SW London grammar & private senior school - Waitlist support

[Greenshoots12]

Hi,

Following on from the main thread, I thought it might be helpful to set up a support thread for those on waitlists.

Our DD is on the WL for her first choice school and we are finding it hard to navigate the uncertainty of IF or WHEN the WL might move. We don’t have an indication of where she is on WL (despite asking the school) and because are hoping to move from state primary to independent, her current school is unable to help with finding out.

Please do share your stories, or indeed post if you hear of WLs for any of the schools starting to move.

Keep your phone near, as some schools make calls for WL. Perhaps because it is sometimes quicker to get a response with a call over email. This was the case w St Paul’s boys for someone I know (not for this round, as they haven’t gone to waitlist yet).

WL are more likely to move next week Tue/Wed once state school offers are out. Some accepted SPGS / G&L candidates will be waiting for Tiffin / HBS. Some of this is factored in but the schools won't usually offer to WL until close to the deadline. I wouldn't refresh emails all day just yet but keep in close contact with the schools the day before and of the acceptance deadline.

@PreplexJ and @user799568149

Is there a possibility that you are both correct i.e. that the increase to 120 was independent / earlier than the VAT increase announcement in July but that the higher levels of movement in August / September last year were because of last-minute drop-outs or no-shows as a result of the VAT announcement?

I don’t know as much about it as you do by any means though and appreciate all your insights.

I don't work in the admissions office at SPGS so the timing is only speculation on my part. However, I do know the following facts:

1. The school was expecting fewer than 120 girls in Year 7 at the end of June
2. There were several waiting list offers made at the beginning of the last week of August
3. There were exactly 120 girls on the register in Year 7 at the end of August

There was no show in September last year, which was after the 120 full registrations. The school managed to find someone from the waiting list to replenish the place.

After 1-2 terms, a student moved out, and the school replenished the place again (I'm not sure if this was from the waiting list or not). In both cases, there was no relation to the VAT.

Good luck! Also on the waitlist and anxiously checking for updates. In our case, any offers to the waitlist likely won’t go out until after the school’s registration deadline on 5 March. Still have my fingers crossed that we’ll hear something before since our second choice school has the same deadline 🤞🏼🤞🏼

It is a myth that offer holders of SPGS will definitely take up the offer. Our DD has got an offer and we have not made the decision yet. We are still quite uncertain whether to take up the offer or not and we know of a few families in the same boat. So good luck to all WL holders.

Don’t want to give you false hopes but SHHS WL has started to move (know a girl who got an offer this morning from the WL) - worth a call!

Has anyone heard of movement on any other WLs?

Yes, Harrodian sent an email to offer us a place today. We decided to decline because we are considering other schools. Hoping to make a decision on one this weekend. I am sure more schools will be moving to waitlist Monday and especially Tuesday. Good luck to those waiting!

Thanks for starting this thread @Greenshoots12 and good luck to your DD!

I would appreciate it if anyone could provide an update here regarding any movement on the WL for Reed's school 🙏🏼 TIA!
And good luck to all the WL holders. Wishing all our DC can secure a place at their first choice!

Joining for some camaraderie! My DS is waitlisted for SPS and Westminster 13+. So close yet so far :( if anyone has any experience of the above would really appreciate your wisdom, it’s our first time doing this and we’re from a school with very little support.

Best of luck to you all this week, hopefully lists will start moving after tomorrow.

assuming that if waitlists do move, this is the week when it is most likely to happen with state offers out and acceptance deadlines also. Praying for good news this week - we’ve had so much bad news throughout this process so could really do with some relief at this point

Hello

My son was in this position a couple of years ago. We found the teachers at St Paul’s were able to give us excellent feedback. Can you ask your current school to get in touch with Westminster to find out where on the waitlist he is? They lose quite a few boys to Eton etc at 13 so the waitlist does move.

Thank you for your reply.

Would you mind sharing whether your son was offered a place in the end? W is by far DS’s favourite school. Eager to move DS as we’re really unhappy with current (all-through) school, but our only firm offer is a 11+ school for which the acceptance deadline is this week.

Hi LastCookie

Yes, he ended up being offered places at Westminster and City and we went with Westminster - he starts in September.

It requires you to hold your nerve a bit though as the main review of the waitlist doesn’t start until March of year 7 (presumably this is when those who got offers right away have to pay a deposit).

Fingers crossed for you! I think St Paul’s offers for 13+ don’t need to be formally accepted until next year though. I was under the impression that their waitlist places also required boys to sit exams again in a couple of years time to secure a place.

Westminster acceptance deadline is 4th April so their waitlist will definitely start to move after that date (or perhaps before when boarding school offers like Eton come out, although some of those may be after April too). Unfortunately I know of some parents who’ve had to place deposits with other schools hoping for waitlist places at these schools to come up for 13+.

@CruCru @Waitingwaitlist thank you both for your insights. Yes SPS says he’ll be retested in sept 2026 - I honestly don’t know if I can face going through the uncertainty of testing again.

@CruCru were you told what rank your DS was on the waitlist, or how many boys there were?

Honestly, if he’s doing common entrance in 2027 then he’ll have mock exams in January 2027 - so a couple of extra exams in September / October 2026 won’t be such a big deal. We got my son to do a couple of sessions with a tutor over the summer but that was pretty much it.

From memory he was halfway down a list of 30 boys BUT our school talked to them, not us.

If you would find it helpful, I would be glad to talk to you. Private messaging is down so report my post and ask MN to pass on your number (if you would like to).

@CruCru thank you, I’ve reported your post! Always amazes me how people here are often so kind and generous with their knowledge.

It’s no problem whatsoever.

Has anyone heard anything about WL movement today? Or is it more likely to happen after state/grammar school offers are released? The waiting is tough!

London state secondary allocations don't come out until after 5pm today. I wouldn't expect anyone to be calling to give up their private school places until tomorrow morning at the earliest.

Hi! Anyone have any positive news on WLs they can share? No news for us.