Latymer Upper 11+

[lattemerde]

Wondering what others have thought of the 11+ exam this week and of the application process so far? Also, if the ditching of GCSEs etc. is a concern for anyone?
DC got the maths finished; said there were 2 or 3 tough questions (maths is stronger than English for them) but overall of similar difficulty to the sample papers. Thought the English was of middling difficulty. The whole thing seemed well organised.
We are interested by the new curriculum, though at the same time a little wary. It could be fabulous if done right.

Out of interest, do you know if there were a lot of applicants this year, was the exam day as busy as other schools your child sat? We were originally going to apply but decided not to after they announced they were dropping GCSEs. I would have thought their applicant numbers would be down slightly because of this.

There were A LOT of pupils sitting over a number of sittings. Staggering.

There seemed to be a lot of kids, with staggered entry and release times to accommodate the queues. I've heard 1200+ sat in typical previous years. I would imagine the decision to phase out GCSE will have put off a few risk-averse parents, but would think the school will keep any fall in numbers under wraps and will still not have any difficulty filling its places with able kids.

It offers a good percentage of bursaries so will always be popular.

yes. Good luck everyone with interviews in Jan.

Back on this thread. How are people finding the process? We love LU but very daunted by the sheer numbers.

@lolo99 we have found it well organised but still don't feel we know the school well.

In terms of numbers, I gathered they interview something like 450 for 130 places. This means that with over-offering (as all schools must do) kids who get as far as being interviewed must have something like a 40% chance of getting an offer or waiting list. This is at least better odds than before the exam.

@roses2 hi
What does it mean they dropped out of gcse?
Could you please explain?

Has anyone had LU visiting your home?
How does it work?
What will they be looking at?
Is there anything I should prepare?
Many thanks

@pinkgaia the dropping GCSE issue is explained here:
https://www.latymer-upper.org/academic/curriculum-teaching/middle-school-curriculum-reform-2027/

In terms of home visit, I am assuming this might be about bursaries. You don't have to prepare anything. They basically want to know that you really live there, and that your circumstances are consistent with what you have declared in the bursary application. If you've told the truth you don't have anything to worry about.

@lattemerde thank you so much

How did your bursary appointment go? Was it how you expected?

Hi 👋 just out of interest did anyone find that they didn’t like Latymer so much? I am wondering if there are any views on this? Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Do you mean once they're there or before ? I'm sure some people aren't keen when they look around, same as with any school.
There's also probably some who aren't happy when they're at the school, again, same as any school.

It lacks the green space that lots of others have and my DC said the 6th form common room was messy haha. But in terms of what they offer and the quality, I am sure it is wonderful.

I mean in terms of when considering schools. My DS mentioned he liked it but didn’t love it. He thought Merchant Taylors was really good. Yes, the green space was certainly a factor. LU is near to us hence I am just mulling over my thoughts on schools we applied to and wanted to gage the views of others and how they came to their ultimate decision. I understand at the end it comes down to each families own situation and ultimately any offers.

Gut feel is very important but I also wouldn't make any decisions until you actually have the offers in hand.
DS loved LU when we looked around and really wanted to go there. He wasn't remotely bothered by the playing fields etc at other schools but others will have different thoughts.

I mean in terms of when considering schools. My DS mentioned he liked it but didn’t love it. He thought Merchant Taylors was really good.

We thought Merchant Taylor was a bit meh, only a notch better than a local state school we visited. The student who showed us around seemed not very engaged or enthusiastic compared to the other schools we saw. I appreciate he was a teen and asked to work on a Saturday but the other students we saw at other schools just seemed happier.

Latymer we were originally going to apply but discounted when they announced they were going to drop GCSE.

You mention you are nearby to LU which means MT is going to be a heck of a commute! Don't under estimate commute and friendship groups formed. All of these schools have Saturday sports club so your DS will need to commute 6 days per week,

The GCSE thing isn't a worry - you don't need GCSEs for university. Just A levels and they will allow them there. They are keeping maths and English GCSE as you have to have those for Uni entrance.

Thank you! I totally appreciate the view, the boy that took us around was quite young but also keen to rush off to cricket. My DD was in awe of the horses simply put. He is still quite young and not really considering the teaching aspects. Hamptons blew him away with the science department and skeletons, snakes and heart dissecting. It all marketed very well by each school hence posting questions. I liked LU. I liked Merchants and I Liked Hamptons. As a parent, I am leaning towards the distance being an issue. LU is nearest and great academic reviews. Would prefer an all boys yet not quite sure. Choice may be made by the offers if any we receive however would like to at least have a view. It’s all quite difficult really… for me at least

Thank you @roses2 this was almost overlooked and certainly a great consideration! Appreciate the input, thank you!

No worries and good luck! Gut feel is really important but like you said - it's all a mute point until you get an offer then it's a rich mans choice if you get more than one offer!

All are great schools. For what it's worth if I had a choice between LU and MT I'd pick MT due to facilities and GCSE offerings (assuming commute is less than one hour door to door).

We are also near LU and so so wanted to like it, but really didn't!
MT with it's location and space is of course the opposite!
Loved Hampton.Coach system works well. About 35 mins from W6/W4.
As you said it's not easy.
Good luck!

@lattemerde they said not to think of it as another interview but that's exactly what it was... they stayed 35 mins and asked all sorts of questions