Latymer, DAO, HBS entrance requirements: basic questions

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toucan
Posts: 80
Joined: Mon Mar 07, 2011 5:25 pm

Latymer, DAO, HBS entrance requirements: basic questions

Post by toucan »

Hi,

I'm new this forum and this is my first post. The information and support offered by parents is very helpful.

I have been trying to understand the various entrance requirements for Latymer, HBS and DAO would be very grateful if any forum members could answer some, or all, of my queries. I'm sure these issues have been discussed before, but it would be helpful to have an overview:

Latymer
Please confirm: First test is a NVR in October, of which 500–600 are selected for Maths and English (Literacy) papers in November.

Please confirm: No VR paper at all (please confirm), but the extended English paper would include elements usually included in VR.

Please confirm: 180 offers made, but up to half are rejected because the school is ranked as a second choice.

Question: roughly how many sit the first NVR paper?

Question: Are the papers based on any particular syllabus?

DAO
Please confirm: Children sit an Athey VR, English and Maths on a Friday and Saturday in November prior to entry, but only mark the English and Maths papers if the standardised score of the VR is higher than 115.

Question: 1200–1300 sit the VR, but how many get through to the next round?

Question: Are the English and Maths based on a particular syllabus?

Please confirm: I understand that 200 places are offered in total each year, with 65 places for the top 65 marks under criterion 5.

HBS
Please confirm: Roughly 1200 applicants sit the first round of exams in November and the top 500 get through the second round in January.

Question: When are the second-round places announced?

Please confirm: The first round exams are GL's VR and NVR.

Please confirm: The second round are GL's English and Maths.

Please confirm: 93 places are offered in total.

CAF
Question: If a child fails to get into any of the above selective schools (ranked 1st, 2nd, 3rd on their CAF), it is possible that they will also be rejected by their local non-selective (but over-subscribed) school because other applicants have ranked it higher?

Question: If this is the case, will the council automatically offer them the nearest school with a spare place (i.e. an undersubscribed, failing school)?

Question: What do families and children do in this situation? Do they scrabble around on waiting list for a month, then resign themselves to a tragic feeling of failure.

If the parents (and/or tutor) genuinely believe that the child has a good chance of getting into a selective state school, there seems little reason to put a selective private school on the CAF as a back-up. If they don't get offered the free school place, they probably would not be selected by a selective private school either (and definitely not offered a scholarship or bursary). Would you agree?

Effect on normal school during year 5 and 6
How does the prep for 11+ affect the child's performance in school during year 5 and year 6? I imagine that the first and second term of year 6 could be a complete right-off in terms of motivation in school.

Do any parents have experience of this?

Many thanks
2Girlsmum
Posts: 1034
Joined: Thu Mar 04, 2010 11:41 pm

Re: Latymer, DAO, HBS entrance requirements: basic questions

Post by 2Girlsmum »

Welcome Toucan,

I can't help with the others, but to answer your Latymer questions:
Please confirm: First test is a NVR in October, of which 500–600 are selected for Maths and English (Literacy) papers in November.
The NVR test is over the October half-term, and candidates are tested in surname order (eg Adams would be Monday morning, Zane would be Wednesday afternoon). Over 1700 sit round one, and around 500 are selected for round two dependent on standardised score.
Maths and English (Literacy) papers in November. Please confirm: No VR paper at all (please confirm), but the extended English paper would include elements usually included in VR.
Correct. There is no VR paper, and no VR element in the English (or wasn't last year - check with Latymer on this for 2012 entry)
Question: Are the papers based on any particular syllabus?
GL assessment or NFER as it was called, but THEY WRITE THEIR OWN papers. Copies of past Maths (and perhaps English from 2010) are available to buy from the office/on open day.
Effect on normal school during year 5 and 6
How does the prep for 11+ affect the child's performance in school during year 5 and year 6? I imagine that the first and second term of year 6 could be a complete right-off in terms of motivation in school. Do any parents have experience of this?
It depends on the strengths and weaknesses of the child, and how you structure the preparation. My dd is very good at Maths She scored 48/50 at a Redbridge mock 11+, and 43/50 in the Latymer test for this year (average score for R2 Maths 28-30/50 in past papers) and 98-100% in all her Sats practice papers at school. She finds maths easy and a bit boring..... Her English is weaker (too long a story, but 90% due to the school) and we dragged her from a 4b in March 2010 to 5b by the end of the year. She works harder at her English in class. Remember they are studying a number of other subjects besides those two.
Daogroupie
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Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Herts

Re: Latymer, DAO, HBS entrance requirements: basic questions

Post by Daogroupie »

hello, you got most of it right, just a few corrections

DAO
Please confirm: Children sit an Athey VR, English and Maths on a Friday and Saturday in November prior to entry, but only mark the English and Maths papers if the standardised score of the VR is higher than 115.

>>>>It is not Athey but Moray House

Question: 1200–1300 sit the VR, but how many get through to the next round?

