SW London Private & Grammar: applying for year 7 in 2023

[QuiteAJourney]

Following up from
www.mumsnet.com/talk/secondary/4716365-sw-london-private-grammar-applying-for-year-7-in-2023-part-iii?page=40

Sharing the journey

opening harrodian document, any thoughts on how to fill out the music section, my dd plays piano but not at any grade level and is quite eager to drop it, which will happen after we finish out our contract with the instructor. Should I say no to music?

On exploding offers, it’s worth reading all the bumph (and it’s a lot) really carefully. I don’t recall any from last year, but I only did the really careful read for our joint first choices once we got them, as I knew we would decline the others.

A few years ago, I found out about KGS reserving the right to withdraw offers from a fairly obscure page of their website. So I think it’s worth either asking the school specifically or at the least making sure you read beyond the ‘we are delighted to offer a place at X school…’.

@natalitypeak Pretence is a virtue in MN not Righteous LOL!

Has anyone had the SPGS interview yet?

Mine is preparing towards grade 1 so that is what we said. I would still put it there even if he wasnt though.

ps: cant say I liked that form btw - makes the school sound like a stage/drama school and soo long too!

Perhaps mention music as a hobby? Some do activities seriously and graded and some do it just for pleasure. For example ballet is offered at RAD ungraded or graded. So you could do it for fun and not go through the ballet exams, or you can do it more seriously and do the exams.

This came up at the Putney interview and the teacher seemed to think this would most likely not happen again and if a school did do this, they would make it known in the offer letter.

So I found this from one of last year's threads which may have been what was rattling around in the back of my head but these tend to be pretty rare and I think it was Surbiton not Putney, sorry!:

Benny12 · 01/03/2022 09:25
@HighRopes yes i got one of those emails last night as I hadn't pulled my finger out and filled in paperwork yesterday ...I had planned to do it today ...
it said when pupil numbers reach maximum class size , subsequent children wishing to accept a place will be added to the waitlist in order their acceptance is received ...I must admit I was rather annoyed ...and has taken the gloss somewhat off accepting surbiton ...

We asked at the Emanuel interview yesterday how many had been invited through to the interview stage and were told approx 500 (including those being interviewed for the 10+).

For the 11+ it is in the 600s being asked back to interview. Although, perhaps they will over offer...so perhaps offer to 250? Bc I think Emanuel is a backup to many. I do not think I know anyone who Emanuel is first choice for, although it is a very lovely school!

Curious if anyone here has Emanuel as their first choice?

That is interesting .. their video referred to 2/3 of applicants being interviewed and I think that a previous poster mentioned the HM quoting 960 applicants (which I found not surprising given its popularity in recent years and the demand for co-eds). I wonder whether they have adjusted the process somewhat.

Oh sorry, I misread that, so it is 500 and that includes the 10+ dc? How many spaces for 10+?

Are you sure the person was correct? As they did say 2/3 invited back and someone said 900 something applicants?

I think that their acceptance rate is probably 1/3 or lower (at least looking at preps in the area, as data is public, it seems to be less than 1/3, of course difficult to know for state applicants).
We do not have it as a first choice (and even questionable whether top 3...). Quite a few DC from my DD's prep made it to second round and I think it is top choice for less than 1/4 of them.

Coed vs single, hard to say which is first choice.
Also, Emanuel drama students some of which have movie or Netflix or West End commitments. Sixth formers rowing for team GB. There is a girl under 15 British ice skater looking at Olympic in LA.
First choice really depends on individual kid and family requirements.

Messages crossed :)
They have 48 places for 10+, not sure how many get interviewed.

Why can’t schools act like schools? In most countries around the world there exists state schools, fees paying schools and international schools. You just choose a school near your area depending on the fees & curriculum. Every class has a handful of extra academic kids and a handful of kids who really struggle with learning, many kids with normal abilities, some kids with special needs, some sporty kids, some kids with unique talents. Why can’t London be like that? Because there exists grammar schools & superselective private schools, the concept of a normal school doesn’t exist in London.

Ah maybe they are big on the extra curricular activities? And that is why they ask you to list them for the interview.

I would not put anything.
The only explanations that I can fathom for their (somewhat strangely pitched) questionnaire is that (a) they are gathering information on interests for planning of clubs / societies / activities, (b) they are trying to assess proficiency for planning of future scholarships (differently to other schools, Harrodian offers no scholarships at 11plus but does at 13plus), (c) they are aiming for a balance of interests in the school. Admittedly, the questionnaire is narrowly defined to be really valuable for (a) and (b) though better than nothing..
From what your DC's situation, neither would apply so I would suggest saying nothing.

@workhar- there are tons of state schools in London like that but they are just not discussed at great length on this thread!

The HM did mention those kind of examples at the open day we attended - we were also 'treated' to a DJ-ing set by one of the students and mention of one of the children excelling at the Maths Olympiads.

I think that most London schools of that calibre have similar examples (maybe in different disciplines) that they can roll out - SHS is well known for Olympic potentials, Harrodian usually has quite a few child actors / signed musicians... Not to mention other more 'academically selective' (sorry, I do not like the term, but useful as a shorthand). What I find interesting if that Emanuel seems to be one, out of the schools we visited (we ended up viewing 10) keener to make a point of it.

To be honest, it leaves me quite cold ...my DD does not fall in that category and, ultimately, I am more interested in what the school can do for her rather than whether there is scope for prodigies (some of which had focused on their passion / hobby / talent well before joining Emanuel) to study in Emanuel.

Yikes. I think this seems to be what they are looking for, which is also not my dd. She does a wide variety of activities, but she is not a child prodigy or especially talented in one area. She is pretty good at netball, but not sports scholarship level type. I wonder if this is why the two academically able dc I know that did not get into Emanuel, but got into G&L and kings? Perhaps they were not stand out with their extra curricular activities?! Although, I could be all wrong and just over analyzing things. I should probably take a break from all this 11+ worry for a few days!!!! Three weeks feels like a very long wait....

I do not think for a moment that you need to be a prodigy to get an offer from Emanuel... I just find the focus on that (which was apparent at the open day) a bit, on the personal level, off-putting. It probably tells you a bit about the school and the journey it has gone / is on (from fall back options to pretty desirable and probably aiming to be more 'in demand') - it is almost as if they need to be explicit that they (too) can do these things.

PS and now less than 3 weeks to go - only 2 1/2 weeks😉

@Workhar plenty of state schools are like that in London and most people use state schools. There are also private schools that aren't that hard to get into.

However, elite hyper-competitive schools are a feature of private schools in cities like London, NY, etc (a reflection of the people who live in these kinds of cities) but there are other good options.

@QuiteAJourney thank goodness only 2.5 weeks!!! 😜