SW London Grammar and private senior school entry 2025

[Wlondon14]

Hi! I know there are a few threads like this out there, but they seem to focus on grammar schools outside of London. I found this group really helpful a few years ago when my daughter was going through this process.

Where are you applying, how did you find the open days? Are you using Atom learning? What is your prep plan for the next month?

I have a son applying to - St Paul's, Kings, Latymer Upper, Emanuel, Ibstock, Hampton, Harrodian

We are doing sports at Hampton only as it's our preferred school and assessment is sport specific, it's also after all the exams. Couldn't squeeze any other assessments in Nov/Dec...Are you doing scholarship assessments?

Yes, we are doing sports at Emanuel and Kings.

Yes, sport at Emanuel & Alleyn’s

My son found it the same - maths quite hard and didn’t finish (left a few at the end again), but he enjoyed the English part and got through that fine. Have no idea what to expect in March really, he didn’t get a sports or music place so I guess fewer spots for the others this year. It seemed like there were lots of kids there - I hear in previous years it’s been about 600 which seemed similar to this year.

Hampton next week then we’re done.

Does anyone will sit Drama scholarship in Emanuel and Hampton ? Do you know how many kids apply and is there a specific number that will receive offer for these bursaries ?
And lastly, why do you think Alleyn’s exam is in January ? How should I keep my DS motivated till that exam 😩

@Cleta i am not sure about the scholarships but can relate on the motivation! The process is just so long.

Well done to those that have Tiffin exams done and dusted!
Did anyone's DD sit WHS last week? My DD did and found the VR ok but the NVR a bit tricker. Didn't help that she also had to correct her answer sheet a few times as she jumped lines. Must have been lack of focus on the last sections...! At least she double checked and managed to complete it all in the end. Glad that it's done at least. PHS on Friday...

Yes ... that was cringe-inducing that WhatsApp implosion, wasn't it?

The first parent to start questioning the party line (Radek, I think his name was) was legendary. Obv a very clever chap, he just patiently unpicked the sales lines that didn't really stack up statistically about comparator data.

I think the Atom "moderator" was a bit out of her depth, she kept responding by directing him to different articles on the Atom website explaining the data comparisons ... he then forensically unpicked the inconsistencies in those articles too ... but so very politely! I wanted to PM him to give him kudos!

Our school says that Atom deliberately gives lower scores etc. to worry parents into levelling up their subscriptions or buying the Atom online tutoring (big pressure to pay in advance).

So ... mixed feelings about Atom. Found it kind of useful but I'm a bit sceptical - and notice I there is a very similarly worded recommendation every time the tutoring question is asked (like those "my cousin used Tayberry" responses).

Thanks for sharing. That is interesting and what we were thinking (that atom gives lower scores for their gain). It is a shame though, as my dc likes using the platform and it is easy to navigate.

Curious if anyone has tried Century Bond? The one that ISEB is in partnership.

@SamPoodle123 we have tried century bond, you don’t see the results-incorrect answers on the mock test, which is frustrating and the score is just a stanine. The learning platform looks interesting, but we haven’t used it much since most of my son’s exams are written and have concentrated on that instead.

That would frustrate me big time. So silly they do not let you see what you got wrong!?! How do you learn if you cannot see what went wrong!?

I'm interested too ... I hadn't heard of Century Bond until recently. The other one I've heard of is Planet BOFA but not tried. Be good to hear others' feedback as DD2 will be going through all in 3 years if we can muster the energy.

My older DD used Bofa for her 11+ prep and we liked it! It's not as colourful as Atom but it's not adaptive and they get them to retake each test so you can see improvement that way. Only after taking it twice (with 1 week apart) it shows the final percentage score. If I remember it correctly...

We have to use Atom for prep now as my DD's school uses it and Putney High and the Consortium use it for their exams. Totally locked in! 🥴

Hi, just joining as we are also preparing for girls schools. Regarding Atom, how can it be allowed to supply tests for these schools? Is there not a conflict of interest? To make the tests online as hard as possible to worry the parents, so they buy a subscription, pay for their tutors, etc. I thought schools were meant to be more considerate about the impact this has on 10/11-year-old children rather than partnering up with Atom, who are obviously just in it for the money!

@mutbee how was Putney?

She found it hard! Not at all like the Atom mocks but she might refer to the visual aspect... I don't like the adaptive nature as we have no idea how it went. My DD isn't as confident as after her WHS exam.
Thanks for asking

Don’t worry. With the adaptive tests your just never know. Dd did Putney two years ago and thought she bombed the test. She said it was really hard. She ended up doing well and got an offer.

My DS sat Hampton this morning. Well organised, lots of kids. He came out happy, found the maths easier than either of the Tiffin papers but wasn’t so sure on the words and reasoning part (which we hadn’t spent much time practising alas!). English very similar to Tiffin. Not a long wait for results at least! And very glad we’re done now.

@Sunnyside12 congrats! My son sat Hampton today and found the maths difficult, didn’t finish the paper. He said the reasoning was hard too, and found the English straightforward. I hope he still has a chance.

@Wlondon14 it’s so hard to tell across the three papers though!! It did sound like the reasoning was pretty tough (wasn’t expecting that!), but we don’t have anything to compare to.

My son also found the words and reasoning hard but English and Maths ok. Glad it's done! Good luck to everyone who sat today!

Did anyone take the Thomas’ College exam this weekend? My DD was quite deflated afterwards, she found it hard to know what to write in the timeframes and said they were waiting around for ages

KGS interview letters arrived

Does anyone know if we could expect WHS first stage result this week? Thank you.

I don’t know, but waiting eagerly as well!