TGS - cut off scores are low - not super selective any more?

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Maddiebean
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TGS - cut off scores are low - not super selective any more?

Post by Maddiebean »

This is what I heard from a friend yesterday. As the in area places are probably going to cut off at below 400 after 2nd round etc she says these are not super selective scores and therefore she feels that TGS cannot be deemed super selective.

What do you think?

Fwiw Info we received from TGS is that the average score for a girl who was offered a place this year is 414.

Why are TGS cut offs lower than skinners and Judd do you think? Are girls scoring less highly than boys all round?

Interested in opinions!
hermanmunster
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Re: TGS - cut off scores are low - not super selective any m

Post by hermanmunster »

Maybe it is a case of an odd year? The scores at QEGS Barnet are down while other places are unexpectedly up.

The effect of getting the score before putting it on the CAF has possibly meant that some people think they would not have a chance and hence choose to put other places on the CAF instead - has the effect that those who carry on regardless get places at lower scores than they might have expected looking at old data.
Maddiebean
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Re: TGS - cut off scores are low - not super selective any m

Post by Maddiebean »

Yes, that could be the case as when we did the forms we didn't have all the raw score info etc which indicated there were much less high scorers than last year (and therefore lower cut offs)

I wonder why the boys schools have the higher cut offs? You would think with there only being one girls super selective as opposed to two boys (Judd and skinners) that TGS would be higher! Not that there's much in it, 406 for skinners and 401 I think for TGS but Judd was still 412 (ish).
JJ123
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Re: TGS - cut off scores are low - not super selective any m

Post by JJ123 »

Weald of Kent is also a very strong alternative. There are at least 10 girls in my daughters year 7 class who got top marks last year and plenty of others who got enough points and could have gone to TOGS that chose Weald as their first choice ... togs required scores have come down ever since they got rid of A Levels maybe a factor ?

Not sure how this compares to the boys ?
kent mum
JJ123
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Re: TGS - cut off scores are low - not super selective any m

Post by JJ123 »

Locally ( am in Sevenoaks ) there seems to have been a shift to twells girls too ... not sure why ....

Togs is still an excellent school though and GCSE scores speak for themselves. Some say pastorally they are not so good bur horses for courses i know lots of girls who are incredibly happy there too.
kent mum
Twinkle
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Re: TGS - cut off scores are low - not super selective any m

Post by Twinkle »

TOGS has always generally (well for at least the last 6 years or so) had lower cut offs than Judd and I think Skinners. Maybe the Kent test suits boys better than girls? TOGS is still a very good school. This year the scores are lower across the county but this not a reflection I think of ability. Have a look at the comments on the Judd website about the reasons for this. It looks as if the standardisation was done differently so that lower scores were produced. There has been quite a lot of discussion about this on the forum
JJ123
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Re: TGS - cut off scores are low - not super selective any m

Post by JJ123 »

Twinkle wrote:TOGS has always generally (well for at least the last 6 years or so) had lower cut offs than Judd and I think Skinners. Maybe the Kent test suits boys better than girls? TOGS is still a very good school. This year the scores are lower across the county but this not a reflection I think of ability. Have a look at the comments on the Judd website about the reasons for this. It looks as if the standardisation was done differently so that lower scores were produced. There has been quite a lot of discussion about this on the forum
Agreed for Judd to start off at 412 the paper must have been very hard this year
kent mum
Maddiebean
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Re: TGS - cut off scores are low - not super selective any m

Post by Maddiebean »

JJ123 - yes that could well be a factor. Dh and I have differing opinions on IB :D

Is twggs score and catchment or just catchment? Yes Weald is an excellent school but as it doesn't require a high score to get in does that rule it out of a direct comparison as Tunbridge Wells boys (catchment not score) also exists to counterbalance on the boys side of the puzzle.

Perhaps more parents of girls are concerned about the pastoral side and lean to Weald because of that? Fwiw all the girls I know at TGS are very happy there. I have of one girl who felt the pressure for excellence was hard. Having said that, can't imagine it is all fluff and sunshine at Weald, the girls there must also work hard to get the fantastic results they get. Having said that I've heard that Skinners is better pastorally than Judd so that might wipe that argument out anyway!

I'm still not sure I fully understand why the boys scores have to be higher than the girls? Will it contribute to a general feeling that the boys schools are super selective whilst TGS is just selective? Not that it matters either way but I do think it is interesting.
Twinkle
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Re: TGS - cut off scores are low - not super selective any m

Post by Twinkle »

The boys scores don't have to be higher than the girls' scores. Its just that when the children who have applied to the schools are ranked this is where the scores fall. Also does TOGS have a larger intake than Judd perhaps?
ams2900
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Re: TGS - cut off scores are low - not super selective any m

Post by ams2900 »

i have heard the same thing re standardisation/harder paper so over all the % of children getting top scores is said to be 1/3 of last year so overall the scores will be lower. It does seem that boys have scored higher than girls this year, however on saying that TOGS does say that the average place offer was 413. I know of 3 girls ( mine included) offered places all scoring over 414...... have a dd is yr 10 ...... loves it , great bunch of friends, top set for maths etc etc ........ i dont hear of much unhappiness there at all........ having said that weald was our second choice!
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