St Paul's Girls interview tips
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Re: St Paul's Girls interview tips
Hi,
I suspect I was being a bit unfair. Some of the girls we know worked tremendously hard to get a place, and definitely earned it. No play dates etc for months, and I suspect the most sought after tutors do not come cheap. Not surprisingly their parents are very proud.
The issue is more the baggage that comes with some of that parental pride, and which can spill over to the girls themselves, and where there may be a level of blurring between doing better in one set of exams on one day and general "intelligence", and then whether the sort of all round intelligence needed for SPGS is necessarily superior to talent in either a specific subject, or in something else altogether including social skills.
Again a bit unfair, as this is really a minority and I know it is something that grates on other SPGS parents. However it is pretty gruesome.
A personal decision but we decided to let DD sit the exam without much preparation. If she got in it would be because she was a "natural". Two years on and
1. she will probably do as well exam wise as many at SPGS
2. she would have had to work a lot harder at SPGS, which might have translated into better exam grades, but I am not sure whether the greater level of competition would have suited her.
3. longer term I think it is good to be in a group where academic ability is just one way to earn self-esteem, and where she had to generate the motivation herself to do well, in part by choosing to be engaged and leaning to enjoy education.
4. I dont know if I could have coped with one or two of the other parents. I have been party to a couple of quite shocking examples of parents being quite derogatory about the academic ability of some of their children's peers, and whether those children "deserved" their places. Too much. Really.
Btw though I cross paths with SPGS parents in a number of different ways, I think all their daughters were at private Preps. I dont know if this makes a difference. I would say of these the ex-Bute girls tend to be the nicest and the most relaxed, and this would certainly be our preferred school if starting again.
I suspect I was being a bit unfair. Some of the girls we know worked tremendously hard to get a place, and definitely earned it. No play dates etc for months, and I suspect the most sought after tutors do not come cheap. Not surprisingly their parents are very proud.
The issue is more the baggage that comes with some of that parental pride, and which can spill over to the girls themselves, and where there may be a level of blurring between doing better in one set of exams on one day and general "intelligence", and then whether the sort of all round intelligence needed for SPGS is necessarily superior to talent in either a specific subject, or in something else altogether including social skills.
Again a bit unfair, as this is really a minority and I know it is something that grates on other SPGS parents. However it is pretty gruesome.
A personal decision but we decided to let DD sit the exam without much preparation. If she got in it would be because she was a "natural". Two years on and
1. she will probably do as well exam wise as many at SPGS
2. she would have had to work a lot harder at SPGS, which might have translated into better exam grades, but I am not sure whether the greater level of competition would have suited her.
3. longer term I think it is good to be in a group where academic ability is just one way to earn self-esteem, and where she had to generate the motivation herself to do well, in part by choosing to be engaged and leaning to enjoy education.
4. I dont know if I could have coped with one or two of the other parents. I have been party to a couple of quite shocking examples of parents being quite derogatory about the academic ability of some of their children's peers, and whether those children "deserved" their places. Too much. Really.
Btw though I cross paths with SPGS parents in a number of different ways, I think all their daughters were at private Preps. I dont know if this makes a difference. I would say of these the ex-Bute girls tend to be the nicest and the most relaxed, and this would certainly be our preferred school if starting again.
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Daogroupie
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Re: St Paul's Girls interview tips
Wow, Londonmum I just love your Point 3! This is it in a nutshell. I get lots of pms about DAO and I myself have been puzzled by some exam entry prep students who appear to get very distracted, even though there are so many opportunites in so many different fields. As you say, the difference is the requirement to "generate the motivation herself to do well, in part by choosing to be engaged and learning to enjoy education." This is the main difference between state grammar and indy, especially DAO. As I have said before DAO is not the place for those who cannot do this.
