11 Plus Exams Forum

Congratulations to all DDs who got offers (including my DD) at the Abbey. Everybody we know (and DDs they know) got offers too, and this has got me thinking. It was ascertained at the exam day that the ratio of applicants to places was in excess of 2 to 1.

This would either imply that I'm unaware of a great number of DDs who didn't receive offers, or more likely that offers have gone out to the vast majority (and therefore a wider breadth of ability) and that there is a low i.e. <50% acceptance rate because Abbey is not first choice.

So is it a situation that most DDs will get 2 or possibly more offers and schools like Abbey fill up on the basis of preference and potential scholarship/bursary assistance and less so on ability?

They know that a number of the top performers will take a Kendrick place if offered. Applications were up this year but they are not putting on an additional form so academic ability will be more relevant.
Selection on ability is still the ethos but it is obviously not as selective as Kendrick. There is not a huge amount of money in the pot for scholarship or bursaries so ability to pay will always be a factor.