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

[QuiteAJourney]

Continuation from

www.mumsnet.com/talk/secondary/4697901-sw-london-private-grammar-applying-for-year-7-in-2023-part-ii?page=40&reply=122947087

An opportunity for parents of DC applying to private and grammar schools in SW London for entry in year 7 in 2023 to share their journeys.

Regarding the second round, I am sure there are exceptions but given most schools know how many they are taking through to second round before the exams logic follows for me that:

1. The cut off is based on how many they want in the second round rather than exam performance.
2. Therefore, at interview, they aren't interview everyone who is capable of attending and sorting via the interview. They've set the interview numbers based on how many offers they need to make, how large a waitlist they feel comfortable operating, and taking into account children who when interviewing will become a 'no' because of fit etc

I'm not saying the interview doesn't matter but in general, the numbers through to interview reflect their overall admission offering strategy rather than being arbitrary and unrelated to over-offering / WL.

With people applying to 5 schools, many top schools are going to get lots of rejections so don't be intimidated by the sheer volumes in each round. There are people on this thread who are into second rounds for 4 schools plus grammars which for strong candidates is pretty typical.

A friend told me SPGS has about 20 in waiting list every year

@QuiteAJourney thinking further, if Coed allocate fixed place for girls and boys in offers then probably won't need to offer more..

Same!

Does it ever move if their acceptance rate is so high? It seems quite a long list.

That is why I referred to their respective gender cohorts and used the examples I used.
I was (and still am) genuinely interested in the general statement and the reference to statistics and the thinking or evidence behind it.

@FriendlyMom , some dd go to boarding school instead like Wycombe Abbey so turn down SPSG.
Overall the offer ratios at all the schools is much higher than you imagine hence they are so secretive.

@FriendlyMom · Today 08:41

A friend told me SPGS has about 20 in waiting list every year
Does it ever move if their acceptance rate is so high? It seems quite a long list.

Yes, we know girls in Year 9,8 and 7 who got in via WL. Families have to relocate overseas for work or they have top grammar schools offer so they go to WL.

I think Co-Ed's are probably easier for girls to get into than boys. In my experience, a lot more parents' of bright girls want them to go to single sex while the parents of boys seem to be more in favour of Co-Ed or else less fussed on that aspect.

bjmin - those stats you posted are very interesting. So basically, over half the places at SPGS every year go to the same key prep schools?

@FriendlyMom I do know one DD rejected SPGS for other school last year but I don't know if this is just a rare case.
I can imagine some parents applied for bursary place might consider other options even if offer is made.

Again, if you go back for the last 3-5 years for a dozen or so preps, you can often put together more than half of the incoming class for these upper schools. Many of these will give you the offers vs acceptance data. Rather than guessing or relying on secondhand data, you can get a very clear picture of percent of offers accepted.

And again remember parents often lie to other parents about which offers they actually have and what they are turning down.

@PreplexJ , @HawaiiWake , @sailingsunshine thank you for shedding some light re: SPGS waitlist. It sounded like a myth! :)

Completely agree - the only part of the puzzle that is not so publicly available is the offers vs rejections to state DCs (though we can make assumptions)

How can they do that, esp in prep schools, when the offers vs acceptances are published? For instance, if 1 out of 9 SPGS offers has been rejected, not more than one family can claim they did that.

You are right, and despite that people still make false claims. My favourite is a mum who literally tells everybody her DS turned down Westminster. The only problem is that 100% of the offers were accepted for her DS' year grourp at his prep. Still, she walks around and tells everyone this story. It's really sad, the mum clearly has significant insecurity issues. I feel for her.

Yes, few weeks back, I did scan through the prep schools website and see offer and accept published data that is quite insightful in general

It is hard to know what Emanuel is looking for exactly. We know a girl in a previous year, who got offers from G&L and Putney high, but not from Emanuel. We also know of a boy who got an offer to Kings, but not Emanuel. I am really keen to understand what Emanuel is looking for. The girl who got offers to G&L and Putney is well rounded, does sport and the type who would excel in interviews. She is confident etc. So it was a surprise to me she did not get a spot. Her first choice was G&L though, so she was happy.

Three of those schools are selective schools from 4 and they know what they are looking for. Girls who can read and write quite well already at 4 and can memorise passages they are given, or other little tasks given to test their memory. The other has a rigorous 7+ exam.

Oh my, I doubt many parents do this. But yea, I know one parent who embellishes a lot on her dc's abilities. Saying her dd got into a school to one parent, when she told me she was waitlisted.......

I think sometimes it would be better if school did not publish their results for 11+, it might stop the frenzy / competitiveness a little bit. It is sad some parents have to lie / embellish but they might do that to protect their children and not tell them they have not gone in into this particular school. They will then probably have to lie to other parents so their children do not find out at school. I am not saying it is right, but I think it is tough for everyone parents and children, trying to do the right thing in this ultra crazy competitive environment.
We should put all this process into perspective; remind ourselves that they are only children who are just 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 years old.. What were we doing at this age? all the school that are mention above are excellent school and we are so lucky our children can attend those.
The difference between SPGS, G&L, FH, WHS etc is marginal.. we are talking about a few girls a year out of 120. Getting into SPGS or G&L is not the St Graal and is not a guarantee you will go to a nice university or more importantly you will be happy and feel good about yourself.
I did not do my study in England, but I am sure it is the same here. I did not go to the best school in my country nor did my husband.. but we have good jobs, don t have to worry about the month end, can go on holiday and afford good schools for our children and are happy. That is all that matters ! and I wish my children can be as lucky.

@QuiteAJourney my maths is wrong sorry, should have found a 11+ tutor 🤔

From another prospective, do parents strongly prefer single sex schools more than parents strongly prefer Coed schools in London ? If so there will be implications for over offering rstios.

@Lolakath19 I love your post …..

our Prep Head was preparing us what to tell the other boys if we don’t progress to interviews or don’t get offers .. all so sad 😑

I have a DS and DD in single sex preps. A lot of parents in DS' school are keen to consider both or Co-Ed not heard anyone say only boys. DD is younger so we are not at that stage but seems like most are wanting to continue with all girls.

I think this makes the Co-Ed's easier to get into for girls, and single sex easier to get into for boys. Complete generalisation of course.