SW London Boys Private schools

[SamPoodle123]

We just finished 11+ for our dd and now the search begins for our ds. I am curious to hear back from parents who have been through it with boys. And also, if you have a dd and ds to compare both experiences.

I am under the impression that it is more difficult for boys, as there are less options in the area. Is it more difficult to get into for example Kings in Wimbledon for a boy then it is for a girl to get into Godolphin?

Schools I am considering are - St Pauls and Kings (these perhaps might be too difficult? I am trying to figure this out), LU, Emanuel and then I am not sure where else to consider. My ds is in a state school and they do not give feedback. He is very sporty and does cricket, rugby, football, tennis, golf (outside of school). For my dd I felt like I was just going in blind. She did well thankfully. But I want to feel more prepared with my ds.

I read somewhere on here about the Wandsworth banding test. Is that something we should get my ds to do?

I will PM you!

I'm not sure on the Private schools but the Wandsworth test is only for a few State schools in the Borough (Graveney/Chesnut Grove/Ashcroft & Burntwood)

Even if your son is a high achiever, you're wise to consider a range of schools - not just the most selective ones such as Kings and St Paul.

Would Whitgift be too far for you? It is highly renowned, particularly for boys who are both sporty and academic. I've also heard good things about Hampton and Kingston Grammar. Sorry, no first-hand experience but I thought I'd comment to bump your post!

Since exam results for selective schools usually reflect how challenging they are to get into (and how pressured once in), a list such as the one below should give you a good idea of what to expect. You've probably seen similar tables, but just in case! Although I don't know whether it's harder to get into King's than Godolphin, I would bet that it probably is (despite the similar exam results). Selective places seem to be more competitive for boys than for girls, certainly where I live. (Could it partly be because families may tend to spend more on tutoring/schooling for boys?)

www.londonpreprep.com/2022/08/gcse-results-day-2022-top-london-schools/

Many thanks @1sttodie I have heard of Whitgift. I think the schools you mention are 45 mins to an hour away, so its possible, but might be a little far.

I would only apply to St Pauls and/or Kings if I thought he might have a chance to get in. I will not know this until mid to end of year 5 when I get him to do the 11+ mocks. He is year 4 now, so I am just researching potential schools and trying to figure out how difficult they are to get in. With my dd we had to do it all last minute so did not even get to view the schools. She will most likely go to Godolphin for year 7, but we are viewing the schools she got offers to next week before we make the final decision.

Ideally, I would like ds to apply to 4 schools. But I need to figure out the range first.

Ah, you have plenty of time then. I agree that next year's mocks will provide you with critical visibility, particularly if in person and as part of a wide, meaningful cohort. This is how I was able to assess my son's level last year. I prepped with him in Y5 but had no idea how he compared to the 'competition' until the mocks. He took several between May and July, including some with 1,000+ participants. We didn't try for indies (only our local grammars) but if we had, mock ranking would have been a good indicator of what range/level to prep and try for. Good luck!

My DS sat the 10+ for KGS and Hampton and this was helpful for seeing strengths and weaknesses. He didn't get in that year but feedback showed the maths needed work 😃

I'm not sure it's necessarily harder for boys. If you do apply for St Paul's or KCS I would try to ensure you also apply to an easier one and an even easier one!

I'd go: KCS or St Paul's
Hampton or KGS
Emanuel or Ibstock

If you can go a bit further out St John's is a lovely school for gentler boys.

Also, is he more or less academic than your DD? How might he perform at interview?

Oh yes, 100% We plan to apply to a range of schools and I do not know if we will apply to St Pauls and Kings (depends if I feel like he has a chance closer to the time). Atm I have no idea. I feel just like I felt with my dd when starting to think of schools. Basically, I had no idea if she stood a chance until she made interview rounds at all the schools she applied to. But the Atom mocks gave me an idea of the range of schools to apply to. And even then I still was not sure.

Many thanks. I have seen people mention KGS a few times, please can you confirm the full name of that school? I am not sure which school this is. I will check out Hampton. I really like Emanuel. I need to look into Ibstock as well.

@SamPoodle123 perhaps see how it goes and then ask more advice on here! Starting with the knowledge that St Ps and KCS are the hardest then you can gauge where else to apply both on geography and ability.

@SamPoodle123 KGS is Kingston Grammar (an independent school). Not to be confused with Tiffin School just across the road which is actually a Grammar school (for boys, have you considered this?)

