additional tiffins exam date

[tiffinboys]

On a more serious note, perhaps an e-mail to Tiffin would be of some use. They always complain about lack of interest by Kingston parents in defence of open selection / large catchment.

[Joamit]

I don't live in Tiffin boys catchment area but next year we are moving to Wimbledon.The reason is my husband's company is moving.I want my son to take the exam and if he passes, he can study in Tiffin.Is there anything wrong in that?
I don't want to miss this oportunity.The place where I live has no grammar schools.Also no competition there.When He sat for Wilson's school, he realised how fierce the competition was in London.He passed his first stage and I know he ll pass the second stage as well.But Tiffin will be closer for me when we move to Wimbledon next year.

[tiffinboys]

Good luck to you in exam and also in moving closer to Kingston.

[loopylou]

There's nothing wrong with individual parents wanting the best for their child and for their circumstances. Of course not. Admissions policy though is about trying to strike a balance and getting a better outcome overall.

When no priority area existed, clever children within a few miles of Tiffins missed out on a grammar school place to children from areas where they did have their own grammars (Slough for example) or even to people from Yorkshire who scored 1 or 2 points more on the day and whose parents were prepared to move anywhere within the UK for a school place.
This of course was detrimental to children who were suited to grammar school and missed out and who also could not access out of area grammars which had priority areas in operation. It was also detrimental to residents in general since the comprehensives got clogged up with people who in the pastcould have gone to grammar school. People in North Kingston and beyond ended up with no local school allocations at all.

Under the new rules, if your DS is not in the priority area when you apply then he is highly unlikely to secure a place at Tiffins regardless of his score. However, once you move, his position on any waiting list will take account of your new address so, if he achieves a top score, he could be placed at the top of the priority area catchment list next year.

[tiffinboys]

+1

Also best wishes again to Joamit and her DS for the exam and relocation to Wimbledon (or Bucks, Barnet, Wallington or where ever else sitting for the exam).

[whichwitch]

I would also think about the timng of your move Joamit. Most of the movement on the Tiffin waiting list will occur before June/July. If you leave it too late the waiting list might not move again. It's a risky strategy and relies on your son being at or very near the top of the waiting list. I hope you have a good back up in mind. I'd make sure his name is on the waiting lists for other schools in your new area too.

Good Luck to all who entered

[viv108]

How did the exam go for you all?

[SunlampVexesEel]

How did the exam go for you all?

There are some who have not yet sat the test; probably best to wait until later to discuss.

...although my son is getting around 90-95% in his practice papers and mocks

Unfortunately most practice papers and mocks are significantly easier than the real thing so not necessarily a good indicator.

... there could be 180 children who get 96%+ in these exams.

It doesn't really work like that. Historically (i.e. not refering to this year) the NVR has been very hard and even the top candidates have struggled to get a high number of questions (i.e. raw mark) correct... i.e. It is possible to get a high normalised score with a raw score far lower than 95%.

Regards
SVE

[viv108]

Hi sunlamp

Unfortunately most practice papers and mocks are significantly easier than the real thing so not necessarily a good indicator.

The people who run this forum have said their mocks exams are harder than the actual exam. My son came 10th and 12th in VR and NVR respectively out of 200 odd candidates (88% and 89% in each). If this was equated to the real thing as a ratio out of 2000, that means he'd be 100th and 120th. I'm not showing off here.. just thinking out loud about the probability of him getting in. We're nervous wrecks at the moment as anything can happen in the exam when so many kids are involved. I just want to know what the chances are and from others whose kids have got in and how they were doing in mocks prior to the actual papers.

[dumbdad]

We sat a few mocks over the summer, began preparation in the spring. Mock scores fluctuated and I tend not to read too much into them. Best VR placing was 7th out of 200-odd, worst was somewhat lower, NVR placings also varied. Useful for practising question types, and getting used to test conditions, but the real thing is still something else. Nervous too, but just proud of DS for trying and doing his best, whatever the outcome. There are so many children doing this, many with considerable preparation, that much simply depends on what happens on the day.