11 Plus Exams Forum

I have a son in year 5 and i am currently preparing him for 11+ one of the schools i am considering is caterham school in Surrey. I have not really heard much about the school wondering if anyone knows anything about the school and how easy/difficult it is to get a place.

Caterham is a mixed independent selective school with very good overall results. The new head at my sons school (Trinity School of John Whitgift) came from Caterham and comes very highly recommended. The school itself has a strong tradition and is well respected. It ranks at 179 in the Times Top 500 Secondary Schools for 2005 which includes state and independent schools. I would strongly suggest that you start going to open days now to get a feel for the schools you have in mind. On paper we had a fixed pecking order but we found it changed once we had viewed the schools, considered each one and discussed them with our son.

My guess is that it will be marginally easier to gain a place there than at grammars such as Tiffin, Wilsons etc. as the vast majority of people opt for good state schools over fee paying schools. It is my belief that the entrance tests for the grammars such as Tiffin, Wilsons, St Olaves are significantly harder than most independents and most other 11+ areas because the pressure for places is significantly higher.

Good luck!

Many thanks Guest that was really helpful.