1 waitlist offer for London Indie 11+, any positive stories?

[berry1212]

Hi,

My DD is on a waitlist for 1 school, got firm 'nos' from two other London independent secondary schools and a scholarship for our back up school (which is fairly easy to get into). Was anyone in this position in the last few years and got offered a waitlist place?

Looking for some positive vibes and reassurance. It's a middle tier school academically and our first choice.

I feel like we could have helped her prep more. Our approach was light tutoring (twice a month = 2 hours tutor time), practice exam papers in between + atom. She started prep 5 months before the exams. We also decided not to tell her how much work to do per week or sit with her to go through questions (she would troubleshoot incorrect answers with online videos or during her tutor time). This was intentional so she could take ownership as well as come out of the other end of exam prep with some useful study skills for secondary school. I am now questioning if we did her a disservice with the highly competitive nature of secondary school applications in London!

We are going to be doing this again for our younger daughter in a few years so would also love tips on how others balanced a sensible amount of prep with getting firm offers for children who are academically in the middle. It feels like children who are either over-tutored or naturally at the top academically get the firm offers - what happens to everyone else?!

@GrassGrows good luck :)

@TeenagersAngst for private school wait lists it not as simple as one out, one in . Schools tend to over offer based on their usual take up rate . The wait list is then used to mop up any spare places to make sure they are full . The most selective schools will over offer by a much smaller margin than the middle and lower ranking places. This is in contrast to the state sector which can only offer the precise number . So if someone declines a place then that place will be offered to the next person on the wait list.

@berry1212 best advice for being on a waitlist is to keep in touch with admissions - let them know you really want the place ( and why !) and that you will accept a place quickly if offered .

My DD got a much wanted waitlist place the day before acceptance day - and didn’t look back. good luck .

@NYE2023 thanks! gives me some hope for our waitlist place.

This morning I got an update email from a school that there is no WL movement so far

What do you mean it's not a prep school? Is it an all through private school? What does the head say?

@uk2020 it sounds like what happened to @NYE2023 is probably more likely - waitlist offers come out closer to the acceptance deadline. It's a horrible wait... I'm finding it hard to concentrate on my work!

@Steppen it's an independent primary school not an independent prep school. The school has less emphasis on preparing for 11+ exams than a prep school does.

Aren't prep schools just private primaries?

Call your target school, tell them you really like it etc.

There are many applying to more and more schools. I think it is partially because more people are doing it, more competitive and not sure if your dc will get an offer. We also, only applied to 4, but it was more me being fed up with applications, more exams to worry about etc. In the end my dd actually liked doing the exams and interviews, so I felt I should have applied to 6. But she got offers to all 4 that we applied...so we were lucky. For my dd I think we will probably just apply to 4, bc there are not really many options for boys in our area.

So is there an attached senior the primary feeds if they don't do exam prep, if so does she have a place there?

@LIZS @Steppen I think my understanding of prep school is slightly different - I thought prep schools main focus is on prep for secondary school admissions.
The rest of the indie primary schools fall under, Montessori, child led, forest, steiner etc where the main emphasis is on various educational methods based on learning which is not geared towards exam prep.
I may be wrong because I didn’t grow up in London so I’m learning about schooling along the way. My daughters school doesn’t have a secondary school attached but also isn’t a traditional private prep, so there isn’t any exam prep in school although they have assessments to ensure kids are on track.
For example another local indie prep to us promise that the kids are a year or two ahead of the national curriculum so reading and phonics starts in the nursery year. This is what I think of when I say prep school but I may have got the lingo wrong :)

Can you name the schools so readers can help with more detailed ideas? And also - as another reader asked, was there no 11 plus prep by the school or support thinking with options? Sounds like you had a healthy set of prep for her!

Those can also be prep schools! Where do leavers typically go? Your dd being near top of a less academic class may not be strong enough for more selective secondaries. Have you applied for state schools?

