SW London Grammar and Private year 7 entry 2024

[lolo99]

Not sure if this thread has been started but if not, I would like to share experiences, tips and generally talk about schools and their pros and cons and processes to ease the anxiety and pain for us parents :)

Many thanks @HeavensToBetsy1 and @HighRopes very helpful indeed.

I made a very similar point further up the thread asking that the antagonistic poster(s) just leave the rest of us to it this year. It was met (unsurprisingly) by further antagonism.

My suggestion is that nobody engage with them - no oxygen, no fire.

It would be great if this thread could be - like other years - a place for current 11+ parents to share their experiences / anxieties (and hopefully good news come Feb) and for parents who have been through the process - and who genuinely want to support this year's cohort rather than just using this thread as an airing for their strident views - can offer help and advice. We live in hope. But as I said further up, most of the supportive chats are now happening in DMs this year as most people don't want to engage with a repeatedly aggressive poster.

I think @PreplexJ and @Coronateachingagain are different genuine posters. But I also have a feeling that someone else is trying to push an agenda in the thread, to sway the parents’ decisions during the exam seasons for some benefit, like they have done before. Trolls hunting is against the mumsnet rules.

My advice to the parents is to stay calm and continue with the exam process as it is, and not to let anything on the internet distract you. For the parents who will apply next year, be open-minded and don’t dismiss a school too soon based on rumors. There are many good tips on how to choose schools from the previous posters, but they won’t matter unless the school has accepted you first.

Having been through this last year, just want to wish everyone best of luck in finding the best school for their child. It’s stressful, but just remember there will be a place for almost everyone and there is more than one school that will be a good fit.

@Trickleg agree with this! Someone spoke about putting in an order of preference when applying. Last year my daughter had an offer at one school she liked but waitlisted at a school she really wanted and her best friend got an offer at the school my daughter wanted but waitlisted at the school my daughter had an offer at. They were very similar academically so it seemed like they were really splitting hairs. However, in the end my daughter is so happy at her second-choice and I am now really happy she didn’t get into her first choice! I am on this board because I have a bit of ptsd from the whole thing, plus I have more children facing it next year and the year after. Happy to offer any advice and tips.

Like other posters are saying the difference between most schools is minimal and also these league tables change so much that who knows what it will look like when DDs get to the GCSE stage. Also these considerations are best kept for after the offers when you have options to consider.

Thank you @HeavensToBetsy1. I needed to read this today.

Honestly, the best post I've read on Mumsnet! And I love a little TED talk! X

Dropped DD at LEH this morning, there were certainly hundreds of other parents still happy to compete for a place there. I agree something must have gone wrong in that A-level cohort but I am also sure they will take this very seriously and address it. Thumbs up from DD for their snacks and treats today, too.

I could not agree more with the idea of being flexible and trying a reasonable number of schools. In our experience, it is unwise to rule out too many schools at the application stage based on rumors or worries, as long as the travel time is feasible. It may take an extra day or two for exams and interviews, but it is much more worthwhile than having a very narrow selection and feeling nervous and anxious during the long wait. Remember that the school chooses your DC first, and then you choose later.

Most of the schools we visited offer inclusive and wide-ranging co-curricular activities that emphasize broad participation. Of course, you need multiple schools to have D/E/F teams to make it a tournament. Language/curriculum options and other offerings are as important as the academic level of the schools.

Good luck to DDs for the consortium exam next week.

@11plusstupid sorry I'm being a bit naive here but not really understanding your comment: "I think @PreplexJand@Coronateachingagainare different genuine posters. But I also have a feeling that someone else is trying to push an agenda in the thread, to sway the parents’ decisions during the exam seasons for some benefit, like they have done before. Trolls hunting is against the mumsnet rules."

Are you saying that someone/some people are deliberately badmouthing schools? Why? In order to diminish the competition for their DCs?! Or am I completely misunderstanding?

@ALongProcess You are not misunderstanding anything, feel free to send me a DM for more context.

League tables are that: tables - numbers, data points.

Talking to parents with DC in the schools of choice is an important step. I’ve had a lot of support from moms here whose DD went to my daughter’s school - they were extremely open about the positives and negatives from experience-genuine and supportive - which meant a lot and still does.
I’d strongly suggest to reach out to current parents in the schools your children apply and/or are accepted.

People get so tied up about league tables. But, in reality, there is generally only a decimal point between results in these top schools. It's completely meaningless and shifts from year to year anyway.

My DC have gone through / are at some of the schools ranked in these tables. It's very clear that the same child will do just as well (academically) in any of them. There are excellent and not-so-excellent teachers in any school.

At A-level stage the league tables can obscure the salient differences in curriculums - eg. (off the top of my head) -

• G&L is the top performing school for IB and many of their 'top performers' take this route which may skew their A-level results.

• LU's policy is 3 A-levels (unless one is FM or a semi-fluent language) plus EPQ. Its definitely easier to get all A stars in three A-levels as opposed to 4 (which they are required to take at other schools such as G&L). Unis only look at your best three A-levels anyway (unless they require FM). This is worth bearing in mind.

