Entrance Exams - am in purgatory with waiting!

[Mrshighandmighty]

Hi there - My eldest son (yr 6) has just sat this week the Hampton, St. Benedicts and KGS entrance exams, with Latymer Upper and Emanuel next week. Does anyone have any experience regarding how long you have to wait to find out after the exam whether your child is going to be offered an interview?

Also - what is an interview like? What should we do to prepare him in the event that he might get an interview?

I have four boys altogether, and I know it will be so much easier next time around - but right now, I'm in a purgatory of ignorance!

Help anyone?

Interesting mix of schools - why so?

Same here - we just took Hampton and KGS - any news anyone???? We haven't had post for the last couple of days, so those nasty rejection letters could be lurking already! How did your DS find those two exams?

Have the schools not told you when to expect an answer? They will know that you are anxious.

My sons did pretests for Common Entrance at 11+ and it was 2-3 weeks for the results. The actual Common Entrance results were the Thursday of the week following the examinations.

Another factor is for the schools to offer you places and so that you can accept a day or two after the local authority allocations. There is also a pecking order for the competing schools with the 'top' ones having their tests first, which means that if you are unsuccessful, you still have time to find somewhere.

Are these schools doing interviews for everyone? That is very unusual, and is typically for when scholarships are offered on the basis of the 11+ rather than a separate scholarship exam.

Poor you...it does seem to go on for ever. Real torture. Been there too recently.
You find out quite quickly actually. Check the websites some are very clear about when the interviews are and they usually give a weeks notice. Some especially if your child is chosen for scholarship (e.g. KG) will ring you within the week to invite back for scholarship exam and interview. I think most of the boys schools offer places on a fixed date in half term...so book yourself a treat soon after. Some schools interview everybody on just a couple of dates such as Latymer Upper. and that date should be in your application form. With so many schools you might need some kind of matrix!

Just checked Hampton website scholarship interviews from 12th to 18th Jan , general interviews 19th to 2nd Feb. So I expect you should get a letter a week before the 19th.

Good luck to everyone in the same boat.

when ds1 did entrance exams a couple of years back he got phone calls to invite him for an interview - one was the day after the exam, the other was nearly 3 weeks after (we'd given up)

Both schools had an agreeement with several other local schools to send out offer letters on the same day, which was the Thursday of half term (I think - all seems v long ago now)

I'm not sure what happens if your child didn't get an interview, I suspect letter rather than phone call.

The timing of the interview phone call had no bearing on how far ds was up or down their list - the one we had to wait ages for was the one which ended up offering him a scholarship, so don't read too much into timings

good luck for your ds

Good to know we're not alone -stillfeel18inside, ds thought both exams were not too bad - the verbal reasoning paper was nothing like we've been practising at home (all alphabetical codes and finding words within words). He wasn't able to finish the maths or the reasoning papers in the given time. A shame, the last thing we said to him was "get to the end of the paper"! In fact, these exams have shown him for the first time just how fast an hour can pass ...!

Zanzibarmum - we chose these schools because ds isn't so secure in his schooling that we could confidently predict success at any of these schools, so we kept our options open by trying for six. I know its a horrible concept - asking your 10/11 year old to sit this many, but the feedback from those who have trodden this path before me is that they wished they had put a few more irons in the fire at 11 so that the chances of something coming up were higher ... the worst option would be to have to do this all again at 13+. Not that Hampton would allow us to - once you sit the yr 6 exam, you can't do the 13+ ....

Anyway - still no news over the weekend, so I'll be ambushing the postman every day this week (honestly, I'm more tense about this than when I was waiting to see if I was pregnant!!!).

I'll join you!! Ds sat one exam last week and has another next week. He is only doing two - I can't face any more, never mind him!!

Me too - can't wait to get it all over and done with. My DS has exams this and next week and it can't come soon enough. If I see one more reasoning paper again in my life it will be too soon!

