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!!

@LoveMyADHD I'd forgotten about the hot chocolate 😂. It's interesting how much the experience varies at these schools.

@Daydreamscometrue bet their creative writing was wild after all this sugar 😂

Don't worry. We have also applied to SW london schools like Hampton and St Paul and LU and so have been watching this thread. There was another RGS thread but it is very quiet.

@LoveMyADHD I can only imagine 😂

I am surprised Emanuel is not my dd first choice after reading about all the treats they got lol. My dd has such a huge, sweet tooth. However, Godolphin seemed to have won her heart over during taking the exam there.

Just checked and Emanuel has only 96 spaces…that’s not very many at all… so if they were only interviewing 200 approx that would make sense but interviewing 600 seems v high. That’s six times over what they need. Looks like even if you get an interview you are quite likely not to get a space.. A one in 6 chance!

I have a question on CLSG interview calls - is this in order or reflective of performance in the CEM test? Is that why they are inflexible on the interview dates? My mind is going into speculation overdrive!

@BlueTick that's useful to know and prepare for if called for an interview.

@BlueTick, as noted earlier they probably need to offer 2-3 times the number of places, as it won't be everyone's first choice. So they might interview 600 and offer places to around 250/300.

Thanks @Dallasdays thats true. I hope you’re right.

Maybe Emanuel not quite as in demand as say KGS who only seem to do 2 offers for one space?

Maybe Emanuel have to offer little bit more. I’m not sure if it’s a favourite. Certainly numbers were very high again this year. We did like it enough to have another go.

Fingers crossed we are luckier this time!

@Daydreamscometrue maybe I’m too pessimistic as noted by @Dallasdays above, perhaps there’s more hope than originally thought.

Still really rough for the 300 who get interviewed but still get a no.

If it is 2-3 offers for every 1 space for KGS and Emaneul, what do you think this number would be for LU?

As bluetic said, the further up the hierarchy the school is, the fewer offers it gives out.
Except ones like KGS which compete with Tiffin, I can't fathom how they calculate it. I can see how Surbiton High made an error with this last year!

I agree it must be so tricky! It's fine if you are St Paul's Girls as you know most people you offer to will accept but for many schools it must be so hard to judge and using data from years gone by clearly isn't always accurate!

It's quite mind boggling but three of the schools we've applied to which includes LU have given interview figures which is interesting as they didn't use to. It feels strange not to hear anything from Ibstock until February now though.

LU definitely gave numbers a few years ago- I remember being given a sheet with dates, numbers etc. Hampton also told us the info at the 10+ interview day as we had group chats with admissions and heads.

It's been some years since I've been through this process and thankfully the last time.

Good luck! If you've done it before you know it all tends to work out!
I've got lots of friends going through the UCAS offers now and that seems just as bad!

@11plusdoneanddusted I've got one going through UCAS too! You're right though. It does work out in the end.

Just to clarify - my comments on certain schools offering 2-3 times the number of places is informed by a quick look at offers / acceptances for some preps in the area ... very rough calculation as always difficult to know how that would evolve over time. Also, some offers might have been from waiting list.

As said above, it must be difficult for schools to calculate, especially as people apply to more schools ... I personally think that this year schools might be more cautious and be more conservative on offers initially but end up dipping into waiting list more / earlier than other years.

But the thought to hold onto is that every school will offer a multiple of the number of places.

DH used to work there. The maths and English staff (and may be some others) all go in on a day after the exam and sit together and mark them- you get one teacher marking one page or question and they pass them on to the next person. It's therefore completely moderated. It's boring work but they get looked after by senior management and have a few laughs as well.

@nepolibats that is an interesting insight.

We did not apply to LU but, from what others are saying and our similar experience with KGS, it is clear that there is much to say for a process that is the same for everybody and transparent (usually on paper avoiding the black box of adaptive tests), communicating results as soon as possible and being open as to the number of places and the numbers / options at different stages of the process.

I find fascinating that other schools seem oblivious to the impact that has on families and, potentially, on choices.

Some schools made me declare what other schools I am applying to. I believe/“speculate” that it is done for the admissions to figure out how interesting their school is for the applicant. They might be able to guess that kids applying to St Paul’s & LU may treat Kew House as a back-up option.

Just as a reference, only 2 schools we visited gave numbers but these are boys' schools in South London: Whitgift 700 apply for 120 places, and 400 would be interviewed for 300 offers. Trinity 500 apply for 80 places, and 250-300 would be interviewed for 200 offers. So both about 2.5 offers for 1 place, and about 70% of interviewees got offers.

Don't know how this would translate into numbers in other schools.

The above are numbers given in open day (so for previous years). So presumably numbers may be slightly up this year.