

London boys independent schools - year 7 in 2023

86 replies

crazymama123 · 29/11/2022 13:19

Hi everyone,

I was wondering how everyone is getting on with the 11+ exams for London boys independent schools? There's a great thread on girls schools in SW London, so i wondered if anyone was interested in a thread for boys? We're applying to UCS, Highgate, City, Westminster and Forest and are just kicking off the exams.

Is anyone else in the same position? The lack of choice or control in the process, or knowing whether DS has a realistic chance of getting in is so stressful! And the exams being over such a long period (for us the end of November through to early Jan and then hopefully interviews end of Jan), means we've got such a long period to get through.

Anyway, thought I'd reach out in case anyone else is in a similar position and wants support. x

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SamPoodle123 · 15/01/2023 11:27

Wlondonmum2022 · 15/01/2023 11:16

My daughter’s atom scores ranged from 100-128. Her prep school recommended Putney High and NHEHS as stretch schools. She didn’t get the second part of Putney but she has an interview at Emanuel and got the second part of Ibstock. She is very keen on FHSS and not sure if 117 is going to be too high a bar for her. My son is also in year 4 and he started doing some learning journeys and loves it, at the moment.

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My dd said the Putney high test was quite hard. As for FHSS, it looks like a lovely school. I really like what I have seen so far and the interview experience seemed really good. We have only done two interviews so far, but I liked the way they did it. I am curious if your dd did a taster session? I had a really good feeling after my dd came out and told me about it. Her other interview was at G&L, which I did not get the same feeling after. But it was only 15 mins and basic questions, so I am not sure how they can make a decision that way. At FHSS, I felt like the questions asked gave them an idea of the thought process. Surprisingly, at G&L it was just getting to know you questions.....but then I guess they have certain exam scores required to get there, so they probably did not need to see thought process.....who knows!

SamPoodle123 · 15/01/2023 11:29

@Wlondonmum2022 forgot to mention my dd is also going to interview at Emanuel....I have heard it is hard to tell what they are looking for. DC that got into kings or Godolphin did not get offers from Emanuel! I liked the way Emanuel handled the admissions process and exam day. What do you think of them? What is your first choice? Is it FHSS? What schools are you thinking for your DS? Atm, I am thinking to apply to Westminster (but only if he gets the target scores), LU, Emanuel and maybe kings?

Original poster
crazymama123 · 15/01/2023 11:47

Marisquita · 15/01/2023 11:04

Same here! DS was pleased to get through for all of about 5 minutes, until he found out that his two best buddies didn’t. It’s our only walkable option, and I think he’d had a vision in his head of them going up there as a happy band of three. Ah well. I hope it was good news for you.

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Yes, good news for us. 😊

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Wlondonmum2022 · 15/01/2023 11:56

SamPoodle123 · 15/01/2023 11:29

@Wlondonmum2022 forgot to mention my dd is also going to interview at Emanuel....I have heard it is hard to tell what they are looking for. DC that got into kings or Godolphin did not get offers from Emanuel! I liked the way Emanuel handled the admissions process and exam day. What do you think of them? What is your first choice? Is it FHSS? What schools are you thinking for your DS? Atm, I am thinking to apply to Westminster (but only if he gets the target scores), LU, Emanuel and maybe kings?

The adaptive tests make it quite hard to tell, she came out happy at Putney and Emmanuel and thought she did terribly at Ibstock. Ibstock isn’t adaptive. She loved the interview day at FHSS, she also did an interview at NHEHS which was 15 minutes. They asked her a maths question a comprehension and then just general get to know you questions. She could see she was marked 4/5 for English and 5/5 for Maths. The experience wasn’t exactly charming, but at least it ran smoothly and not as many girls as FHSS, so less overwhelming as a parent. For my son I think we would aim for LU, Hampton and Kings — plus Emanuel, Ibstock. But I will tour Westminster and City.

sugarcookie5 · 15/01/2023 15:31

Did anyone going up for Halliford get a postcard from the school?

freezingone · 18/01/2023 20:17

They do this for all boys.. such a nice touch.

sugarcookie5 · 19/01/2023 00:13

So lovely!!! Who else’s DS gone for this one? Such a great school

freezingone · 19/01/2023 12:48

sugarcookie5 · 19/01/2023 00:13

So lovely!!! Who else’s DS gone for this one? Such a great school

Mine is there already. It is indeed great. Good luck!

HerbertChops · 21/01/2023 15:16

sugarcookie5 · 14/01/2023 16:59

How did your DS exam go? My DS came out really positive! Halliford made the whole experience enjoyable and it seemed to go well!

Hi! My ds really enjoyed the Halliford exam day, a few of his school friends were on the break at the same time so they were in the same team for football. He also really liked the tuck shop!! We have a Y8 DS at Halliford and really love the school.

