CAT scores required for SW London boys/coed independent schools

[Carmenbeeeater]

Hi,

My son is 18 months away from sitting the 11/13+, so we are at the very beginning of the process.

However I am feeling a little in the dark as to which schools we should be looking at and attending open days for etc, based on his ability and academic potential.

His Year 4 mean CAT score was 125, with very similar scores in all areas (ranging from 123 at the low end (NVR) and 128 (Quant) at the top end).

He is at a prep, so we will no doubt get guidance and advice from the head in the first term of Year 5. But in the meantime it would be good to get an understanding of the current average CAT scores required for the SW London independent schools.

Schools I currently consider possibly realistic are:

KGS
Emmanuel
Reeds
Epsom
St John's

I would also be interested to look at Hampton, RGS and KCS, but I suspect that his CATS might be too low/ these would be stretch schools. But be interested to hear thoughts on these too.

I have quite a strong view that I want my son to be happy, comfortable and thrive in his school environment, rather than scraping into a school and struggling to keep up.

He is confident, well spoken and happy boy who enjoys school very much and has a real love of learning. He is also very conscientious and happy to work hard, however but he is not at all competitive, quite quiet compared to his peers and would probably struggle in a very Alpha/highly competitive environment.

I'm aware this question has been asked many times before, however my understanding is schools are becoming increasingly selective and so the goal posts/CAT scores are constantly moving.

Thanks in advance!

Thank you for the girls schools data!

Thanks everyone for your helpful replies.

I am now adding Reigate Grammar to my list, as was so impressed at the Open Day yesterday.

Again, would love to hear people's views. I put it in the same category as somewhere like Royal Grammar School Guildford, in terms of aptitude of cohort etc - would this be an accurate assessment?

Thank you

I just wanted to point out, as someone who has used Atom just recently, those numbers have all increased by a few points, so they expect higher scores. For boys and girls schools. Some of the ones listed, I emailed Atom directly to ask for the girls and then the boys and they sent me the scores. Will see if I can find them in my emails.

For Emanuel, not neccessarily true. I am sure it helps, but my dd just got an offer there (we turned it down for G&L in the end) and she is just average I think with her extra curriculars....although she is very well rounded and has many hobbies and is sporty, so that helps. I think if you score well, interview well and have a variety of hobbies/sports then you have a very good chance.

I was told by Atom recently for the SAS scores below:

St Paul's - 125-130
Godolphin - above 125
Latymer Upper - 119-124
Putney High - 116-121
Francis Holland - 117+
Emanuel - 115-120

I am now adding Reigate Grammar to my list, as was so impressed at the Open Day yesterday. Again, would love to hear people's views.

I attended a Q&A with the Reigate head a few months ago, where he said that before he looks at any test scores he will have an in depth read of the current school’s report to determine personality. He said what he is looking for is “peacemakers not troublemakers”. He repeated this several times and really emphasised it “I don’t care if they get 98% scores if their personality is not the right fit, we want peacemakers not troublemakers as we want a happy school”.

Must say I wrote it off for my very bright but quirky and sometimes argumentative DD based on this. He clearly wants round pegs for his round holes.

Not CAT score related but just mentioning in case it is useful.

Thanks for sharing. He also repeated this about the reports and peacemakers at the Open Day, but I got the impression that it was more about wanting to promote a culture of kindness in the school. But very interesting to hear your take on it, as I hadn't thought about it from that perspective. My son is also quite quirky.

He also kept saying they were looking for above average in Maths and Science, and take the top 35%. I'm not really sure how that works, as their rankings and results would suggest they are taking the top 10%, so my guess is there is alot of value add in the teaching or the 6th form is very selective.

Maybe he means the top 35% of applicants (who are of course a self selected, above average group)? Just guessing.

Yes that was my take. Possibly an overly negative interpretation! But it just didn’t seem like a great fit for us based on that, DD is going to need somewhere that tolerates and ideally celebrates a wide range of personality types!

That makes sense -the top 35% of applicants.

Sorry typo above - I meant above average in English and Maths.