Hmm that is a hard question for me to answer. I am not sure actually. I feel like my dd is more academic or more with it. But she is also 2 school years older. He seems to get slightly better reports at school and slightly better feedback from the teachers. I think he could do well in the interview, as long as he does not get nervous. My dd is very confident and loved doing the exams/interviews. But I suspect my ds might be a little more nervous for the exams (he always wants a perfect score). And interviews, I think he will do well, as long as we get him to feel comfortable with it and not like its pressure.

Ah, thanks. Yes, I am trying to find out if we are within the 10k to apply to Tiffin. I think we are just inside, but want confirmation (as I am told they use a special way to measure as the crow flies in a straight line from your house).

Oh yes, I forgot about the zones. There are also the Sutton Grammars. Lots of people love them and they're less selective than Tiffin.

Yes, will do. I now have a few more schools to look up and I will see how he gets on with the mocks closer to the time. I just wanted to get an idea of the schools now so I do not feel like I am scrambling last minute like how it felt for my dd.

And many thanks @KindergartenKop :) I appreciate your feedback on all this.

That's ok! Let me know if I can help further down the line. I also have more children to get through this process. I wonder if the playing field will be different in a couple of years due to the demographic changes both in the birth year and the post covid London exodus?

@KindergartenKop yes, it will be interesting to see what happens in two years.

You are looking at the top tier private schools and are highly competitive. They do try to screen out the over tutored with the ISEB. You may want to explore how he can get familiar with that type of exam. Is there a reason your not looking at Westminster too?

Whitgift is a good school for sporty boys whilst also doing well academically. So you might want to do a tour there too

@rogueone there are a couple reasons why I don't include Westminster. The location means my ds would have to make 3 changes, bus, tube, bus and with good timing it says 40 mins. But perhaps it could be longer. Also, the fees seem quite a lot more expensive than other schools. And with 3 kids, I do need to take that into account. Of course, if it was the perfect school and only 15-20 mins away, then perhaps the fees would not be a big deal.

I will check out whitgift, but unfortunately that is 1 hour away. I think LU and Emanuel are probably the best options, followed by St Pauls and Kings (but these are 40-45 mins away). Perhaps this is normal for secondary schools? I just feel like it is a long commute.

@rogueone and forgot to mention, yes, I know the St Pauls and Kings are extremely difficult to get into, and LU/Emanuel are also competitive. Atm I am setting the bar high, but will only apply if I feel my ds is doing well enough in his mocks to get in. And we definitely are not the type to over tutor. We are quite laid back with this stuff and they do too many activities to spend too many hours tutoring. But they are at state schools, so they do need some prep to cover all the areas in time for 11+. My dd just finished the 11+ and was very successful (she got into all the schools she applied), which I guess puts more pressure my ds (but hopefully he will not feel it as no one is really doing the 11+ at their school, so I am hoping he will not feel pressured).

It depends on when you would look for entry, for boys you can take the exam at 11 but for 13+ entry. If you enter Westminster at 11, the entry is not automatic for the senior school. I believe St Paul and Westminster fees are similar though, you would be looking at 9.5k per term for the senior school (+ inflation). KCS might be slightly lower (around 8K).
Main difference with Godolphin or WHS is the type of exam. You will have the ISEb part which is quite similar to the Atom learning or equivalent for WHS but that is only the first stage.
The second stage for St Paul, KCS, WUS or first stage for LU is a written assessment and is targeted at a higher level in my opinion, similar to the SPGS exams for the girls.

@Parent123456 St Pauls is 27k and Westminster 32k. LU 22k and I am sure the fees go up each year. If we felt the school was the perfect fit and he got in, we would of course consider it. But the fact that travelling there is a big turn off and the 5k or 10k jump in fees I am just not interested applying there. Even if the fees were the same as the other schools, it just seems like a difficult journey to do daily with the 3 changes.

G&L does not use ISEB anymore. They used it for two years. They now do the London Consortium exam, which is bespoke. But tbh my dd said it was very similar to Atom. At least the first 4 components. The additional math/puzzle and creative part was different. When looking at the exams for the boy schools, it does seem a lot more challenging! I am surprised G&L does not do a second stage written exam. Only one school out of the 4 my dd applied to had a creative writing section. She got an offer to G&L so I think she will go there (we just want to view the schools next week to be sure).

I think the writing will be difficult for my ds, as he is not keen on writing.