Moving from State to Private in Year 8 - SW London

[PatientVesta]

Some of you may have seen my other posts.

We opted to stay in the state sector for secondary for various reasons.

Our eldest will be starting in September and my question now is: if, for one reason or another, this choice isn't right, how easy is it to move to a local independent senior school in year 8 or 9? I'm thinking of our local independent schools, such as Emanuel, Streatham and Clapham, Surbiton, Ibstock Place etc.

Did you DC sit for these schools for entry in Year 7? If so, it May make it easier to join mid year but it is no guarantee. If they are full for Year 7, then I would think you are reliant on another child being withdrawn..

I didn't mean for year 7, I meant for year 8. And no, we opted not to sit for the exams.

Relatively easy if they pass the exam. Certainly at DCs London schools they had joiners and leavers in year 8 and 9. Leavers in y8 tended to be families who had moved away. In year 9 a handful went to boarding school and other schools as well as a few moving abroad.

Yes I understand you are referring to potentially joining in Y8. My thinking was if your DC had sat the exams and had been were offered a place for Y7, then they would at least know that your DC met the academic standard and therefore you may have an easier route in if trying to join later.

All these schools are full so you would have to hope someone leaves during Y7.

If there is a space, your child will need to take tests and will be competing with anyone else who wants that place. That may be quite a few.

Not easy I’d say but not impossible. I wouldn’t expect to have a choice of schools though, you will be dependent on where spaces crop up.

Of course it's dependent on the school having the space, that goes without saying. There is a lot of movement in London as a lot of people move out and, as others said, people also go boarding, etc.
I was also reading that for Emanuel, for example, they take into account results from the current school

"Entry is on the basis of the applicant’s most recent school report, which parents are asked to provide upon making their child’s application, and entrance exams which would usually take place in May prior to entry in September. For year 8 entry, pupils sit exams in Maths, English and a modern foreign language (Spanish, French or German). For year 9 and 10 entry, pupils sit exams in Maths, English, Science and a modern foreign language (Spanish, French or German).

Year 8 and Year 9 entry means you need to take the school you applying for internal exams. They will ask to see current report but it is their school exams. The Emanuel part you quoted seems like more exams with another language and later years science exams.

Yes that will mean exams set by Emanuel. Not your child’s current school’s exams. They want to be sure your child has covered enough content and is at the right level to slot in easily.

I think year 8 is quite an unusual time to move. Year 9 more likely.

Yes Surbtion High has movement, it's a combination of year 7's getting into preferred schools or dd from the prep school not wanting to stay in the senior plus families moving house etc. There is an exam to take etc.

There is movement, it seems every year at my dd school a couple girls go to boarding or move out of country. But there still seems to be a lot of competition for spots. Our tutor mentioned that a student was sitting for an occasional spot and there were 50 others sitting for the same spot!

Emanuel only do one test sitting per year, towards the end of the summer term. Pupils only admitted in September, not through the year.

Last year at year 8 occasional places test, there were 28 entrants and only 2 places. They interviewed 6 children.

They asked for children to write a story in French, German or Spanish using the present, past and future tense.

Just letting you know as honestly there was no point half the people sitting that test. They are looking for fluent speakers from the multi-lingual pool of applicants that is part of the London/SW scene, not Brits who only speak English as a first language.

They want kids who are going to achieve easy 9s at GCSEs in their home language, pick up other languages more easily, and who also do very well at English and Maths.

Our DC overheard a few saying they finished that in 10 minutes because they were fluent in French or Spanish.

Pick carefully, don't waste your money.

The other schools you have mentioned take children as vacancies arise term by term. Be prepared to sweat it though, these places don't come easy and there will be competition. Forget about current results at your existing school. Yes it's nice if these are good but in the end, it will be all about how well your DC performs on the day, plus the interview and extra curricula interests. For instance, if your DC is playing county level sport, they'll show more interest...

I've got a DC at Emanuel and this is consistent with what we observed with new joiners past the 11+ stage - they indeed have European backgrounds but never realised the MFL angle in the admissions process until I read this post...

Most recent girl who got a space at Surbiton High as an occasional place that we know, had a CAT4 result of 130+ and was fluent in a European language (mother tongue) and was a exceptional tennis player, having been on a special player development program. The competition for these school spaces is serious. By all means try but go into it with your eyes open.

Ibstock Place struggled to fill numbers one year after they botched their entry process. Perhaps things are better now. It's not as popular from what I can see with families and has had a bad rap on here over the years. But I also know parents who are very happy with it. So nothing to lose.

Streatham and Clapham might be worth a try. It's historically been less competitive but I'm not sure how things are now. Sutton also might be worth a try, also less competitive. They are both very good schools.

Thanks everyone. My DC is bilingual and is already fluent in another Modern European language, so this is quite encouraging, although it is not French, Spanish or German! Also very sporty so this also wouldn't be a problem.

I think you’d be fine getting a space at S&C. My daughter is in year 7 at another GDST and we have had three girls leave in the year since September due to VAT and state school spaces opening up - I think it’s likely similar at S&C.

Children who have prepared for common entrance (13+) would be at that language level at that age.

Yes, Ibstock historically has been more arty and not so academic. They are trying to change this now, so the entry process is more rigorous. I know children that had been in the prep and didn't go into senior school because they didn't achieve the results on the tests

Just another thought if all the hoop jumping for a private school place sounds overwhelming, could you also apply for a different state school? Of course that depends why your current situation isn't working, but it might be worth considering?

Of course, this was more of a hypothetical question. We so far are very happy with our choice of state route. This has always been an easy choice as our local primary is excellent. However, I am very nervous about the move to secondary, so trying to keep an open mind in case it doesn't work out.

Re: Emanuel as an example/potential target school for transfer in year 8.

This year, Emanuel had 3 openings in year 8 and they had 30 applicants - 10:1 ratio. In contrast, the 11+ process had over 1,300 applicants for 96 places (year 7) - 13:1 ratio.

No comparison to someone who is bilingual, in addition to which Year 8 is 12+ and tenses have not been covered by that stage.

Our DC was there at end of summer Year 7 test for Emanuel for the entry test to year 8 and we were told 2 openings and 28 applicants.

14:1

Where did you find out that they had 1300 applicants for 11 plus this year?

Daughter's Prep School's Deputy Head of Years 6-8 looking after the 11+ & 13+ applications/transfers. She seems to have her fingers on the pulse, and good connections with the various independent secondary schools in London and beyond. For example, she confirmed an offer for us before the official day, as we needed the information to help with our decision.

Not debating if you're right or wrong on what you've been told, as things could have changed after that day. Either way, it's competitive when it comes to Emanuel and other similar schools.