SW London grammar and private year 7 entry 2024 - Continued

[11plus24]

New thread continued here

Just to add as a Harrodian parent, that I have not found its reputation of wealthy, rich kids discussing their privilege to be true. My dd is only in year 7, but so far the kids and parents have seemed normal and grounded. No celebrity parents, that I know of, in the year and birthday parties are usually a trip to the cinema, bowling or a small sleepover. Overall, we are very happy with the school and would recommend it to anyone considering it for their child.

We have an offer as well and would love to hear more. From reading some posts in last year’s sw london 11+ thread, my understanding is that any negative reviews were taken down so maybe parents are reluctant to say anything now. Maybe it is changing and improvement is underway.

Regarding waiting lists movement, I heard that schools try to keep certain quotas in place, boys vs girls, state vs private primaries and whatever other quotas they have, so if they have a place available they’ll pick someone from the waiting list with the same criteria. A girl from a state primary for example. Can anybody corroborate?

@Annawintourssteak do you mean they're looking to make tennis a core sport at Emanuel? Just girls or boys too?

Sorry - I had a typo at the worst moment. She indicated football would never be as big as they are hoping tennis to be. Can’t remember if she said they were hoping for it to be a core sport or not.

The posts were negative so that is why they were deleted. I think they were also written by more than one poster. I know one parent in real life who is happy with the school, but it seems a few that were not happy posted on mumsnet and it got deleted. I have no personal experience so cannot be helpful, but perhaps someone else will come along.

@CocoC regarding WHS vs PHS, we having been weighing up offers from those schools for the second time. Our older daughter chose PHS two years ago and we have been delighted with it. She is now a rower so the closer boathouse is added to the list of advantages. We anticipated choosing WHS this time but, having run through all the criteria that @QuiteAJourney very nicely describes we are going with PHS again because a) DD2 has a higher scholarship offer at PHS (important given the school fees for two DDs will be our biggest outgoing) b) we have had no reason to question the education and music opportunities for our older DD all of which have been fab c) we infinitely prefer the new PHS head (to the previous one) and believe she will do great things (although I agree with other posters the WHS head is super impressive and that has caused us the biggest headache) d) we like the option for 10 GCSEs- allows for slightly more breadth of choice given that our DD will need to music as part of her scholarship commitment e) we perceive that PHS retains more girls at sixth form and are super impressed with the sheer range of destinations to which their leavers depart. We note the league table issue and the fact that currently WHS is perceived as perhaps slightly more intellectual than PHS but we’re pretty sure the same girl would get very similar outcomes at both schools as the teaching seems excellent at both. On the music front, we looked at this very closely. Our perception is that the standard of music scholars is very high at PHS but maybe there is slightly more breadth of talent at WHS as the orchestra was particularly impressive on the open day. PHS offer organ and WHS doesn’t yet. That was important for our DD but we realise is a bit niche!

I realise this now sounds like a bit of a “sell” for PHS but I agree with other posters they are different schools with similar academic results and you should absolutely go with your instinct on which is the the best fit for your DD and for your family. Hope that helps.

@squirrelofsw19 , as someone with 'no skin in the game', it does not sound like a 'sell'... (hopefully my post did not come across as a sell either!).
If I was choosing, your message is the kind of post that I would find useful. As you say, it is what works for different people, and you have eloquently outlined some of the key factors.

Phew. I was trying to be as objective as I could. Thanks @QuiteAJourney. Your post was a really good summary.

Re IPS, disclaimer, I am not a current parent. However, I do have friends who have various DC there from Y7 - Y10. Most came from local state but one from local prep school. From what I understand, it is a nice co-ed school. I know one friend has a slightly tricky DC and school has been great at working with the family, I've heard no complaints about the teaching and the drama is good. One boy went on an amazing sports (cricket?) tour over Feb half term, an educational aspect had been worked into the trip so not just sport. All families are happy and not thinking of moving. The negatives I have heard is that the old head stayed on too long and it was hoped that the new head would shake things up a bit but given he was the deputy (I think) perhaps change hasn't been as fast moving as it could have been. If you live close by and you want co-ed, I think it is a good option.

Thanks both @QuiteAJourney and @squirrelofsw19 , that is super super helpful!!!
As @QuiteAJourney said, we only applied for PHS (probably a mistake in hindsight but I was put off by longer journey time on public transport) and are on waiting list, but have a place at another school (not in this system). So am trying to work out what we might do if WL converts into a place with 24hrs to accept and no chance to visit…. Or if we would do better to start at other school and then reapply to WHS (and maybe PHS) again later on as an occasional place, depending on how the other school works out. No one can help with this but the more I know about PHS the better in terms of getting my head straight…. Whilst not projecting myself as we may not have a place there at all!!!! 🤯

@Iffiyas the comments about that school were negative, and they have a very vigilant marketing team watching these threads who get those comments pulled. They related to the way the school has gone with the new head and so presumably mumsnt was worried about backlash.

Does anyone have any idea about WL moving for Nottibghill School. We have a WL offer and desperately hoping for an offer…
should I have hope?

