Any experience of Kings Maths School vs LAE for 6th form?

[JusteanBiscuits]

My son has applied to KCLMS for 6th form and also to LAE Stratford.

He wants to study Maths at University, and truly loves the subject. His heart is set on KCLMS, but as that is entirely maths / physics, I wonder if going to LAE (his second choice) would be better for the all round experience? Meeting a wider variety of people, a much wider selection of extra curricular clubs etc. I worry the excitement at 16 of being immersed in maths might wear off, and being somewhere with a wider curriculum might be better?

Any experience would be appreciated. Thanks

I for one really appreciate any firsthand feedback on the school, even if I take it with a pinch of salt.

I didn't request any specific posts be deleted. You can all stop accusing me of that.

As I said. Having been groomed by a teacher, having friends groomed by the same teacher, and that teacher now in prison for the third time, I find accusing teachers of grooming by teaching safe sex practices triggering and it's NOT what this thread was about. I wanted it shut down , but MNHQ refused. Which is their right. Anything else was nothing to do with me.

I am a supporter of teaching older teens (16+) about how to have sex safely. And by safely I don't mean just showing them how to put a condom on. I would like discussions on how to make sure sex is pleasurable to be had so that teens don't rely on porn for their education which is an increasing problem.

I won't be returning to this thread.

DfE guidance on Relationship & Sex Education can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education

This note on page 10 applies to KCMS and similar scools:

"Sixth form colleges and other 16-19 institutions that provide education for 14-16-year olds under an agreement with
the Department for Education or its agencies are required by that agreement to follow guidance which covers a number
of areas including the curriculum. The current guidance sets out the need to include the teaching of sex and relationship education in accordance with sections 403 and 405 of the Education Act. From September 2020, these
institutions will need to teach the new subjects of Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education and to follow this guidance." (my bold)

So if I were a concerned current parent (I'm not) I would calmly check what my child was being taught against this guidance and, if necessary, raise it with the school.

I know that some external providers of RSE have been called out by campaign groups, and it sounds like the provider used by KCMS may be one of them. If the school has heard those concerns and decided to continue with that provider then presumably they have some trust in them. Individual parents will need to make up their mind if that's a deal breaker for them - if the school is following the guidance, then all the information about the provision should be on the school website. (And if they are not following the guidance then it can be grounds for a complaint).

Does anyone know when results are communicated? Interviews are I think in January - so I wonder if we'll hear before the end of term?

Last year we heard on 19 Dec (rejection).

My son and his friend had emails today to advise result. I also received the email this time, which is the first time I've been contacted throughout the process 🙂

We also had emails today ☺️

How did everyone do?

Interview end of Jan 😄

Good luck to the interviewees (and hope those without aren’t too fed up about it - the pre-Christmas timing is a bit brutal). The interviews - at least when my kids did them 5-ish years ago - are very maths focused, as in ‘how would you tackle this maths problem. How about this one’ and so on. Unless things have changed a lot, the interviewers won’t be expecting lots of impressive chat about holiday jobs or volunteering or DofE awards.

My son's interview is on the Friday afternoon :) Annoyingly a day we already had plans, so in process of changing those.

Son has never been interviewed for anything in his life, so hoping we can arrange some sort of practice for him. From what I have read, 140 kids have been offered interviews (out of 1280 sitting the exam) so just getting an interview is a brilliant achievement for him and we're obviously really proud. I didn't even go to 6th form, so this is all SO far over my head!!

We're the Friday afternoon too 😊

@Nost, @Pinky1nky

Are you dong any interview prep with yours? The maths side will be what it will be. But I have NO IDEA what sort of things he should have in mind to talk about regarding the personal interview! He has a sporting hobby, and does some volunteering connected to that.. but any other ideas would be gratefully appreciated. Especially as his high school is now rated Outstanding by Ofsted which I presume will work against him in the widening participation side of things. And what are they wearing? Would (smart) jeans and sweatshirt be OK?

