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!!

DD thinks the NLCS maths paper is harder than SPGS.

Any one know how many pupils Highgate invite back for 2nd round aessment say? And how many offers/places they generally make in the past years?

She did not finish the English paper, but relative to the other 2 she seemed happier with the English paper. She found Maths very tough, but it was never her strong point.

@tamu1234 @FriendlyMom Everything I've ever read in the past on these threads suggests that everyone finds the SPGS second round tough, and very few people finish all the papers - and that that's no indication that your DDs haven't done well. I always think the SPGS second round day is as much about resilience as anything else (it's a lot of exams to sit in one day!) But I'm glad to hear that it was well organised. (DD will be sitting SPGS next year, so it's really helpful to get a sense of it ahead of time). How many girls do you think were there today?

@LondonMum20222 just like my initial estimate, just about 400 girls sat today.

My DD was also at SPGS today. She also didn't finish any of the papers and found the comprehension tough. She said there were 15 in her group - and I think there were 24 groups + 1 overseas group.
She had a fun day at the school and it seems very well organised.

Thank you for the reassurance @LondonMum20222! Today was very overwhelming I think for the parents more than the children hopefully. The line was very long - longer than LU in my opinion, but that cannot be possible since we know the candidates were much more at LU.
The groups were small, about 13-15 girls, according to my dd. She did have fun - everyone was very helpful she said, their girl guides were very chatty, lunch was good and they played games, so overall she really enjoyed the day. The school did indeed try to make the experience enjoyable, as much as it is possible.

@PreplexJ Great, thanks for letting me know. So, according to previous posters, there's about a 50% chance of getting called to interview post second round. Nail-biting times!

@FriendlyMom Ah, I'm really glad to hear that they made it a good experience for the girls. That goes a long way, I think. There seems to be such a wide range in how schools manage this process (and you hear some real horror stories) so it's always good to hear of positive experiences (even if the exams themselves were fiendish!)

Online it says mid -January. Has anybody heard? Or from the past— were invites usually sent out the beginning or end of January?

I just checked with a friend of DD's sitting LEH and she hasn't heard either. It's perfectly possible that the girl at St George's got mixed up? It's not as if they don't all have a lot going round in their heads at the moment!

I think that is what happened as I checked with a few friends and no one has heard. So much pressure on them all and if they have sat lots of schools no wonder they get a bit confused. Sorry to cause panic!

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Absolutely wobbling here after slightly disastrous interview today. Some of DC's answers were a bit odd - obviously nerves got the better of them. When asked what they liked about their current school, they said the stationary was really good quality!! ?

I am questioning whether to sit the St Johns exam on Monday because it's a gruelling all day experience, and it's pretty far away. I can't imagine us accepting a place with the journey (it was a last minute, panic registration).

But then I may live to regret that and we have registered now. DC has not done very much prep over Christmas and, having done a couple of practise papers today, they seem to have forgotten how to write a good piece of descriptive writing and answer comprehension questions well. Nightmare! We definitely peaked before Christmas and it's now so hard to keep momentum up. I am drained, never mind DC!

I have two older DC who both got their aspirational schools - I was sure one of them would, but the other one was a long shot. Now there and very happy. So I know offers can come even when not expected. It's incredibly hard to tell though. In both cases, each DC was offered at very academic schools (where they ended up going) and not offered at less academic schools (Putney and IPS).

DC3 however is just not interested in working hard and very resistant to preparing for exams. Worried we'll end up with no offers at all. Did not make 2nd round for KGS but went through to 2nd round for IPS.

@hollyferry I did. Not want to read and run. Please do not think too much about the interview and focus on the positives (he got to second stage of IPS) and the fact that you have other options on the go.

Imho, definitely worth doing St John's. There is always time to say no (at the end of the process). Just ensure that DC gets as much rest as possible tomorrow and forgets about what might have happened today.

Thank you, I think we'll sit. Just want the whole process to be over now. DC has sat 5 exams already.

@hollyferry i so sympathise - it is such a long and protracted process and so hard on the kids and the families!
You and DC are almost there! Stay strong and celebrate once exam is done! (My take with DD is that the way she is coping with things is, in itself, a reason to celebrate - I have seen some serious meltdowns and kids unable to even get into the exam...)

@hollyferry - I think the stationary answer is ok! I bet it made the interviewer smile and was a change from some of the answers- it must get boring listening to how much they love the library or the challenging maths etc etc! I think it's easy to fixate on certain things they said but they don't tell you about all the other answers they give. At DSs LU interview he said he wanted to go there because he liked their underpass under the A4!

Good luck to those who are sitting exams and interviews this week!
Does anyone know at which point Emanuel request references at all? Just wondering. Do they also ask for CAT4 scores from the current school if available? I am just twiddling my thumbs of course.

@knopka Emanuel ask for a reference at the beginning of the process before the exam has been sat.

@hollyferry I'd definitely do the exam this week too and I agree with @11plusdoneanddusted the stationary answer was good!

Quick question-Saturday interview this week. Should DS wear school uniform? School have said they may wear casual but I wonder if others will be in uniform.

There will be a mixture. I'd say whatever DS would prefer. At any interviews / exams we went to there were definitely more in non uniform- usually just tracksuit bottoms and hoodies. The ones in uniform tended to be from the same prep schools where they had obviously been told to wear it.

hollyferry - If it's any consolation, one of my older ones (some years back now) was asked in the Hampton interview, "What do you think you will you personally bring to this school?" and he replied, "My pencil case." Still offered a place (but went elsewhere). My friend's DD at SPGS, when asked what she would do if she could do anything in the world and had a single day to do it, said she would go to Starbucks and then probably walk the dog for half an hour. She was also offered a place (though went elsewhere). My DD at SPGS was asked what do we do as a family at weekends and she said, "Not much as my sister has her GCSE mocks." I think they must get fed up of the super-prepped DC claiming they sound time-travel or bring about world peace. Interviewers have seen it all.

Friend's DD was ask at SPGS why she wanted to go to school there? She said "because it's close to my house". She got in, went, and is now at a US Ivy League school.

@hollyferry Just to add to others' reassurances: none of us know what any of these schools are actually looking for in candidates, and none of us as parents can know how our DC performed in an interview. I totally understand the wobble but try not to worry too much about one answer.
By way of reassuring anecdote, when my DD sat 4+, one of the schools sent her out 15 mins early from the (30 mins) group exercise. DD told us she'd refused to join in with one of the activities and so they'd said she could leave. We were convinced she wouldn't get an offer. When she was offered a place a fortnight later, I asked the admissions person what had happened in that assessment and she said "We'd seen enough, knew we were going to offer her a place, and didn't want to keep her any longer than necessary." The fact is, none of us really know what goes on in those interview rooms, or how our children are being perceived. Definitely sit the exam this week, and just give your DC lots of reassurance over the coming days that you know this is all really tough and that you're proud of them for getting through it. It's just all about bolstering them and reassuring them at this stage.