• Some schools (eg. SPGS and LU in some subjects) do the Cambridge Board qualification in place of A levels - in which case the A-star grade does not directly translate (I think D1 is higher etc).

• Some schools have more limited subject options than others

In any case, going 'the top independent school' will not help your chances when it comes to applications for top unis. This is because their grades will be contextualised against 'the average' in that cohort. So if the average at SPGS is three A stars and your child gets two A stars and an A, they could actually receive a negative contextualised A level score; whereas this might not be the case at say, Ibstock or KGS where the cohort average may be AAA or thereabouts.

Agree with your points. Also, to add there are DC with early acceptance into US universities so A levels grades need not be all As since they have an offer in hand.
Some DC going to music conservatory or RADA and other drama programmes or Art schools would have a different requirements for entry and not all requirements based on top A levels but performances or portfolios focus.

@possiblenow @HawaiiWake Completely agree with your posts (thank-you both for the common sense pov!) The league tables are a bit of a distraction when choosing schools I think and, as you say, there is a fair amount of fluctuation year-on-year (except no. 1 generally). But it is interesting when talking to parents at DD's school about the schools they're applying to that many are still primarily chasing the "top performing" schools. Quite a few parents we know had decided that SPGS was their top choice school before they'd even seen it...

Totally agree with the above, also I get such a strong gut feel about schools and whether DC will be happy there. I like to visit on a normal school day rather than open days, I like to see a lesson change and a break time and a lesson if possible.

The thing that will most influence DC happiness will be the cohort, which of course you cant control!

I have a question, DD has an exam in January that has switched to CEM Select. Any tips on that? Looks like speed is a very important factor?

@farfallarocks Yes, speed is very much the key factor on CEM Select. Also, lots of things you read online will tell you that the 5 or 6 modules are always the same. They're not. DD sat it a few weeks ago and the modules were different. I think there are about 5 different VR types of question that can be included.
The Atom CEM Select mock is good to practice speed but I don't think the material is quite hard enough. (You can do two mocks on the free 5 day Atom trial if you don't have a subscription).

Completely agree re gut feel for schools. I've known pretty quickly on an open day that some schools will just not be a good fit for my DD (whatever their position in the rankings). I think looking into lessons (do the kids look bored or happy and engaged?) is key, as is the vibe around break time if you get to see one.

"Quite a few parents we know had decided that SPGS was their top choice school before they'd even seen it..."

I believe this is common, I have seen some in real life.I also remember last year (and the year before) there was a poster who says DD in year 4/5 already active asking / collecting information of this specific school in the support threads.

I also echo on the timing of considering options as a few PP mentioned earlier. Now is the time best use for the parents and kids to focus on the 11+ exams and interviews and get the best outcome out of it. Personally I would focus providing support for information on exams and interviews.

You might not know if your DC fits in LU/GL/SPGS and etc schools yet, but after February you get the best outcome, you have plenty of time to check course offerings, consult existing parents in the offer holding events, find more parents in the same position to share their view on schools etc.

At that point since offer has issued and there are much less conflicts of interest for sharing genuine views between parents of the same year.

I'd agree that discussing league tables etc. is not that helpful, at least not on this thread at present. For the parents going through everything now, we've already decided on our short list of which schools we're applying for our DC. The focus now is getting through the exams with the best outcome possible.

Hi all,

any tips about how to prepare KGS interview ? Ours is on the 5th of January.
What kind of questions do they ask ? Anyone has been through that before ? Its first time for us :) sorry if this has been asked already.

thank you !

@farfallarocks
"I have a question, DD has an exam in January that has switched to CEM Select. Any tips on that? Looks like speed is a very important factor?"

Speed is the key, CEM select is a non adaptive test, so DC can pass a question to the next if stuck and go back later within a section. I think it has multiple fix number of modules, and the candidate will get a subset of the modules for each section.

You will always get English comprehension, VR you might have one or two of the VR type, NVR won't change, but Maths you might get arithmetic or data solving problems.

Practice the Atom CEM Select mock will help. Also checkout pretest website their CEM select test are good assemble of the real one.

@Wondermumof4 if it is a general interview, it is a very relaxed affair - just questions about general interests, favourite books / subjects / films, etc, what they like about KGS, etc.
If a subject specific one, there will be questions about that subject.
Well done to your DC for making it to interview - they are in with a very good chance of getting an offer, especially if they have a general interview. And it is a great school.

Thanks a lot we are very happy and hope to get an offer in the end.
my son has a general interview so finger crossed :) 🤞🏻

@Wondermumof4 encourage your son to think of questions he can ask as well - anything he'd like to know about life at KGS. As they select mainly via the test, this is his opportunity to find out more about what life will be like at the school. At this stage just as they are interviewing him, they will also try and use the time to tell him about what life will be like for him at KGS. It might be a good idea to look at the curriculum / clubs and things like that on the website and encourage him to think about what else he'd like to know about the school.

Thanks a lot for your message it is very helpful !