All schools rejected at 11+. What now?

[lirik]

Apologies for the wall of text and a clickbaity title. One school, The Leys in Cambridge, put our daughter on waiting list with final answer due March 8th, and 10 others rejected.

We are based overseas, planning to move to UK this summer. Daughter is currently at NLCS (Singapore).

We have hired education consultants to help navigate UK schooling landscape, aid with school selection, applications, etc. We have also engaged tutors to help prep for 11+ over past year or so.

Now that most schools rejected, consultants are proposing to consider Fulham till 13+ and try again after two years, or just stay at Fulham senior till sixth form.
Another option is to try apply to few schools that haven't done their tests yet. Namely we currently have on our radar Eaton Square Senior School and Radnor House.
A good friend recommends to settle in area with good and outstanding schools only and hire tutors aiming for 13+ or sixth-form.
Locationwise we'd prefer London but can entertain outside London commutable to city. In a pinch if need be can consider pretty much anywhere in UK. I recon I can reach an agreement with the employer.

London is quite involved in running the school. Important decisions can only be done in London. I believe transferring between other schools would be a breeze. They didn't offer help with preparing to exams, however the principal did contact London assessment team to flag our application.
I've never been to NLCS London and don't know anyone affiliated so can't compare. My understanding is offshoots are in general considered to be very strong international schools. They are not very competitive, just because they don't enjoy as many candidates applying to them.

Hi, I am not familiar with British school abroad but assume some teachers especially head or principal might come from UK and should know some senior schools here.

So, I would suggest to seek advice from her current school. They should know her character and abilities, so may have better views which schools suit her or if those schools you applied for were realistic options.

Otherwise, I would recommend prep schools till 13 and take time to find a 13+ place for her. Once your daughter is enrolled to a prep, they will help her to find a suitable senior school and help her to prepare the exam. There are loads of wonderful senior schools which are not very competitive but have great facilities and pastoral cares.

Well the problem for you with state schools is it is chicken and egg. You could move anywhere but you can’t apply for school places without a U.K. address to apply with so you can’t get the school place first and then move to be there. Annoying for you but how it works. However some councils publish lists of where there is currently space which may give you an idea of where there might be options.

Once you’ve arrived in the summer you would be a late applicant and can go on waiting lists if no current room. So if you had a particular school in mind then normally (but you’d need to check via local authority website specifics) the key to being high up is distance ie the closer to the school the better. The council would ultimately have to give her some place but it may not be a school you like or close to your home or immediate. Unfortunately your daughter is in the peak UK birth year so more of a squeeze than if she were 5 years younger. so it is rather a gamble and not sure one you’d want to take if you can easily pay. Places may come up close to school after (especially if local kids also go to private schools) or even after term starts.

Having been through the 11+ process it was stressful enough doing it once with offers coming out the other end. Perhaps my child is different to yours (they are relatively sensitive) but had they not got offers I just can’t see wanting to put them through more 13+ assessments again, I think it would be too much for them. So if I were in your shoes I would probably focus on a non/lightly selective school that would take them all the way through rather than a prep to 13 unless there is an automatic transfer.

OP

whereabouts in London is your office (nearest tube station) - this will help
people suggest commuter towns.

The prep to 13 would not rule out an in-year application to state school, and you would then be settled and know where to look.

Thank you for the voice of reason.

I'm much more relaxed now. The Fulham offer came through. Now we have a bit of time to consider things through.

I'll be commuting to the City. Can still be quite flexible as I can work from home quite a bit.

Oh, that’s great news on Fulham!

@Mirabai Thank you. Yes, desperately need a plan. Random walk won't help now.

Thankfully with the last news that we got offer from Fulham it is materialising. What we have on our hands is accept prep school with possibility to progress to linked senior or find something else at 13. Alternatively if Leys come through can take that. We'll consider other options today tomorrow. I think we should still consider other schools. DD is taking it in stride and Ok with doing another exam or two.

You mentioned you'd personally choose prep over Leys. Mind me asking what is your reasoning?

If Leys comes through, I would have a really good look at your commute. Cambridge has direct trains to Liverpool Street, but they are fewer and take longer than the ones to kings cross. So would you train to kings cross and walk/bus/tube? Where in Cambridge would you live eg walking distance to station?

Personally, I’d be inclined to Fulham for that reason - you prefer London, and DD can either go to the senior school or try 13+ once you are settled and know where you want to be.