Apparently Hampton send out the interview/no interview letters by school, so it's not that no news is bad news. DS did some of these exams last year and waited over 2 weeks to hear from Hampton, but was offered a place after interview. KGS invites them back within a week, I think, if they haven't been asked to do the scholarship exam.

Good luck with the waiting. It's a pretty horrible time. Have it all coming again for DS2 in a couple of years' time.

my daughter did Latymer Upper last year and is now in Yr 7 there and delighted to have the day off tomorrow while the entrance exams take place

I cant remember how long it took but I do recall they gave her a letter at the exam which tells you exactly what happens next. Of the c900 - 1000 who sit the exam I think around 350 are called for interview which from memory was end of Jan/early Feb. Offers were then made I think around 22nd Feb. But they were very good at letting you know what happens when so look out for the letter

Good luck with it all - we did 6 exams too and I dont think it was any more stressful than doing one or two - helped her feel there were lots of options so less pressure on each individual one if you see what I mean

But I do recall it was a very stressful period for me!

Lots of luck to everyone

I know DS didn't get his Hampton interview letter until after the general interviews had already started - so not until the Tuesday or Wednesday of the first week. As MittenKitty says, we knew in advance when the Latymer interview would be, though they're not flexible on time, unlike the others. KGS phoned to arrange a convenient time and Hampton gave you the option of rearranging.

It's all coming back to me....

Is it true that rejection letters for Hampton are sent out pretty quickly after the exam and interview letters take a little longer? (Trying to find a crumb of comfort in the continuing no-show of a letter!)

No - read my post above . Last year at least all the results to our school were sent out at the same time, both rejections and interview letters - and 9 or 10 boys sat it, with 4 getting interviews.

Well ds has finished his exams. I'm planning a ceremonial bonfire of Bond papers.............

Now just the anxious wait to find out if he will get any interviews .

anyone's ds doing the cls exam on monday 18th??

Controlfreakery - yes my ds is.
Is yours as well? We don't know anyone one else sitting it, and no real idea what to expect so any insight is gratefully received!

My DS1 is too.

We did CLS last year. It was by far the longest event - all day- not sure why as they do the same number of exams just spread out over the whole day. They offer lunch but my son said it was horrible so probably best to send a snack in. The maths paper is slightly different than other papers in that its not difficult mathematically but more application of maths. I recommend you talk through one of the papers on the website just to know how to approach it. The interview is also a whole afternoon but my son enjoyed it.

well my ds1 did it 2 years ago (now at cls in 2nd form...

what can i say....
you have to bid a fond farewell at the entrance (they take them off and sort them out) which felt a bit brusque so get your good byes in before you're outside!

it is a long day but ds1 enjoyed it.

be prepared fo a LOT of people (not like some grammar schools but there were >500 sitting the 11 entry 2 years ago.

good luck!

many sympathies, my ds did 10+ for KGS last week, I'm praying the post is late because of the snow, but think I'm just deluding myself really.

City of London Boys next week

Oh the horror of it all!!

Good luck

stokeytiger - haven't heard from KGS yet either (11+) and just assumed it would take at least a week to get them marked, letters out etc. But have you heard that some have got their letters yet? (...new level of panic setting in now).

My DD is doing exams this sat, tues and next sat (goodness knows why DH wanted her to do 3). The letters all state clearly when to expect to hear back, fortunately.

We're still in limbo till March though as DD is high on reserve list for residual place to very good grammar.

Oh the comfort of group pain .... I feel consoled just reading all these posts ...

Still no post (Thursday) - I'm looking at the phone wondering if I should ring the admissions dept of Hampton/St.Bene/KGS and ask straight out when they are sending the letters. But on the other hand, the excrutiating wait is pleasurable in comparison to the crushing disappointment of knowing we haven't got the interview ...

Do let us all know if your ds/dds get the offers won't you? I definately will - you lot are therapy!

Let us know if you do call them, won't you? Actually I think that knowing either way would have to be preferable to this horrible waiting...my ears are constantly craned for the post to land on the mat. Go on, give them a ring!!