Dez, I believe that the state school syllabus is enough for 11+ exams. You can get a Level 4 in Sats and get half the questions on the paper wrong. These are not the students that the selectives and indys are looking for. It is the 5A's and 6 level students who are the ones they want. But the issue is that most students have not completed KS2 English and Maths by September of Y6 so if this is the case the parent needs to step in and fill that gap themselves or with a tutor. In our primary Y6 was simply revision and the KS2 Maths and English syllabus was complete. There was a whole table of students already on 5A's in all Sats subjects by Easter of Y5 as they had been streamed in a separate classroom in English and Maths since Year Two. This was possible because it was a two class intake, not so easy to achieve this in a single class intake. We know another school that splits into four sets for Maths from Year Two and another, three sets. It is no accident that these schools have students who do well in 11+ exams. I wanted my dd's in a big primary to have lots of opportunites and lots of competition and choice of friends. But they also benefited greatly from the streaming options available in a big school.
On SPSG my dd spent the day doing the exams and found the staff lovely but the cohort very unfriendly, they all were in great groups from their preps and she came out adamant that she would not be going back. It was the only one of her experiences she did not enjoy. She had a great time at City, Habs, St Albans, Queenswood and Haileybury. She did not meet another girl from state school all day. Does anyone know a state school girl there? DG
Dez, I believe that the state school syllabus is enough for 11+ exams. You can get a Level 4 in Sats and get half the questions on the paper wrong. These are not the students that the selectives and indys are looking for. It is the 5A's and 6 level students who are the ones they want. But the issue is that most students have not completed KS2 English and Maths by September of Y6 so if this is the case the parent needs to step in and fill that gap themselves or with a tutor. In our primary Y6 was simply revision and the KS2 Maths and English syllabus was complete. There was a whole table of students already on 5A's in all Sats subjects by Easter of Y5 as they had been streamed in a separate classroom in English and Maths since Year Two. This was possible because it was a two class intake, not so easy to achieve this in a single class intake. We know another school that splits into four sets for Maths from Year Two and another, three sets. It is no accident that these schools have students who do well in 11+ exams. I wanted my dd's in a big primary to have lots of opportunites and lots of competition and choice of friends. But they also benefited greatly from the streaming options available in a big school.
On SPSG my dd spent the day doing the exams and found the staff lovely but the cohort very unfriendly, they all were in great groups from their preps and she came out adamant that she would not be going back. It was the only one of her experiences she did not enjoy. She had a great time at City, Habs, St Albans, Queenswood and Haileybury. She did not meet another girl from state school all day. Does anyone know a state school girl there? DG
Re: St Paul's Girls interview tips
Hi,
I have a friend who's daughter got into SPGS last year from a state school. No tutoring just naturally bright. She loved the school at open day and although she sat for other schools it was her top choice (not the parents). She is loving it now and thriving there, parents happy too. In my experience (from local indy prep) last year going through the 11+ process the girl from our school that got into SPGS was the super bright one who could have been picked out from year 1. Other girls that were quite bright but overly tutored all failed to get to interview.
I have a friend who's daughter got into SPGS last year from a state school. No tutoring just naturally bright. She loved the school at open day and although she sat for other schools it was her top choice (not the parents). She is loving it now and thriving there, parents happy too. In my experience (from local indy prep) last year going through the 11+ process the girl from our school that got into SPGS was the super bright one who could have been picked out from year 1. Other girls that were quite bright but overly tutored all failed to get to interview.
Re: St Paul's Girls interview tips
I know one! she is in y8 now, previously at my DC's state primary. I am sure there are more...
forgot to add that this girl rejected the place in our local superselective to go to SPGS. 10 min walk against at least 45 min on a good day.
forgot to add that this girl rejected the place in our local superselective to go to SPGS. 10 min walk against at least 45 min on a good day.
Re: St Paul's Girls interview tips
I do tooDaogroupie wrote: Does anyone know a state school girl there? DG
. Someone from a 'satisfactory' unstreamed state school, whose Mum gave her practice papers her/taught the the bits that the school did not cover, as plenty of the maths had not been covered at her school. Whilst I would call this tutoring, I would also describe this girl as very bright and absolutely a Point 3 (love that) in that her interest and natural motivations are very learning and academically focused. As I understand it she has found it a bit socially intimidating, but that might have been the case anywhere as she is quite shy. Oh, and in terms of the cleverest girls versus luck on the day...she got Tiffin and NHEHS but not Latymer Upper or LEH.mad?
