SW London Private & Grammar - applying for year 7 in 2023 (Part II)

[QuiteAJourney]

Continuation of the thread
SW London Girls' Private & Grammar - applying for year 7 in 2023

www.mumsnet.com/talk/secondary/4643252-sw-london-girls-private-grammar-applying-for-year-7-in-2023?page=40

Looking forward to continuing the journey with all of you!!

As soon as someone received a G&L email let us know! :) My guess is it will come this Friday, since a pp said it came 7 days before the interview date. And my guess is putney will come Friday as well.

Last year, the emails for interviews came out on the 7th. The interviews took place on the 14th.

@GLfam did the emails come out in the morning or afternoon? :) Does everyone receive them around the same time or are there delays? For one school (non British) many got them hours apart. Sorry for all the questions, just wanting to get any information really :) Anxiously waiting.

The email arrived at approximately 14:00. I think all the emails went out at very similar times. Good luck.

Thank you @GLfam!

@GLfam thank you!

My DD thought the G&L interview was the most difficult of all the schools she applied (LU was average, SPGS was easy). Two-on-one. I'll ask her later about the specific details of it, I don't remember myself. It may have involved looking at a picture and describing it, but I'm not sure.

@GLfam many thanks for the feedback. It is great to get some insight to all of this, esp since no one I know well is going through the same. So basically, can't ask anyone in real life about interviews as no one has gone on any! Lol.

Where did your dd end up going? Just curious as well what range of scores did she get on mocks?

Hi, just browsing this as I have a niece applying to some of these schools. But I also have one at G&L. This was a few years ago, but they called them to interviews in school groups (if indeed there is a school group). So she was there in the waiting area with several friends and they all went in together. The interview (mainly) consisted of being shown 3 pictures and being asked to put them in order, describe what's going on in them, etc. There was no er, ridiculous and verging on 'pretentious' (in my view!) questions as was the case at LU and SPGS. I don't think there are any right or wrong answers when talking about the pictures, but they need to explain their own logic. I remember them giving Kit Kats out afterwards. I will ask her if she can remember anything else from the actual interview.

the SPGS interview last year was "tell me about yourself", no pics, no props, etc. that's it.

Do all schools that you've applied to ask for references from current school or do they only ask for references if you pass the academic or are borderline? Just received a list from current school of the schools that have asked for references for my DD and one of them is KGS which she didn't pass. I'm just curious if she was perhaps borderline or something?

From having lurked on these threads for the past couple of years, it seems that schools change the interview process / content year-on-year. G&L seemed to do group interviews one year, and then 2-on-1 the next. Maybe they do that precisely so that girls are put in unfamiliar situations to see how they fare? (Though imo that's a bit tough on 10 and 11 year olds. It's daunting enough going to an interview, let alone without knowing what to expect).

@ziad I'm intrigued re the pretentious questions at SPGS and LU! (We'll be applying next year). Are you able to say what kind of thing? I've heard repeatedly on here that SPGS is just a "general chat" and nothing too daunting.

@EweCee All schools seem to do it differently. Some ask for references around the time you sit the first test, others wait until the second round / interviews.

I think the main differences between G&L and SPGS emerge later in the school. At G&L there seem to be a lot of European families and maybe half of the girls are doing the IB. The IB is more work (more UCAS points) but suits all-rounders because they maintain six subjects (3 at higher level, three at lower). G&L is the perhaps the top school in the U.K (with KCS?) for IB - so worth bearing in mind if this is of interest? At SPGS, there seemed to be more families from a Chinese / SE Asian background (as an observation). Also the vast majority seemed to do Maths A-level, whereas this seems to not be so much the case at G&L.

LondonMum20222 - In DD's year for SPGS, she was asked something like , "Is money value?" or maybe it was, "What gives money value?" or "Is the value of money real?" Anyway, they all came out confused as to what the actual question was or what it meant! My elder one a few years before that was asked something ridiculous about infinity - I can't remember exactly what it was, but I didn't even understand the question at the time! At LU it was some 'big important question' about saving the planet / sustainability / global awareness. I think it's all a bit much for 10/11 year-olds. Maybe they've all stopped with the 'unique' questions now? They seem to try different selection tactics every year.

When DS had his LU interview it was when schoolchildren were going on environmental marches. I think they asked him if he thought it was ok to skip school to march- he said he thought it was and they asked him how often he thought it was ok to skip school! He definitely did not give a 'right' answer but they discussed his answer and came to a conclusion.
My niece had an interview at G&l with 2 teachers which was on Zoom so my sister could hear it- she did say it felt like they were firing questions at her and was a bit intimidating- she got a place though.

@ziad Hahaha! That sounds more like an All Souls essay question than an 11+ interview!!

Good luck to all your DC. Just coming back to this thread after having done 11+ for last two years back to back with my 2 DDs.

If anyone wants to ask anything about SPGS, GL, LU, PHS, NHES, LEH, FHS happy to help as we ended up looking at all those schools closely with offers for both DDs.

It’s a horrid process (even worse in 2020!) but they do put it behind them v v quickly & almost everyone finds the right place for themselves.

re: interviews, having listened into them all during lockdown, I can say they are ALL friendly and polite and really trying to understand how your child thinks/forms a view, articulates themselves and is flexible.

HtH

@Chiswickmama what are your personal views/reviews about NHEHS?

Hi I think it’s a lovely school, great pastoral care, ambitious, well run and a wide variety of activities and abilities. V different ethos from the Hammersmith schools but I don’t think that’s a bad thing necessarily. We didn’t accept as it was a faff to get to due to our location. DM if you need more.

@Chiswickmama, @ziad, @11plusdoneanddusted, @GLfam, @LondonMum20222 - thank you all for sharing your insights into the 11+ process - it sheds a bit of light and brings some reassurance, especially with some of you already having had your DC going through the process - thank you for resonating with our uncertainty during this difficult process! Better for us, mums to be stressed, and share on this forum, than our children.

Not to dilute the topic, but FHSS just announced Lucy Elphinstone is stepping down at the end of the year. Interesting who would take the helm at the school and how would that reflect in the school ethos.

@FriendlyMom Lots of movement on the heads front - St John's, PHS, FHSS, NLCS, ...
A reminder that the school ethos is influenced by the HM but is also more permanent that HMs themselves ...

LU head also leaving at the end of the year

And SHHS and LEH. It's like musical chairs for heads at the moment!