King Edwards Five Ways / KEFW sixth form entry

[Barneydog]

Hello, I wonder if anyone can provide any information about KEFW entry for sixth form for external candidates? My DC applied for KEFW sixth form entry for September 2016 and has been rejected. Her GCSE grade predictions were 9 A* plus 2 A* / A when she applied (since gone up to 11 A* since she had her mocks results). Her existing school looked over her personal statement and felt that it was very good. We have seen a copy of her Head of Year reference and it looks excellent to us. How high is the bar for sixth form entry for external candidates? Might it be the case that they have so many internal candidates (their existing Year 11's) wanting to do certain subjects / subject combinations for A Level, that there are virtually no places available to external candidates wanting to do those subjects (she wants to do Biology, Chemistry, Maths and Further Maths).

She has emailed the school asking for feedback on her application / not being offered a place, but to be honest I am not hopeful that she will get an individualised response - I'd imagine that they will send her a generic response saying that there were many very able applicants etc etc.

Any help / advice would be gratefully received.

Thanks.

[KenR]

KEFW has a big 6th form(200+) and they take a lot of external candidates - best to talk directly to head of sixth form entry and find out the problem. They would only make provisional offers to external candidates at this stage depending on actual GCSE results. Normally As (not A*s) are required to take an A level subject at KEFWs

[WindowGlass]

Gosh! I really sympathise. With such high predictions/expected results then, surely it can only be that there just aren't enough places for external candidates to set her above the rest!
If the existing school is so supportive then surely they also recognise that their own provision isn't as good as what can be offered at a place like KEFW.
Of course, who can know what other factors contrubuted to their decision.
Sorry I don't know the process at that stage/level, so I'm completely ignorant, but have you considered/applied anywhere else? For such a strong case maybe it's worth going farther afield?
Anyway, I do you hope you get a really good place because we need all these kids doing there best in the hope that they can help pick this country up, pay their taxes and pay all our pensions too
No really - I do wish you all the best - for your own sakes too.

[Camphillian]

Hello, I wonder if anyone can provide any information about KEFW entry for sixth form for external candidates? My DC applied for KEFW sixth form entry for September 2016 and has been rejected. Her GCSE grade predictions were 9 A* plus 2 A* / A when she applied (since gone up to 11 A* since she had her mocks results). Her existing school looked over her personal statement and felt that it was very good. We have seen a copy of her Head of Year reference and it looks excellent to us. How high is the bar for sixth form entry for external candidates? Might it be the case that they have so many internal candidates (their existing Year 11's) wanting to do certain subjects / subject combinations for A Level, that there are virtually no places available to external candidates wanting to do those subjects (she wants to do Biology, Chemistry, Maths and Further Maths).

She has emailed the school asking for feedback on her application / not being offered a place, but to be honest I am not hopeful that she will get an individualised response - I'd imagine that they will send her a generic response saying that there were many very able applicants etc etc.

Any help / advice would be gratefully received.

Thanks.

That sounds like an error on the school's part - they are only allowed to ask external candidates for the same grades as internal students, and they are always keen to get more girls. I would definitely call and ask them why she got a rejection letter. The only thing I can think of is that they may have no space at all for external candidates in the very popular subjects she has chosen, but you would think they would have explained that. With grades like that it would be worth applying for a scholarship to KEHS or Edgbaston High School.

[koala]

I have a DC in Year 11 at KEFW and I have shown this post to him. He tells me that for Maths and Science subjects, internal candidates require A* as they are so popular and very much in demand at the school. In fact he believes that all but 8 of the 155 pupils have chosen Maths as an option for A Level.

There are 200 places for Year 12 and if say 10% of Year 11s don't get back into the school (prefer to go elsewhere or dont get the grades) they are looking for 60 ish + candidates. The sixth form open evening was extremely busy and must have resulted in many applications. I believe that if your DD had chosen other subjects, the outcome could be different. I agree with another poster who suggested you contact the Head of sixth form for an explanation.

That's my take on it and your DD could be one of many to receive rejection letters for those subjects even with such great grade predictions. Good luck.

[Barneydog]

Thanks all for your replies, especially koala, it does sound as though it is her intended A Level subjects which may have scuppered her application. Still, that is what she wants to do, she is unlikely to change her mind. I think we will wait and see what the school says in response to her email requesting feedback, and then she or I will think about phoning the school.

[solimum]

I remember when DS2 applied for various 6th forms it was Chemistry that was the problem, as it is very popular (all those would-be medics) and physically you can't get more than a certain number into a laboratory at a time...