London Oratory recent experiences

[gracijela]

Dear all, my son has just been offered a place in LOS, and although we are very happy, there are some ambiguities I can't work out from the prospectus. My main question is: are we to expect a banding test in the near future, and are the boys divided into classes according to the (banding) outcomes? If so, how rigid are those 'bands' - eg. is there a level of mobility?
Also, has anyone received some information on 'transition days' or, for those more familiar with the procedures, do they normally hold some kind of summer camps for the future Y7? Many thanks.

@ChampagneSally
Hello, yes he did start, thankfully.
I don't think he realizes that his house / y1 form is in the low academic ability band (we deliberately kept it very vague), but he did mention that many kids don't read that well and that the book they are currently working on is the one he read aged 7 (I am not sure if it was that early, but he certainly read it around the age of 9).
He also mentioned some 'low level disruption' during the Spanish class, and, to his disappointment, the Spanish teacher not being that firm. (This, however, I'd take with a pinch of salt as he compares it to his primary school with many supply language teachers trying to tame a bunch of overconfident kids.)
So, as much as I am relieved that they are actually physically attending, I still worry about the banding. How about you?

I sent you a pm

May I pl ask, do the children get handed before they start school in September or before? What do parents generally do if they disagree with the schools results?

I know the thread is from last year, but my son got a place for Sept2024. I wonder how's the banding test, is it only Maths and English? Is it done in July while they are still in Year 6?

@ChampagneSally @gracijela Although the thread is already a year ago, it seems that the banding test was in July while the boys were still in Yr. 6 if I am not mistaken. Was it Maths and English only or mixed with Verbal and Non-Verbal? My son will start in September 2024.

@ChampagneSally @LoSsoon The banding test was in May, straight after the KS2 SATS. Unfortunately for us, it had nothing to do with either English or Maths but it was Verbal/Non-Verbal reasoning instead. I regret not having informed myself better, as while my son excelled at SATS, he never practiced for those types of tests, and, consequently performed very poorly.

@LoSsoon our experience is exactly as @gracijela outlined. Our son did extremely well in SATS and did have some preparation for VR/NVR but not enough to place higher in the rankings. I understand this is not an uncommon experience for many families. I have been told by a teacher in the school some boys enter in Y7 with ability equal to 17-18 year olds and have been prepped for many years. The banding test is definitely in May.

@gracijela @ChampagneSally Thanks for the reply. It would be a great help. Hope your DSs are doing OK in LOS. Hope my DS will meet them soon.

@ChampagneSally @gracijela Sorry to bother you both again, but how long to wait before you know the result? Was it during the Parents' Evening or you'll just receive an email? Thanks.

Hi
I don’t think we had the results of the banding test. I recall we were told the ability group and house on the day SATs results were shared.

Thanks for the reply. Were you told of the ability group via email, though?

Sorry yes, we got an email.

@LOSDad sorry for the delayed response but it was exactly as ChampagneSally said - we received the banding results on the same day as the SATS results, via email. To avoid confusion, it is important to mention that LOS won't be receiving your son's SATS results until much after. So, contrary to what I had thought, banding is not based on the SATS & banding test combo, but purely on the banding test.

Hi @gracijela @LOSDad - we are in the same position as you were not so long ago, in that we just got the offer for LOS. This thread has been really helpful and just a question about the VR / NVR testing - was it similar to the 11+ testing / prep done for the private school admissions (assuming you also tried that route)? And definitely on these two components and not Maths or English? Any other pearls of wisdom you can share from your experiences at this stage of the LOS journey? Thanks a million!!!

Yup it's almost the same with 11+ VR and NVR as my son said but with a bit of Maths added as well. Hope your son will do well.

Thanks very much @LOSDad . How is your son getting on nearly two terms in? Anything else to be mindful of at the outset?

Although the first month was very challenging considering we live a bit far from LOS and the school has no mobile phone policy, now my son has gotten used to it and enjoying the school. He is lucky to be on the top set, of course, we did some revisions for the Banding test and it helped build his confidence.

@LOSDad hello and hope you don't mind one more question! From your understanding and experience of the banding process, was it definitely a case of just the banding test being used, or did they also look at previous school reports and results? Thanks very much!

For those of you at this school, why do you not go lobby those in charge aka management to highlight that people are tutoring for the banding test and to make sure that sets are based on a combo of banding and SATs in the future? Plus maybe moving sets in the first term.
What about kids really good at languages and English? Sounds like a banding test based on Maths and NVR could really potentially miss their aptitude?

If I read this now as a prospective parent there is no way I would be sending my DC into an unknown band when plenty of other comps would easily recognise his ability in a more flexible way.

@DaftPunks
Let me answer before LOSDad gets back to you. According to the Deputy Head, secondary schools, unless they ask, only receive SATs results after the academic year has started, around October. So, in the case of my son, it was definitely based on the banding tests they took at the end of May.
@Araminta1003 I completely agree with you.

The Banding Test is not just Maths and NVR. There is also Verbal Reasoning which means it captures everything.

The school isn't really interested in parental feedback and there is very little communication with parents. I doubt they would even reply to a parent who decided to lobby them.

@LOSDad I was trying to say VR and NVR. And no, it doesn;t mean that they capture everything. VR tests merely capture logical processing and adhere to well known patterns which can be practised. They do not indicate child's ability for literary understanding, which is about contexts, interpretation, etc. The fact that those tests rely on certain problem-solving strategies, means that a child who is familiar with those (who has practised and/or was tutored) will perform better than a child with a greater love for learning and stronger intellectual potential who hasn't previously been exposed to those.

Part of VR is reading literary excerpts and test how the student understands what they read. It is not just patterns on word/language. Even Google will tell you that VR is designed to measure how well pupils understand the English language and how efficiently they can comprehend written passages within a time limit.

Does any one have links to tests similar to the streaming tests that oratory secondary makes children take ?