I doubt whether the school's Ofsted rating will influence anything. According to this FOI response (answer 1a) the measure they use is the school's Attainment 8 score: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/kings_maths_school_admissions_po/response/1521347/attach/html/2/Ben%20Appleby%20FoI%20response.pdf.html

@JusteanBiscuits My son is on a Discord server chat which has a few kids on who got interviews - not sure if your son can join that too? It also has one or two current pupils on too. One of them said the non-maths interview was short and you definitely aren't expected to go into lots of detail about things.

My son will definitely be wearing smart jeans, smart tshirt/jumper and trainers. I don't think they need to be formal at all...?

I think the hardest part is that non-maths interview isn't it, as it's the first time interviewing for most of them I bet. My son is really good at maths and computer science, okay at Sciences and English and really trying to scrape a 5/6 in other subjects. So he's going to concentrate on the opportunity Kings would give him with the Maths specialism. He's unlikely to get into other schools like LAE or NEC given his grades are so varied, so feels like Kings really is the best fit for him. He's also attends cadets so will talk about that a bit and things he does there...
Hope this helps?
I honestly think they're looking for the right fit at this stage, so it's mostly out of their hands apart from overcoming their nerves and presenting themselves in the best way possible 🤞🏻🤞🏻☺️
Wishing you lots of luck!!

Ah. It has an above average Attainment 8 score too, both for region and England as a whole. A new headmaster a few years back has totally turned the school around - 10 years it was it was the school avoided in our area!

If they've got this far, they're obviously very talented at maths, so yeah, the maths part isn't the worrying part! I just hope my "yeah whatever" 16 year old suddenly becomes more eloquent at the interview!!!

My son is in the middle of mocks next week, so no interview prep at all! He'll be coming straight from school in uniform.
What else has been said on Discord?

@Nost Not sure what else has been said on Discord - I'll ask my son but he's not normally that forthcoming with information or conversation 😅

An inset day at our school! We're going comic shopping and china town for dinner afterwards.. Trying to think of something for me and 14 year son to do while son goes for interview with husband (who is going to hang out in Imperial War Museum during interview / waiting time - which is the whole reason he is going with him!)

I did tell mine about discord. The noise he made may have been in the positive 😅

I posted earlier so the thread pops up.

Why not take the 14 year old to the War Museum? It is good. Or if you are heading into China Town, what about the London Transport Museum. More time and a boat trip down the river, or a walk along the South Bank.

In terms of interviews, the general one will probably be about fit. Some schools and some children will be the right fit for each other, others not. Those interviewing will have an idea why some previous pupils have struggled and know what they are looking for. I would not worry about preparation, and trust them to work it out. Your son thinking there are right and wrong answers might cause him to be nervous, whereas the school will want to see him as he normally is.

A teacher at DCs nearby private school once commented that their experience was that urban children were more likely to thrive, presumably because they were used to the setting and because they had shorter commutes. (Though we know of one KMS former pupil who did very well despite commuting daily from Hampshire.) I would simply get him to think around why he wants to go to that school and about his love for maths and where he hopes it might take him. He might also think about the commute and why for him it will be manageable.

Also if there are SEND or other issues that the report from the current school may have flagged up, KMS will presumably probe and it might be worth having answers prepared.

Good luck to all your DC. Don’t stress about the second interview - they’re not looking for kids who are international geniuses and read maths journals in their spare time. Nor do you have to come off like someone on The Apprentice. I think it’s mostly about checking that you are ‘teachable’, generally in line with the school’s values (ie not aggressive or unpleasant), prepared to knuckle down, and not going to be disruptive.

How did it go? Hope they all coped OK and feel alright about it this evening.

Son thinks it was OK, talked at me about the maths.. we had a lovely day. Husband enjoyed Imperial War Museum while me and younger one went and looked at ridiculously expensive trainers and he made plans for how to spend his birthday money. Then all met for comic shops, wandering round and dinner.