Just following up on some comments from earlier posts. I read through the thread but might have missed some of the background.

Agree that you should try to see what happened with your 11+ exams.
Did you do prep work before? eg Atom, Bond etc
And then determine which type of schools to go for.

There have been many overseas students from Asia these past two years into Godstowe. Another friend of mine (also from the Far East) had her girls go into Handcross Park as she wanted co-ed. Entry into these is not as difficult as it might make out to be. However many students do end up in very good independent schools in Y9 so they do work their students in Y7 and 8.

But have you also consider staying in Asia. I am aware many UK schools are trying to open secondary schools in South East Asia. There are already various UK affiliated boarding schools in Asia - Dulwich/Harrow etc.

On Cambridge you would need to carefully test door to desk timings for your job. It’s easy to look at train times and say “oh it’s only 50 minutes Cambridge to Kings Cross” but realistically you’d probably be more like 1 hour 30 all in.

Great news for Fulham. Taking it means they can prep for 13+ and their school really knows the process and types of kids suitable for which school. The additional benefit it goes beyond 13+, so your child can stay on. Therefore 13+ is less stress of needing to find a place at all cost. The UK system is 11+, 13+ and Sixth form where A levels are in their preferred and strongest subjects.

Fulham easy to get to the City. This time could allow your kid to get use to being in London. This is very different to Singapore and the UK education system in London.

Yeah, housing, commute, etc is something to consider, but it is also something we can plan quite easily on our own. I'm not too concerned with the commute as I'm planning to work from home 3 days a week which makes commute sacrifices much more palatable.
What I'm less certain about is how to compare these two schools. Reading the good school guide gives us some idea. I wish I could at least visit them.
DD is not happy about Fulham as the person who interviewd her was super rushed and wrapped everything up in 5 minutes, lol.

@lirik

Nothing against Leys - I’m sure it’s a good school - simply that for an 11 year old changing country/culture I’d want to play it safe and keep options open.

British boarding schools have much improved their pastoral care over time, but they are in general fundamentally institutional nonetheless. And they’re not for everyone - some students thrive and some are miserable.

So it strikes me as optimal to take some more time at a prep to acclimatise and make some local friends, then make a decision at 13 that’s more informed. DD might decide boarding school is just the thing for her, in which she can still choose Leys or another; or she might prefer a London day school.

That’s good!

All I would say is that some employers are stepping up requirements to be in the office post pandemic, but you will know best about your own employer!

Is there any way you could visit?

@Mirabai First thing first, this of course all hypothetical. I have no idea what are the chances Leys makes an offer. It is just a thought experiment at this stage. Maybe I should just shelve it and worry if it happens. That being said we didn't consider enrolling her into boarding. Not until she decides she wants it anyway. There is 1/3 of day students. They have their own houses. Is the worry that day students are a bit outcasts?

@lirik
My DDs attended mixed boarding and day. With plenty of day it’s not an issue. However day pupils tended to be flaky over coming into school for extra activities such as house competitions. So I would ensure dd takes part and does more than the bare minimum so she gets a wide circle of friends.

One thought occurred to me. At my DDs school, girls from Singapore were in the year below their “correct” year. Is this worth discussing with any school? It’s not always a good move but we had friends from South Africa who moved here and had similar issues. DS was older but it might be something you could think about with schools that have rejected her. Or look at a prep for 2 years. That gives you space and time for 13 plus.

@lirik , day students in a boarding school should be fine. The issue is whether those day kids known each other from prep or primary schools, sport teams etc and already friendship groups established. The parents in secondary, Y7 don’t really get as involved and in earlier years and kids figure out who to hang out and activities.

This is really unpleasant.

@TizerorFizz , good points. Friends from HK, Thailand, Singapore found the London secondary schools and Year 6 to be way ahead in their reading in Classics, Modern classics, plays and poems. Worth asking from school their reading lists before Sept so your DC can select and start now.

Oh I see, I wouldn’t choose to locate to Cambridge simply because it’s the only school that took DD at 11 (if indeed it does). Cambridge is beautiful but very very small. London is a much better option for an international family.

You need to drill down a bit on boarding statistics in mixed day/boarding schools. It is likely the figure is skewed by more termly boarders in later years(often due to an overseas intake at year 10 and 12), with relatively fewer in lower years, and by flexi/weekly.