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.

I really like it when they email
a day earlier than they say, saves the anticipation refresh!!

dd had Harrodian Saturday which she enjoyed. The letter they all got given said late Friday 9th and please don’t call before 🤣.

I hear from families at phs in particular is not just score and interview. Other factors are taken into account such as siblings and where you live etc. out of all of them it seems the one is more random followed by LEH which makes sense as they have lower school which perhaps could be weaker academically then schools that cherry pick at 11 plus only.

All offers came Friday before half term last year (will be the 9th this year). Emanuel, KGS, Hampton were an email first around 9.30am-10am and then post followed the same day. Fingers crossed for this year's DCs.

Yes I thought the Harrodian letter was quite funny. Large print, basically saying we have invited more people than we can offer to. Don’t call us. Results late 9 Feb and then lines are closed for half term. They REALLY don’t want unhappy parents calling 😂

Yes I definitely got that vibe @travelturtle.

I don’t get this parents calling lark. What on earth can they possibly say? If not awarded a place, you are not awarded a place!

Well I suppose pre results it’s timing of results, after it’s to work out how close they were to getting a place and if it’s a preferred option and you
are on the waiting list then it’s to pleaD
for
a
place, stress
its your first choice etc

Good luck to your DC lizard.

My understanding is that KGS post offers on the 8th and send an email on the 9th.

Anyone got any insights/experience on FHSS and how much weighting is exam vs interview? Are they looking “at the whole child” or do we think it still ultimately is led by strong exam performance?

How does it work for the waiting list thing?

Do they send you and email saying sorry no, and that’s that?
Or do they say sorry no, but you are on waiting list and we will be in touch?

Presumably every single person they interview is on a waiting list somewhere, even if it’s number 457? Do they tell you where you are on the list? And when do the lists start to move, is it march or before? Is there still movement right up to September??

ItssMeHigh48 I would like to know this too!! On the basis of what sounded an incredibly rushed and in-personal interview at FHSS I’m honestly not sure how they have assessed my DD in any way other than the exam. Others might have more positive experiences but I’m afraid we didn’t. It all felt over-crowded and chaotic. No idea what info the school could possibly have got out of that assessment half-day! So maybe it is mostly on the exam?

I meant impersonal! Not in-personal 🤷🏼‍♀️

It depends on the school, I think.
Some put everyone that has got to the final stage on WL. Others give some straight no-s and put some people on WL. Even for the WL some schools are quite opaque as to where DC sit whilst others provide more information (eg, whether in the top 1/3, etc).
Again, on the movement of WL, it depends. Some schools go to WL even before deadline, others never use their WL. There is movement usually in spurs of activity - quite a slot just before deadlines (especially after Grammar school offers are out) and straight after then it calms down ..: but still happens, all the way to September (though then mostly as a result of people moving out of London etc).

@ScreenPrinting hmm sorry to hear that for your DD, mine seemed to have had quite a positive experience at the interview half day but I don’t know whether it counts for as much as doing well in the exam (which I fear she may not have). I agree at pick up it was chaotic and overcrowded for sure! Also such variety in the sample lessons and group activities it’s hard to know how they asses someone in a science lesson vs someone doing a drama activity but I guess they have a method that works for them?!

@CocoC Yes for most schools there are 3 possible options post-interview which is offer, waitlist or no offer. Sometimes the WL moves a lot and sometimes the schools never get to the WL. Most schools still give quite a lot of no’s after interview so if you’re not on the WL you’d be very unlikely ever to get a place there. It all gets a bit complicated unless you get a straight offer from your first choice school. 🤞

I suspect, they have a cut off point for the exam and interview is to see if the candidate will fit into the school. Were questions asked about hobbies or sports? My dd found that at her interviews they asked things like this and then would mention they had it at the school, or would say things like you would like that here or we have that etc. She interviewed at FHSS last year and enjoyed it. But I think it also depends who you get and if they might be short on time. Just because an interview is short, does not mean all is lost. She had 15 mins with G&L and I was wondering the same, how can the assess them etc. Somehow, they manage.

My ds is now year 5 so I am curious how the interviews will go with the boy schools, if it will be similar or if they will ask more tricky questions.

They are also trying to give your dd a taste of what the school is like. They are trying to woo candidates as well. So these lessons are not just to look at how dc interact with each other but gives the dc a chance to see what life is like at the school. They want dc to thrive at their school, so they are looking for candidates that will fit with the school (enjoy what they have to offer).

Thank you - that’s good to know! Now I can frantically check next Monday and Tuesday for PHS! I’m hoping its early again this year and hoping and praying it’s a positive outcome for my DD. We love the school and the logistics would be so easy!! Just hoping the stars align in her favour

Did your DD have much of a group exercise at PHS? Mine said it was a lesson, and nobody said very much…. I almost wondered if she had somehow missed the group exercise (!), but another mum i checked with said her DD had the same experience…!

She said it was a group lesson in which they discussed ideas on the topic (designing a new town) and the girls were asked to contribute. I guess that’s what they were calling the group exercise? Then they worked in pairs to discuss the topic further and later worked individually to write down their ideas on a paper with several boxes to complete/fill. Then they had their one to one chat with the teacher to take them through ideas. My DD didn’t mention any interview style questions being asked at all.

Our DD said the same. I’m not convinced they can select based on these interviews tbh! LEH was a 15 min chat, nothing really exciting either. I agree with poster above that probably a lot of weight is put on academics! Not long to go-solidarity all!

Anyone with experience know what time each of the emails came last year?
Hampton
KGS
Latymer
St George's
St John's

I only know about LU. The email came out on the Friday they broke up for half-term and we got an email mid-afternoon - just before school pick-up! I don't remember anything coming in the post.

Good luck everyone! The waiting is so tough.

KGS was 9.13 am (at least for us, there is something a small gap given volumes) on the Friday before half term. It was one of our favourites and I remember being so thankful to them for being so prompt!