@mummyquestion we released our offer last week. I’ve heard that the WL moves a bit for NHEHS. Have you asked them where she’s on the WL?

I’ve been told we are in the top 1/3 but likely to be 1st or 2nd on the list.
I’ve also been told that NhEHS often doesn’t go to WL at all, but am getting conflicting info….

It is good that some parents are still having a positive experience but there are a growing number of Ibstock parents coming together from all year groups and sharing their negative experiences both academically and pastorally.
All have tried to engage with the school but have had unsatisfactory outcomes. Another poster has commented about the fear of speaking up and that is very real.

The previous Head wasn’t popular but since she has left standards have slipped dramatically on all fronts particularly academically and pastorally. Some poor appointments have been made and some badly behaved children taken in.

Personally we have voted with our feet.

I have heard good things about Ibstock. Current parents of girls in Y8 who are very happy, lots of opportunities and DDs have flourished. So I guess it depends...

@ItisaBeautifulLife re: SPGS

DD is a couple of years into SPGS and very happy. You mention 'blending behind people'; that would describe my DD well even if she is now much more confident (if still quiet) than she was when she started.

I have found most of the teachers I have met to be extremely approachable and reasonable. While there are some competitive students (with very competitive parents behind, as I expect is the case everywhere and particularly in selectives), pressure does not come from the school. Quite the opposite.

I was rather intimidated by some of the hear-say about the school. We were hesitant and very clear with DD that if it didn't work out we would walk (and that still holds) but so far we have not experienced any of the things we were told to worry about (intense pressure, heavy workload, all-round-alphaness, etc).

I do not want to 'sell' SPGS to anyone as it may suit some and not others. All I can say is that my quiet DD feels happy, safe and nurtured there and I like what I see and hear from the school.

CocoC - I’m a Putney parent so feel free to ask me any questions you might have. I know they took a handful from their 11+ waiting list last year. Also it’s quite hard to get any occasional place as they don’t come up frequently- other than at yr 9 of course, when a few girls go off to board.
As far as I know, only a few girls are leaving to go to other sixth forms this year (Westminster, Latymer Upper, Boarding). Quite a few stay because of music and sports - rowing in particular and they offer various scholarships to retain the high performers.
Its a brilliant school BUT as it’s so academically selective, it has a fair few very able girls so a high achieving peer group. That doesn’t suit everyone and can be stressful for some. Pastoral care is OK but I wouldn’t says it’s the school’s forte.
If music is important, the newish head of music is amazing. He’s also an organist, runs a parent choir and is a really positive and kind person.
Good luck with your choices.

Thank you to those who have replied re Ibstock Place School. Both positive and negative comments are useful. Not all negatives might be a game changer for some but more insight can allow a more accurate image to emerge.@FoxyLoxy25 please do elaborate on your experience… by direct message if need be. All other views on Ibstock still welcome! We are deciding between offers from Putney High and Ibstock and like both for different reasons.

We have dc at Ibstock and we have been very happy with it indeed. My older dc started under the old head but the school has changed a lot since then; the majority of it for the better!

We have found the teaching staff to be very supportive and like the fact that our dc are flourishing, both academically and socially. The co-ed element is a massive plus to us especially as they go higher up the school. The facilities are absolutely fantastic and the children have lots of opportunities for extra curricular clubs, societies and trips. There is definitely a real sense of community throughout the school.
We have never regretted our decision to choose it over some of the other schools our dc had offers from.
No one school fits all but go with your gut instinct as it’s usually right. Good luck with all the decision making and well done to all with great schools to choose from. At the end of the day they all end up with the same GCSE/A level results/uni despite which school they attend but it’s the journey and friends they make along the way that shapes them as they go.

How weird that negative posts on IPS being deleted- !!! Anyway, we have a DD in year 9 at IPS and honestly have been so happy with the school. We also had a DD graduate LEH last year having joined year 7 and another in year 12 at St Catherine's Twickenham since year 7. We have found IPS to be a very robust academic provision with ample opportunities to also get involved in the school. So many societies and clubs! Great options for GCSE which DD has now selected. She is very quirky but has found a lovely group of friends and is doing well academically and likes nearly every teacher she has had. Of course, the intake is different from that of for example LEH, but it seems to us that they do a very good job of stretching the top sets and also providing support where needed. This is just our experience, but we have two other schools to compare it to - and we have commented a few times between us that actually, it's surprisingly been our favourite school. Do go with your gut though! Hopefully the right fit will become more apparent for your family. In our case, for each DD we went with the one they liked the most but also logistics were fine for each (which is perhaps the most vital piece of the puzzle).

Thank you @faithforgottenland and @GandTtime for taking the time to write. Your posts have been really helpful!

Has anyone had any movement on wait lists?

As far as I could tell, it made no difference (even got a scholarship offer second time around for a school we had declined first time around). I did make sure to send very polite ‘thanks but no thanks’ emails to the schools.

My guess is that ‘likelihood of joining siblings elsewhere’ is a factor in how much schools over offer, rather than anything else. But that is purely a guess.