SW London grammar and private year 7 entry 2024.

[Hatty999]

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/secondary/4907226-sw-london-grammar-and-private-year-7-entry-2024

This is the previous link. Hope it works.

Good luck to your DD @Lizardlegs - do you know how many external places they offer? Conscious they also have girls moving up from the prep.

@travelturtle also still waiting for Harrodian and also thought it would be today as i also read was Monday 16th last year , might be tomorrow🤷🏻‍♀️

We are also waiting. Email mentioned from
15th…hopefully tomorrow🤞

@ItsMeHi48 it looks like they have 28 places available at St James Girls. According to their website they’ve had 8 applicants per place this year 😬 - I’m not wildly optimistic but we are lucky enough to have two other offers already. Good luck to your DD! I feel like St James is going places with their new head, she seems very dynamic!

@Lizardlegs yes the numbers are a bit 😳but I like a lot of the ethos of the school and think it could be a good fit potentially for my DD, will have to see what happens. Good luck to your DD x

Does anyone know when final decision of Ibstock Place School?

Yes they email them on 9 Feb. Most of the other SW London schools do the same so you should hear from all schools on same day (though some post them so you have to wait for the postman!)

They usually post then send an email the following day with outcome😉

Two years ago I was definitely waiting for the postman for a couple of the results - and he was later than usual so didn’t find out until about 3pm! Not sure I’m ready to do it again 😂😬

I got a very thin letter through the door a couple of years ago on results day ( not normally good sign..) but on opening realised it was actually for DS congratulating him. The email to me didn't arrive for a few hours!

Last year's results seem to have been mostly by email - combined, in some cases, with letters aimed to arrive on the same day.
Some results arriving as early at 9.30 am (KGS) others well into the pm (Ibstock at around 4.30.
It is quite a day!

At least then straight into half term!

Oh gosh, I hadn’t really thought about results day as an Actual Date and just realised we’ll be flying on the 9th! At least it’ll stop me wearing out the refresh button I suppose

No chance of hounding the postman either, so I hope al the schools email as well as post or we’ll have to wait until we get back from holiday!

SPGS interview invites are out! Goodluck to all those waiting.

Ah, we did that with our first son before schools emailed results. My BFF had to pop into our house and open the letters for me 🙈 I bought wifi on the plane and called her. Lucky we had one offer and he is now super happy 🥰

It's a no from SPGS for us - oh well, it's always been a stretch, but thank you for letting me know that it's incoming!

Also, some schools the outcomes shows up on the school portal before the email comes.

Indeed - I remember you mentioning it last year and we all went into a manic refreshing of the portals!

That’s correct. Many more spaces privately for girls in SW London than boys.

Emanuel gave out too many offers at 10+ last year. So many accepted they had to ask if some would consider deferring entry to Year 7.

Im not sure what happened and if that means there’s a reduced number of spaces this year? Any updates on that?

Last year someone did a little digging after offers came out on here and found the average CAT score for Emanuel was 130+.

For co-curricula scholar offers, it seemed to come down to about 125ish.

There was also an acknowledgment by one poster that there was something of a special relationship in place with a couple of local schools where a number of lower performing candidates breezed in to Emanuel. They are not alone in those special relationships, seems they are quite common in private schools.

But lower performing candidates was not the norm though it might explain the example of 115 VR upthread who did get a place. They were just lucky!

As for the question of applicants vs applications, there are many more applicants than is the norm.

You only have to look round our local area to see how baby cafes and soft play have closed in recent years, “outstanding” local state schools have spaces in Reception and Year 1 which never ever happened when my DC were young. To the contrary they were expanding exponentially.

Even Wimbledon High has ditched their 4+ entry assessment. They’ve couched it in terms of “we’ve realised we can’t assess potential at this age” but it’s actually I imagine because they are worried about the same thing happening to them with reduced number of applications due to the shrinking of their targeted demographic. The cost of living crisis and potential VAT on school fees have probably contributed as well.

Finally the birth bulge was far longer than 2 years.

It started in approx 2005 possibly earlier and will only tail off over the next few years. Perhaps by 2030 Emanuel etc will be crying out for applications and people turned away now, would be much more likely to get in. There will be a return to the norm, somewhat.

Too late for us though!

https://schoolsweek.co.uk/secondary-school-pupil-numbers-to-rise-by-a-fifth-as-population-bulge-hits/

https://amp.theguardian.com/education/2018/jul/12/england-school-places-lower-birth-rate-pupil-numbers-peak-primary-secondary-rising

@Flimpychunk @farfallarocks it is quite a day - last years email wasn’t working at the airport! Then the next phase was the dreaded waitlist which really puts a downer on half-term!

I know through a friend who has DC at Emanuel through 10+ last year, that the numbers are reduced for 11+ spaces this year due to deferrals (I think 8 or so DC deferred). Assuming those DC don’t go elsewhere, then yes, presumably 8 less spaces than usual for 11+.

To add, the deferrals were offered because more DC took up 10+ places than available. It is my favourite school by far for my own reasons. DS has CATs above 135 but I also know from my friend that the school looks at DC in a rounded way, personality, fit, extra curriculars and that shines through in day to day life. I don’t think they would select only +130 DC. In fact, DS school friend who has 134 average CAT didn’t make it through to interview.

Emanuel friend also has DC in a super selective and the difference is stark re building confidence and general emphasis of school life: test test tests vs nurturing confidence.

I think the choice of school ought to be a very personal one based on what is right for each DC. I feel that’s Emanuel for mine but we have to wait and see if we get that offer and if he will budge from his favourite (in the event he gets offers from both)… really cannot wait for 9 Feb to arrive.

Sending lots of support at this tense time!

I quite agree. That was the minimum CAT score though for a “normal” offer. Others were rejected at that level and above or put on a waiting list that never moved.

They absolutely do look at the whole character and but no one ever quite managed to discern what exactly they were looking for. Admissions were quite coy!

Good luck to your DS. It looks like a fantastic choice.

The bulge will continue on to university!

https://www.economist.com/britain/2021/08/19/the-number-of-young-adults-in-britain-is-about-to-rise-sharply

Genuine question (which I have had since Atom published tables with the CAT scores associated with entry to different schools): given that people (schools themselves included) don't have access to the CAT scores of all the candidates (or a representative sample) or even the CAT scores (or a representative sample) of the successful candidates, how are these CAT scores arrived at and how reliable are they?

On Emanuel, the school has always been open (like others) that the very reason they interview is because they do not look only at the scores. I would consider it as a plus in any school (the fact they do not blindly follow scores but look at the individual). Having said that, all the DC that I know that got an offer from Emanuel (both from private and state) were strong candidates academically (like others, I know of strong academic performers that did not get an offer). Extra-curricular activities are important and Emanuel is usually referred to as particularly seeking all-rounders (so probably less keen on spiky profiles).