@berry1212 not necessarily . There is often a fair bit of movement is after State school offers day - certainly here in SW London . So for girls those who get Tiffin Girls /Sutton Grammar Etc etc might give up SPGS/LEH/G&L /WHS/PHS etc etc places hence triggering movement which cascades down . ( NB Later on it gets a bit more one in one out as the aim is to make sure all the classes are full)

There is then further movement as the grammar wait list moves ; and then again as the start of summer term approaches - some people sit on offers right until the point just before which they become liable for a whole terms fees (I guess they think they have nothing to lose if the deposit is already paid - they also might be holding out for a state place movement ) . Even after that it trickles through .

some times schools get their offering strategy wrong - so end up putting on an extra class and so go back to the wait list to fill that class . They won’t decide to do that until later on . I know plenty who have got “the call” in June!

sometimes the schools announce that they are full and there won’t be any wait list movement but there still might be the odd place that comes up.

But in my DD case LEH realised it was going to have to go to waitlist so we did hear pre- acceptance day so very fortunate . Most wait lists only move once the deposits deadline has passed (sadly).

the best thing you can do is decide your strategy for if you get the “call” later but also making sure the DC would be happy with the current “in the hand” option.

If your children are in alternative schools like Montessori or especially Steiner I'd definitely start in year 4 and you'll likely have to tutor them fairly intensively. It's a big leap from a Steiner school to a selective london day school. I think you would need to be aiming at the least selective schools.

@steppen I see… it is an alternative school similar in style to Montessori. A while back they used to get exam prep consultants to come in to years 5 and 6 but this is no longer the case. Perhaps tutoring from year 4 is the way.

@NYE2023 ok, so in that case we would go with the school we have an offer for. It’s not a selective school but seems like a good option.

Good to know that waiting list offers can tend to happen after the acceptance deadline so we are being realistic about the likelihood of a waitlist offer.

FWIW OP whilst I understand the approach you took of allowing your DD to self determine work and why it was attractive, personally I think that is a a big ask of a relatively young child. My (state primary educated) child has just been through the London 11+ process and whilst he had motivation I really don’t think he would have done as well as he did if left up to him. I also think 5 months of 2 tutor sessions a month with some work in between just isn’t enough to have the best shot unless the school is doing prep with them.

Get on the phone to the WL school, be extremely positive and polite (no grumbling), say how much your DD liked the school and ask if they can give you an idea of where she sits on the list and her likelihood of a place. Then call again once places have been accepted and make the same points.

(Friend of mine works in admissions for one of these schools and it is worth calling IF you are really lovely about it. Whatever you do don’t complain or say do you know who I am etc as that will get you to the bottom of the list.)

@TheBrokenCracker yes, I also do feel a little more tutor or input from me would have helped. Also, starting earlier, perhaps a year of prep rather than 5 months.
it has all been happening around me too - I know lots of parents who started tutoring from year 3 in preparation and started attending church from year 2 + prep for the outstanding religious schools. I saw the game and didn’t play it well is how I now feel! Frustrated at myself!

I wonder if the waitlist offer comes through my daughter would feel like she’s behind, as others will be joining having done a lot more work.

@LetMeSleepPleasex2 it’s actually her first choice of school - she is particularly keen on the music department there and had a blast during her musical assessments. I could call them and let them know it’s our first choice of school and we’re keen.

It sounds like she might need tutors to catch her up no matter where she goes. It wouldn't hurt to get them lined up now. A good tutor who knows the various private schools should be able to give you a solid assessment where she stands in relation to the other kids.

@Steppen do you mean getting subject tutors lined up for once she is in secondary school?

I would say it very much depends on the child. My dd started prepping for 11+ end of year 5 and nothing extensive and she got into all the schools she applied to - G&L, FHSS, Emanuel and Putney. And she comes from a state school. However, w my ds, I think he will need more prep, so we are slowly starting him now (he is year 4)...but I am talking about 30 mins a week for now.