He found the English, VR and NVR all quite easy (not sure if that’s a good sign though 😬 he tends to get better marks when he thinks tests are hard). The maths he said was quite hard, but similar to the maths at St. James. The English and VR he thought we’re harder at St James.

He’s just been for his interview at St James this morning and that seemed to go well. They gave us his test results and they all seemed ok. All done now just need to wait!! St James said they post offers Friday 27th Jan, I think Halliford are later in Feb.

sugarcookie5 · 21/01/2023 15:40

Hi!! Our DS was also at St James today for this interview- went well I think - such a lovely school! They didn’t discuss test scores? Did you ask?

HerbertChops · 21/01/2023 15:53

No, didn’t ask, he just had them written down and told us them at the end of the interview. I know Halliford and St George’s never told us results when older ds was applying.

sugarcookie5 · 21/01/2023 16:42

Anyone else DS have a St James interview today? As there were I think 11 different teachers doing these interviews perhaps they had different ways of doing it? Hope so! Interview seemed to go very well!

sugarcookie5 · 21/01/2023 16:50

ah ok didn’t know this was something they did! What did they talk about in your DS interview?

HerbertChops · 27/01/2023 11:53

Sorry, lost this thread! They asked him what his favourite subjects were, hobbies, how his friends would describe him in 3 words. General questions really. Was your son asked similar? Then we went and and had a general chat about his hobbies and what we like about the school. We were with teacher number 5 who was an Assistant Head. Have had an emailed offer this morning at 10am, they seem to do theirs earlier than most other schools round here. Good luck 🤞🏻

Original poster
crazymama123 · 29/01/2023 08:53

Is everyone done with the exams / interviews now? We’re now in the waiting phase and I’m struggling with the nerves!

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drizzledon · 29/01/2023 14:20

We’re the same, it feels like this whole process just goes on forever! But it’s nice to at least be done with all the tests and interviews so we can put it to the back of our minds and just be for a while! I think the decision-making phase will be quite tough.

VickiMent · 29/01/2023 14:47

No long now. It seems like some offers are starting to drift in now. Most of ours are just under two weeks away...although I am expecting we might be left hanging for longer with WL for some.

Original poster
crazymama123 · 29/01/2023 17:25

Oh god, I hadn’t thought about the stress that waiting lists will involve.

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AegeanBlue · 17/02/2023 22:40

@crazymama123 how has it worked out for you?

Original poster
crazymama123 · 18/02/2023 06:48

We’ve been really fortunate and DS has gotten in everywhere. Feeling very thankful. Now I’ve just got the stress of agreeing the school and who pays what proportion of the fees with my ex husband (which isn’t an easy task!!!).

How’s everyone else got on? Really hope offers have come in for everyone.

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LoveBlueCheese · 18/02/2023 07:39

Wow congratulations @crazymama123 to your DS! Thats amazing! Which school has he chosen?

Original poster
crazymama123 · 18/02/2023 07:49

Thank you @LoveBlueCheese. We haven’t decided yet. It’s between UCS, Highgate and city really. We like UCS the best but DS likes Highgate so it’s going to be a difficult decision. Any thoughts from anyone on those 3 schools?

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Marisquita · 18/02/2023 08:47

That’s fantastic @crazymama123 . I also liked UCS the best of those three excellent choices. Can DS put his finger on what he prefers about Highgate? If it’s e.g. preferring co-ed, or on-site green space, I’d be inclined to put significant weight on his preference. If it’s better biscuits on interview day, not so much! But sometimes a vibe can feel right or not without being down to specific factors, and I think that has value when deciding where to spend the rest of a childhood.

I do think City has a very different feel in terms especially of socioeconomic mix and central urban location. Both UCS and Highgate can feel a big “oligarch-y” depending on who you happen to get in the year group, and that’s not such a factor at City. But for me that wouldn’t tip the balance as a green, outdoorsy environment feels important to us for the senior school years. Horses for courses, but you and he will make the right choice together I am sure. Congratulations to him.

TheBrokenCracker · 18/02/2023 11:33

That is great @crazymama123

We have been in the process with DS and are deciding between City and a couple of schools closer to us that are still great but not as top tier academically. Due to our location we weren’t applying to others mentioned on here. So very keen to hear views on City.

Original poster
crazymama123 · 18/02/2023 12:04

Thanks @Marisquita. DS likes Highgate best because his best friend from since he was two goes there. The commute would be difficult though and he’d have to leave home at 7.15am vs 8am for UCS, which seems very early to me when he gets to teenage hormone territory.

i agree about the social and economic diversity being a good thing at city. It’s definitely one of the biggest positives. The things that put me off are the sports fields being so far away and it being all boys all the way through, and it’s a very urban location (the astro pitch between the flyover is not ideal). It does get better results than UCS, but I’m not sure if I should put any weight on that as I guess DS would get the same grades irrespective of what school he’s at.

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