SW London Private and Grammar - applying for year 7 in 2023 (part V)

[QuiteAJourney]

Following from our previous threads, including the latest (link below) www.mumsnet.com/talk/secondary/4723610-sw-london-private-grammar-applying-for-year-7-in-2023?page=40

Looking forward to continuing the journey together

@Burbia thank you. It’s hard not to speculate when you want something so much but agree it is so subjective as to performance on one day. Fingers crossed!

@Yarnie good luck with the rest of the offers- you'll know soon! Sorry I can't help much as were more south west. Though we did visit Emmanuel and really liked it. Didn't apply in the end as a bit far/not so keen on train commute. Lovely grounds, great ethos, seemed like strong drama, sport etc.

@RedDogBlueDog thank you! Xx

So it sounds like maybe Emanuel didn’t offer any specific academic scholarship interviews with staff from the maths and English Dept this year. Maybe they will just offer some academic scholarships on Feb 10th based on exam performance plus general interviews?

That is so strange - their email did refer to those interviews.
Is that from a school source?

It was just on emanuel’s website under ‘Changes to our Application Process’ but maybe they decided against doing it this year or had maths and English Dept staff at some of the group interviews but didn’t inform applicants?

Sorry, I am just curious and have to much time on my hands in this final week to think about all of this! So many on this chat applied to Emanuel and have had academic scholarship offers elsewhere that I would have thought someone on here would have been invited for an academic scholarship interview at Emanuel if they had run them this year? 🤷🏻‍♀️

@89fomveg maybe the whole interview process was more time consuming than they realised considering they introduced the group activity.

That’s what I am guessing too.

I see ... I thought that it was an unexpected change in process.

The sample here is somewhat limited. Similarly, I do not recall any poster mentioning an invite to the KGS scholarship assessment (which is different to the general interview or the subject specify one) but they did indeed took place (one of my DD's best friend attended). With that in mind, I would personally assume that they went ahead as planned and that, if not called for them, the academic scholarship is not into the mix.

Perhaps for Emanuel, the person doing the interview part for the scholarship candidates were already from the English and Maths department. That would make most sense to me. Kill two birds with one stone. And the teachers do not always say which department they are from. For Emanuel they did not....even when meeting the teacher at the end they did not say.

I actually had a dream last night I was watching the school portals and saw them change from application to accepted 😂

I agree that it would be the most efficient way but, as we all know from this process, schools do not necessarily go down the most efficient route.

I have had a look at the information from Emanuel (as part of the acknowledgement for registration) and it says that 'There is no need to apply for academic scholarships; pupils who do very well in the entrance exams will be considered for an academic scholarship and as part of their interview and group assessment, will have an additional interview assessment.' Worth noting that (a) it does not say that people will be told in advance, and (b) it does not say it is a separate one.

You mention that the person might be from the English or Maths department. I do not see why that would need to be the case for a scholarship assessment - surely only if the scholarship is based on a specific subject (which I do not believe to be necessarily the case). Also, some DC were told (my DD included) by the interviewer their role within the school.

@QuiteAJourney I am not sure why I mentioned the Math/English department. I either read it somewhere or someone else posted first. I forgot though.

My DS and I were told who was interviewing him. The only thing I noticed was that the Head was walking around looking for children so it's possible that he was interviewing potential scholars. I did notice that the children being interviewed at the time were there for the same period of time though so nothing was in addition.

Very much our experience too. I did not notice if the HM was actually interviewing (I did not pay much attention, tbh, just saw him mingling and chatting) but members of the SLT (which I remember from the open day) were involved.
As you say, everybody seemed to be taking the same time and, at least from the ones that we know, the lines of questioning where rather similar and not what you would usually associate with an additional academic element.

It’s says on the admission criteria on Emanuel’s website that potential academic scholars will be interviewed by the English and maths department. I am not sure if they interview together or that DD are interviewed by either. My DC was told she was interviewed by a maths teacher however she was not given any maths questions or puzzles just general chitchat so who knows.

On reading back through one of the emails from Emanuel, it sounds like the academic scholarship interview would be in addition to the group experience and regular interview. That would indicate another visit to the school or a longer time period on the original interview date. We were there on the Saturday morning and it wasn't occurring at that point.

I get the impression academic scholarships are becoming much more difficult to obtain. Several years ago I know of a girl in DD's year getting offered 25 percent at WHS. I haven't heard of anything like that since.

Quoted from Emanuel website -
Those pupils who do well enough in the exams to be considered for an academic scholarship will take part in a slightly different interview process that will also include a small group experience. As well as a general interview, they will also meet with a member of the English and the Maths department.

@Sass22 thanks for solving the mystery. That is aligned with the information in the email that I mentioned above but making clearer that it is different process rather than an addition element to the standard one.

I'd been convinced that we'd hear from Ibstock on the 10th but now it looks like mid February according to the emails and website.

That would mean the admissions staff (and some teachers) would still be working during the half term. Possible but a bit annoying for them.

I had the same wobble some days ago but someone posted that the website (now changed as it has been updated for next year entry) referred to the 10th. In case helpful, last year they released the last day before half term - so, if they do the same, that would be Friday 10th.

@QuiteAJourney thanks