It was the first Senior School Open Day I have been to, so it will be interesting to see how I feel after visiting others.

@About24 what I posted is not cat scores, it is SAS scores that you get from Atom. This is their suggested targets for scores you need to get to have a good chance at getting into the schools. It is not guaranteed of course. I used it as a guide for my dd when making sure we were realistic. She got offers to all the schools she applied to - G&L, Putney, Emanuel and FHSS. Her math scores were regularly 142 by the time of the exams, 125-135 for English, but 115-125 for verbal and non verbal. Someone said to get an idea of CATs when using the atom scores, you add 8 points. Also, the scores I posted were suggested by atom following past scores of users, so probably scores from users that got offers from last year. Emanuel might have gone up this year to 118-122.

And sorry for the confusion, I did not mean average academically (I think average is 100 SAS academically). I meant she is average in sport. Someone said Emanuel wanted someone with all the bells and whistles. I just meant she is an average girl with her extra-curricular level. However, she does do a lot of them - Tennis, ballet, Newspaper, choir, gymnastics, netball 3 days a week and Art (I think that is everything lol). I know there have been comments about Emanuel wanting the special added extra (such as sports scholarship level, expert pianist etc)....I was just trying to point out that you can be average in those and still have a chance (although, I suspect then you need to be well above average academically).

This is true! CAT is not all they look at but the scores are higher unless you have a scholarship level interest. Worth doing a range of schools with different exams styles so you not dependent on ISEB scores or if girls, the London Consortium.

I disagree. There was more than one child from our school who was offered Emanuel with very average academics (middle to lower sets at a non selective) without many extra curriculars either. Certainly no bells or whistles. I got the sense that distance to school was a more important factor in the offers. Additionally, 3/4 of the girls got in through the WL, indicating a fairly average academic bar.

That is good to know, as there are many saying the academic bar has been raise at Emanuel.

Also, when you say average, are you sure you mean average, as average would mean a SAS score of 100.

@Jumpingjackjack @SamPoodle123 , distance at Emanuel doesn’t play a part, met kid from St.John Wood. Travel option is quite extensive. @SamPoodle123 your DC had a lot of wonderful offers so is by no mean average and lots of interest and hobbies, a great all rounder.
Girls have more choices in London day but some have turn down good all girls for coed as well as the reverse, as said it is all about the fit and also grammar schools options.
I suggest get a range of schools and different exams styles. We know boys only doing ISEB and not doing well and having to look at different schools etc for 13+.
So to answer @Carmenbeeeater , check websites and samples paper and exams process so it is not dependent on only 1 style. Do get update information because there are changes all the time. Heard ISEB have a new section in the next test round. All the best!

Distance plays a part, but it would be ridiculous to suggest that they only take students from the local area! I suspect all things being equal, the distance factor would come in. The other poster said their above average child was declining Emanuel and accepting G&L; that would support my point! I merely offered one of many observations on their offers: they definitely accept fairly average, no bells and whistles students.

But Emanuel hasn’t opened its WLs - so this makes no sense….

This is observation from last year. They probably adjusted the number of offers made this year to reflect the likely acceptance rate

I think Emanuel has changed quite considerably. No-one from our school who was average academically got a place this year. Some weren't interviewed at all. Even a couple of the relatively high attainers were wait listed and subsequently not offered places.

Unlikely to change this significantly in 12 months. They have a wider target market compared to the very selective schools, so my one observation still holds true: you can be distinctly average and still gain admittance.

Just to concur with @Daydreamscometrue I think this idea of distance playing part, “average” DC (although I don’t like that word) are offered places, is quite of date and hasn’t been our experience this year. It’s hard to believe but it does seem to have indeed changed considerably from one year to another..

*meant to say out of date (sorry)

That’s the beauty of choice! Undoubtedly there will be high achievers with 130+ scores choosing Emanuel over more prestigious and academic schools like LU and St Paul’s, but it is also possible for students with lower scores to gain entry! It is just not possible that their entire intake this year are students with scores of 130+. I personally know of 2 who are consistently in the lower 120s range. There is a wider range of ability at Emanuel vs King’s or LU, that’s all.