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.

Emanuel was our top choice, DC is floored. Maybe we didn't prep right, I don't know.

Congrats to those who got a yes and commiserations to those who got a no.
It is such a hard process.
Stay positive, there is a right school for everyone.

We have a yes from Emanuel to the next stage (no sibling).

First time poster, long time lurker.

Got the email from Emanuel this afternoon with a Yes for DS.

Stress levels for the whole 11+ process have been through the roof, coming from the state sector with very little feedback regarding DS's ability compared to his cohort.

Have to be honest and say that even 1 interview feels like a success, when I feared the worst that everything would be rejection and that I'd put him through all this for no validation for him at all.

Commiserations for everyone who got a no, my heart goes out to you all as this whole process has been a heart-wrenching roller-coaster so far.

We've had a yes.

Thank you both.

Sorry for the noes - wish DC well and hope they have other options they will thrive at.

Sorry to hear. Keep the spirits up, both you and your DC.

Any boys with a yes? There seem to be fewer options for the boys near us (we’re 5ish miles from Emanuel)

Congratulations to everyone who has had a yes and commiserations to those who didn’t, we know how gutting it is. We had a yes from Emanuel today.

@Sunshineseeking123 @Daydreamscometrue congrats!

@WNLastX welcome as a contributor (the more the merrier) and congrats.

I have a DS.

Thank you!

I also send my commiserations to those not getting through today. It’s such a tough process….

@QuiteAJourney thank you. Thinking of those who've had difficult news this evening.

A yes for DS from Emanuel. And thankyou to @QuiteAJourney for the thread continuation.

Yes, my dd received a yes from Emanuel. According to the email it said there were a lot of strong applicants this year.

I couldn't find anything on their website to indicate how many they interview.

I remember the same as what the pp said, but I am not sure where it was said. Either website or in a previous email. Will have a look.

I think they did say they would interview up to 2/3rds of applicants.

I'm pretty certain as they have traditionally been a backup choice for grander places, they had to over offer considerably. This is becoming less and less the case it seems though as it climbs the ranks.

At the open day I'm pretty certain I was told by one of the boys they over offered last year and had so many first choice acceptances they had to enlarge the year. They were cagey as to whether they'd do it again though.

It’s in this video that they sent the link for via an email in Dec. They refer to it around the 1.25 m mark. Say two thirds invited back, which based on 1000 applying is a fair few children to interview!
m.youtube.com/watch?v=uPfgFSNdNjY

.

@Sunshineseeking123 thanks for that. I've watched it before but completely missed that 😕.

A yes for DS for Emanuel here. Sorry to others with not so great news.

Do you think that the schools that interview more students still put more weight on the exam results or do you think if you passed by a certain mark, they are more just looking during the interview at the person, their character, how they work with others, how they answer the questions?

@SamPoodle123 I reckon for academic schools exam results are always given higher weights, 15-20 mins interview is more like a filter out (red flag) session.

Longer interviews or group assessment with academic questions will be a different story.

Considering Emanuel had 960 applicants and that they invited roughly 2/3 back, likely they will have 700+ kids to interview over 5 days - quite a task!