11 Plus Exams Forum

Massive anxiety about getting places (obviously, as most people have little choice) but could we have some real feedback on the schools from current parents? Any complaints or are they really all they're cracked up to be?

My son is in year 8 and loves the school. He had a place at all the favourite private schools but we chose Tiffin for financial reasons. At the end of year 7 I gave him the option of trying for the 13+ if he was not happy and he would not hear of it. He has a great form teacher and has made some very nice friends. The school is lacking in state of the art facilities but I believe it is as good as the majority of independents in the area and better than many. If it is any consolation he was on the waiting list and we eventually got in. Good Luck!

Thanks Londonmia, that's very interesting.

Also, very interesting comment re the 13+ - had not considered that is always an option for thos currently agonising over whether to accept Tiffin or independent offers, tho' presume the competition from all those prep school lkids who have bwen focussed on nothing else since the age of 4 (or pre- birth???) might be tough.

Extremely hard at 13+ as it really is geared up to common entrance / scholarship exam which in any case would follow different syllabus. I know because I asked. Also prep school boys do a pre 13+ test (interview) at 11 to establish which school they will be accepted at, common entrance success permitting. There's not this free market which is available to state school kids at 11 where you can sit a whole load of school exams and choose the best offer. Actually I think you hugely increase your chances for private schools, especially scholarships at 11 if you come from a state primary, but 13+ really is sewn up by the prep schools.

I would be interested in finding out what the 'girls' school is really like, is it really pushy and pressurised ? are the new girls helped to settle in?

Any insight would be useful.

The amount of help settling in can depend largely on their form tutor. Most are lovely and will be your daughter's main point of contact.The senior management can seem rather aloof (many of the girls say they don't feel the head knows them). It's not a touchy feely place and the words "well done" aren't worn out. I think the girls are just expected to achieve highly. It's not pushy, but the girls want to do well so they put a lot of pressure on themselves. And however clever the child felt at primary school, it's hard to feel clever at Tiffin because they all are. But otherwise, great school.

But does the school drive them hard? And is the head not popular?

No. The school doesn't drive them hard, I think the girls drive themselves more. The school expects them to work, but they're not overloaded. They certainly always seemed to find time for a full social life, and I'm sure it's still the same now. As for the head, don't get me wrong, I think she's responsible for really pushing the school up those league tables. Did you see the FT on Saturday? Unbelievable results for Tiffin Girls. It's just that the girls don't have a lot of contact with her, but maybe that's just secondary school. I've only got the one child, so hard to compare. Very different at primary school.

Forgot why I came on the forum. My brother is thinking about Tiffin Boys for his son and whether to start the long tutoring business with him. Any feedback on the boys' school? My daughter didn't hang out much with Tiffin boys when she was at the girls' school so never really got to hear much about it.