Has anyone heard from Sutton Grammar?
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London_Mum
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Re: Has anyone heard from Sutton Grammar?
That is true. In previous years SGS emailed the test results (pass or fail only - no scores) in January which is of absolutely no use at all except maybe in helping some parents come to terms with not getting a place and adding a glimmer of hope for others. Given that the final allocations come 8 weeks later though, it didn’t really add anything useful to the process.
The way Wallington once reported results (ranking and scores given in advance) would of course be far more helpful and give many parents a definitive answer very early on. There would still be borderline cases of course and a lot of nail biting for these, but other parents would pretty much know the outcome.
The reason it was dropped was so many parents really don’t understand the equal preference system and somehow convinced themselves (or some would say - were misled by Wallington’s letter inviting successful children to put them first) that they must name Wallington as their first choice even if they actually preferred Wilsons or SGS. There was uproar in the March when these same parents found out that their sons had also qualified for SGS and Wilsons but were now allocated Wallington having ranked it as their 1st option and had therefore lost their chance of a place at the grammar school they actually liked better.
Even after all these years of equal preference being in operation, so many parents still persist in believing the rumours that not naming a school as their first choice counts against them or that schools know where parents have placed them and prefer to take 1st choice candidates. This is not true at all but a huge percentage of parents still think this is the case and council assurances to the contrary only serve to cement this belief and add a conspiracy theory element to it as well! I guess Wallington decided it wasn’t worth the backlash.
The way Wallington once reported results (ranking and scores given in advance) would of course be far more helpful and give many parents a definitive answer very early on. There would still be borderline cases of course and a lot of nail biting for these, but other parents would pretty much know the outcome.
The reason it was dropped was so many parents really don’t understand the equal preference system and somehow convinced themselves (or some would say - were misled by Wallington’s letter inviting successful children to put them first) that they must name Wallington as their first choice even if they actually preferred Wilsons or SGS. There was uproar in the March when these same parents found out that their sons had also qualified for SGS and Wilsons but were now allocated Wallington having ranked it as their 1st option and had therefore lost their chance of a place at the grammar school they actually liked better.
Even after all these years of equal preference being in operation, so many parents still persist in believing the rumours that not naming a school as their first choice counts against them or that schools know where parents have placed them and prefer to take 1st choice candidates. This is not true at all but a huge percentage of parents still think this is the case and council assurances to the contrary only serve to cement this belief and add a conspiracy theory element to it as well! I guess Wallington decided it wasn’t worth the backlash.
Re: Has anyone heard from Sutton Grammar?
'so many parents still persist in believing the rumours that not naming a school as their first choice counts against them'
^
Absolutely the case.
My dd sat the wallington girls test this year and got the letter stating that she was of selective ability. Now she also has an older sibling at wallington girls, and a couple of parents i have spoken to persist in their belief that she's guaranteed a place because shes a sibling. When i pointed out that this was not the case based on the admissions code, they simply responded. 'that's what they're telling you, but there are unwritten rules'!!
Similar situation in that we also qualify for St Philomenas and speaking to another mother, she is adamant that unless we put St phil's first, we won't get offered the place. Having told the mother the school are not privy to the choices made by parents, she simply disregarded it in the firm belief that schools and councils are in collusion.
What can you do?!!
^
Absolutely the case.
My dd sat the wallington girls test this year and got the letter stating that she was of selective ability. Now she also has an older sibling at wallington girls, and a couple of parents i have spoken to persist in their belief that she's guaranteed a place because shes a sibling. When i pointed out that this was not the case based on the admissions code, they simply responded. 'that's what they're telling you, but there are unwritten rules'!!
Similar situation in that we also qualify for St Philomenas and speaking to another mother, she is adamant that unless we put St phil's first, we won't get offered the place. Having told the mother the school are not privy to the choices made by parents, she simply disregarded it in the firm belief that schools and councils are in collusion.
What can you do?!!