>>>>All candidates sit all papers as the English and Maths is the next day after the VR. The English and Maths papers are not marked for those who do not reach 115 on the VR. DAO does not release any stats on how many candidates this applies to.
This year 950 odd sat, last year 910. Your figure of 1200-1300 is for total applicants, many distance and sibling applicants do not sit the exam.

Question: Are the English and Maths based on a particular syllabus?

>>>Maths is all Key Stage Two, English is also Key Stage Two but I would argue that the level of maturity required to answer the questions well s not taught in primary schools, see my posts on this

Please confirm: I understand that 200 places are offered in total each year, with 65 places for the top 65 marks under criterion 5.

>>>>Correct

HBS
Please confirm: Roughly 1200 applicants sit the first round of exams in November and the top 500 get through the second round in January.
>>>correct

Question: When are the second-round places announced?

>>>>Second to third week in December, it was earlier this year than last year and took me by surprise

Please confirm: The first round exams are GL's VR and NVR.
>>>>>correct

Please confirm: The second round are GL's English and Maths.
>>>No, they are HBS's own papers

Please confirm: 93 places are offered in total.
>>>correct

CAF
Question: If a child fails to get into any of the above selective schools (ranked 1st, 2nd, 3rd on their CAF), it is possible that they will also be rejected by their local non-selective (but over-subscribed) school because other applicants have ranked it higher?

>>>>incorrect, no school knows what rank you placed them, only your council. They will offer places based on distance mostly so you have nothing to lose by putting them lower.


Question: If this is the case, will the council automatically offer them the nearest school with a spare place (i.e. an undersubscribed, failing school)?

>>>If you dont get any of your CAF's they will allocate you the nearest school with a spare place, we put all selectives so would have got this.

Question: What do families and children do in this situation? Do they scrabble around on waiting list for a month, then resign themselves to a tragic feeling of failure.

>>No they get themselves on waiting lists for other schools and the ones they did not get into.

If the parents (and/or tutor) genuinely believe that the child has a good chance of getting into a selective state school, there seems little reason to put a selective private school on the CAF as a back-up. If they don't get offered the free school place, they probably would not be selected by a selective private school either (and definitely not offered a scholarship or bursary). Would you agree?

>>>>I would completely disagree with this, it all depends on the day, every year some candidates get places at really top schools and fail to get places at other less regarded schools. You cannot rely on anything, the numbers of applicants are so high and places so small that you need to broaden your net as much as possible. For example this year five marks on the DAO exam would take you about fifty places down the rankings, just misreading one question on the comprehension would be enough to lose you those marks.

Effect on normal school during year 5 and 6
How does the prep for 11+ affect the child's performance in school during year 5 and year 6? I imagine that the first and second term of year 6 could be a complete right-off in terms of motivation in school.

>>>>Both my dd's had other children move into their chairs while they were away doing exams! They both enjoyed the challenge and had points to prove. But it is not easy when everyone else is doing something else, much much easier if you have a peer group doing the same thing.

Dg


,.
NorthLondonMum
Posts: 170
Joined: Mon Jun 22, 2009 3:24 pm

Re: Latymer, DAO, HBS entrance requirements: basic questions

Post by NorthLondonMum »

Private schools are not put on the CAF.

It is possible to not get an offer from the state selectives, but still get a scholarship from a good private school.

Be aware that DAO and Latymer have criteria regarding location that must be met in order to sit the exams.
2Girlsmum
Posts: 1034
Joined: Thu Mar 04, 2010 11:41 pm

Re: Latymer, DAO, HBS entrance requirements: basic questions

Post by 2Girlsmum »

It's up to 1 hour travel time on public transport to Latymer.
toucan
Posts: 80
Joined: Mon Mar 07, 2011 5:25 pm

Re: Latymer, DAO, HBS entrance requirements: basic questions

Post by toucan »

Many thanks for clarifying these points. Much appreciated.
NorthLondonMum
Posts: 170
Joined: Mon Jun 22, 2009 3:24 pm

Re: Latymer, DAO, HBS entrance requirements: basic questions

Post by NorthLondonMum »

2Girlsmum,

I think the 1 hour rule has been replaced by a specific post criteria for the last two or three years - from the website:
2.Those who live in the following postcode areas: [See footnote 2]
E2, E4, E5, E8, E9, E17
EN1, EN2, EN3, EN4, EN5 Sectors 1, 2, 4, 5, EN8 Sectors 7, 8, 9
N1, N2, N3, N4, N5, N6, N7, N8, N9, N10, N11, N12, N13, N14, N15, N16, N17, N18, N19, N20, N21, N22
2Girlsmum
Posts: 1034
Joined: Thu Mar 04, 2010 11:41 pm

Re: Latymer, DAO, HBS entrance requirements: basic questions

Post by 2Girlsmum »

Ooops! Thanks, we live 3.5 miles away so didn't register the change:)
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