Son didn't do well in 11+, options for mid year Y6?

[ashley30001]

Hi all,
Looking for some advice as we're new to the UK system. Son is in Y6 in a state school in central London and sat a bunch of 11+ exams to independent schools and didn't progress to stage II in any of them. This has been eye opening for us and we want to get him into a better school asap so he can start closing some academic gaps. We were thinking mid year Y6 entry into a few local independent prep schools that go upto 13+/GCSE. We would ideally like him to exit at Y8 end and go to a senior school. My question is: If many of the London senior schools already take their 13+ exams when kids are in Y6 (and we missed those), would it severely limit his options for senior schools for Y9 entry stage? Are there schools that assess kids in Y8 for Y9 entry? What other exit options are there for Y8 students in 13+ prep schools? (Not looking into boarding). Thanks in advance all

Kings and SP are top 5 of the league tables, they are hard to get into even with tutoring, but there are excellent schools in top 30 or even 50 and they may have places. Our former school that has been in top 15-20 and oversubscribed for many years now discreetly ask parents if they have friends who might be interested to join. They don't advertise it openly of course but have vacancies in some year groups. It'll be too far for you but just an example of how the situation is changing.

I'd go through the league tables and contact the schools directly.

Son is in Y6 in a state school in central London and sat a bunch of 11+ exams to independent schools and didn't progress to stage II in any of them. This has been eye opening for us and we want to get him into a better school asap so he can start closing some academic gaps

No state school is preparing for 11+ exams. SATS are a completely different beast. Prep private primary schools prepare.
You state school may be good and he may not have any gaps. Simply it is a different type of exam and parents send kids to 11+ tutors, courses, Atom Learning prior to taking 11+ exam. I think he would need to be a genius to pass e.g. NVR or Verbal reasoning etc if he has never done it before.

I'm based in Chelsea. Currently looking at the following ones, with priority to those that go upto 16/18 so son has some stability for a few yrs
Knightsbridge school
Wetherby prep and Wetherby senior
Eaton house the Manor
Hill house

Many senior schools' Y7 2026 admissions are underway or over so will sign up for occasional place later.
Other recommendations are welcome!

I understand that. He was prepping at home for a few months and we also got a tutor towards the last 2 months. He's been prepping on Atoms as well in parallel.
He was performing according to Atoms, "on track" for students who get into St Paul's and King's. I wasn't expecting the school to do any prep, but to have instilled a foundational knowledge of basic math and english expected for his age in him, and we found even that lacking when we studied with him at home.

I would take the Atom "peer" performance with a pinch of salt. One school Atom showed DS was above the average applicant but when I got exam feedback they said he his result was in the bottom 20%!

Most of the schools you apply for are going 2 years ahead of the national curriculum. DC had limited tutoring time and to get use to English exams questions and techniques so please don’t be too hard on yourself. All the best in your next phase and do check leavers destinations as you want a school that goes up to 16-18 so it takes pressure off and not a mad rush at 13+.

It sounds like your DS has had a lot of changes recently; moving to a new country, starting at a new primary as an in-year applicant and then sitting multiple entrance tests for independent schools. You don’t appear very happy with his primary and your attitude is probably not helping him settle. Did you submit an application for a Year 7 place in a state secondary or an all-through school by on-time deadline of 31/10/25?

Have you received detailed feedback on his scores in the independent schools’ admissions tests? I wonder if this is a case of you targeting the wrong schools and no one being honest enough to tell you are being over ambitious for where he is academically at the moment. Of course your DS is still very young and that is not to say with the right school - state or independent- he won’t be very happy and fly academically

Kids prepare two years in advance. Some do around three hours a week of tutoring, plus homework and constant every day work with their parents, especially on timing.
And to be completely honest, not every private school is better than a state school. I would only consider private education if I lived in an area where the state schools were genuinely terrible, or if the tuition fees had no real impact on my lifestyle — comparable to buying cotton buds :)).
Where I live, there are excellent state schools, and my son is thriving in the very top sets, which bring together pupils who would otherwise attend grammar schools. He has an excellent tutor outside of school that works with him on timing

He was performing according to Atoms, "on track" for students who get into St Paul's and King's.

Then he should get with no probs to an average private school.

Did you look at local state schools and submit a CAF (Common Application Form for state school entry into year 7) as well as targeting independent schools? The deadline for on-time applications was 31st October, but you can submit s late application and he will be allocated somewhere initially and be placed on the waiting list for your preferences (higger than the one offered if one could be, or all of them, if he had to be placed initially at your 'nearest undersubscribed' school). At least that way he won't be without a school place at all - unless providing a full education at home would be your preferred alternative to an indie?

Yes for sure - I submitted the state school application and did a ton of research into those too. For the same reasons you mentioned.

Yes I mentioned we’re new to the country and the system and hence didn’t fully know the prep that went into it.
Disagree on the comparison to buying cotton buds and find it a bit insensitive tbh - if £2600 monthly fees are equivalent to a £0.75 cotton bud pack you’re uber wealthy already. The vast majority of parents are not and are making trade offs to afford the fees. Very few would be like “oh the fees are like a £1 or less for us materially”.

Gosh, call me daft but just assume your kid is average and send him to a state school. But that’s maybe just me.

I absolutely understand your point, but my intention is to cheer you up and offer my support that it is not a tragedy with the lack of success at 11+. Private education is not the only way to guarantee a son's success in life. Even if you look at acceptance rates for top universities, they accept children from state and private schools equally.
I completed a state education, went on to study at a top MBA program in the US, and have worked for 20 years in top global corporations in the UK- I worked with people who attended both private and state education. My son’s father also attended state schools and now holds several patents as a scientist. It does not matter whether a child is in state or private education; what matters is that he finds subjects he is passionate about and excels in them, as these will be the subjects he takes for his A-levels.
From my perspective, I would not consider private education if it were a significant financial burden. If possible, I would move to an area with good state schools instead. I believe it is much better to invest in 1:1 tutoring with an excellent teacher in the subjects that he will need at A - levels. That is my take on it.

Nonsense no school expects 10 year olds to be at GCSE level and no tutor teaches to that level at 11+. At most they need to have covered the full year 6 curriculum by the exams