Newport, Walsall, Wolverhampton exam Monday 17 September

[Inspector General]

Does anyone have any feedback on the Newport/Walsall/Wolves consortium entrance exam this year?

DD came out smiling (a bit) but so did most of the girls coming out of the NGHS test venue (relief rather than joy?!). She thought the verbal reasoning was harder than expected and the NVR a little easier.

Some desks were empty so there may have been less sitters than in previous years (seems unlikely) or just a high number of no-shows.

About 3 weeks or so to wait ...

[jjstaffs]

My Son took the exam and seemed pleased and quite relaxed when he finished. He said he did well, completed all the questions and thought he passed.. The feedback from his friends was mainly similar although some said the test was difficult.. Overall I am pleased that he seemed to give it his best effort and didn't appear too nervous. Since taking the test he doesn't seem to be concerned at all about the result in a few weeks..

[jjstaffs]

He found the Maths and NVR easier than the papers he had been doing. He said VR was OK but harder than the other sections but this was expected as it is his weakest area.

[um]

Just a reminder that posters cannot discuss specifics of the exam and should not respond with information to PMs as these may come from parents whose children are taking the exam late.

There is a late exam for children who were ill, etc, and late exams may continue to happen through the next year.

[Inspector General]

Just a reminder that posters cannot discuss specifics of the exam and should not respond with information to PMs as these may come from parents whose children are taking the exam late.

With apologies Um - I have just read this - certainly the intention was not to encourage the sharing of confidential information.

On a separate note, I have been reading through the posts in recent years to find scores and comment about NGHS - I think it would be fair to say that this school receives the least comment on this forum and cut-off scores last year seem to be unknown - I wonder why this forum has attracted so little interest from the armies of parents who put their girls in for the test at this school each year?!

[bluejay]

Does any one have any sort of idea as to what will be required for Queen Mary's GS? The cut off increased substantially last year. Was that a one off or do you think 337ish is the norm now?

[thirdtimemum]

I think they are increasing their admission numbers next year so I expect it will come down by a little. I would be surprised if it was below 330 though. Last yearvwas a real shocker with I expect quite a few disappointed children. It will be one to watch.

[quasimodo]

I think they are increasing their admission numbers next year so I expect it will come down by a little. I would be surprised if it was below 330 though. Last yearvwas a real shocker with I expect quite a few disappointed children. It will be one to watch.

There were 150 places for admission for September 2018.This remains the position for September 2019.There are plans for expansion but those are dependent upon obtaining funding from central government.The number of pupil premium places remain the same at 30 out of the 150.

The admission score did come down from the waiting list for September 2018.I think that I saw scores down to 334.Parents may get this information in respect of the final score from the waiting list in the letters from the school with the scores of their son.Its difficult to predict whether cut offs will go up or down.No one envisaged the dramatic and unprecedented swing of last year which was initially 13 and now down to 10 possibly a little lower.

[Lategate]

I think they are increasing their admission numbers next year so I expect it will come down by a little. I would be surprised if it was below 330 though. Last yearvwas a real shocker with I expect quite a few disappointed children. It will be one to watch.

It was a shocker, we were initially disappointed but very happy with HGS now. For what it’s worth, DS got 328 (non pp) and obviously didn’t get a place from the waiting list. Last year saw the introduction of pp, but with the next intake that allocation will be “cancelled out” with the extra spaces they are opening. I think the cut off may drop a little, but I can’t see it going any lower than 330. I have heard that QMGS attracts a lot of interest from families in bordering counties where GS are fee- paying.
It is a shame that the Wolves and Walsall boys GS seem more competitive for places than the girls schools.
Just wanted to add to this that my daughter’s primary school has done several workshops with WGHS. My daughter is in y3, the school is in a deprived area. I think WGHs are trying to encourage pp applicants by making the school more open to links with local primaries.

[bluejay]

So I am assuming we are looking at around 335 this year.