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Thingsbehindthesun
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Re: St Paul's Girls interview tips
At their last open day in November I think.I asked a French teacher about the percentage of prep school children in comparison to state.She said "she thought it was around 60/40 but stressed it didn't really matter as long as the girls wanted to learn".Daogroupie wrote: Does anyone know a state school girl there? DG
Re: St Paul's Girls interview tips
Hi DG
It was nice to hear that your DD's school have been streamed since year 2. Although there are also two classes in my daughter's school, there is no streaming at all. Hence, my daughter always find it a bit bore at school
It was nice to hear that your DD's school have been streamed since year 2. Although there are also two classes in my daughter's school, there is no streaming at all. Hence, my daughter always find it a bit bore at school
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vivienphung
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Re: St Paul's Girls interview tips
My niece is in year 7 at SPGS and she was from a state school. SPGS was her and her father's first choice but her mum's was NLCS. She applied to other indies such as Habs, Clgs, St Helen's and grammar school choices were Henrietta, Tiffins and Watford girls. She was offered places from all of these schools.
She was tutored two years before the 11+ exams and her mum also trained her on additional practice papers such as those that were available from Indy schools' website.
She is very happy at SPGS and has made friends. Recent school reports showed that she did very well on the majority of the subjects apart from one on which the report suggested she needed more involvement.
I was told she gets a lot of homework and these homework certainly take her longer than anticipated. Her mum did feel that there could be times that she had to learn things the hard way in terms of homework because of her state school background. This situation is now improving after 1.5 term.
She was tutored two years before the 11+ exams and her mum also trained her on additional practice papers such as those that were available from Indy schools' website.
She is very happy at SPGS and has made friends. Recent school reports showed that she did very well on the majority of the subjects apart from one on which the report suggested she needed more involvement.
I was told she gets a lot of homework and these homework certainly take her longer than anticipated. Her mum did feel that there could be times that she had to learn things the hard way in terms of homework because of her state school background. This situation is now improving after 1.5 term.
Re: St Paul's Girls interview tips
I have a daughter at SPGS and I would say that I was aware of about 25% of her initial form coming from the state sector. I think the girls she mixes with are all very friendly and kind, they appear to be very supportive of each other and very much normal teenage girls, although possibly less into shopping and more into sport, music, cooking etc., judging from other friends' daughters at other schools.
Good luck to anyone waiting for results tomorrow.
Good luck to anyone waiting for results tomorrow.
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happygirl1652
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Wed Mar 28, 2012 9:56 pm
Re: St Paul's Girls interview tips
Hi,
I am a Year 9 (aged 13) student from St. Paul's. When I took the interview the teachers were very nice, and made an effort to make me feel comfortable and welcome there. They asked me my favourite subjects, extra-curricular activities etc. and also showed me a picture which I had to describe. This was probably the most laid back interview I went to.
When I got accepted, I wasn't sure if I wanted to go- probably due to the jealous comments made on sites like these. In order to make my decision, I went and spent a couple of hours with a Year 7 form and instantly realised that this is where I wanted to be. The girls are from so many different backgrounds and are not just from private schools- in my class of 21 there are 7 from state schools. Many were not tutored, and even if they were, they had to be intelligent and motivated in order to benefit from it. What 10-year-old child who isn't motivated will actually spend the time to learn it all? No tutor can force information into an unwilling and unintelligent child. Anyway, the school is very good at picking out the best. In my class there are 2 dyslexics, 1 dyspraxic and 1 girl who I am fairly certain has Aspergers. I doubt they did extremely well on certain aspects of the exam and interview, but as I said, the school can see past this. Teachers and tutors seemed to have come up with arbitrary rules that you must follow in order to get in. According to "londonmum", kids can just "sail in" if they "passed the entry carefully". This isn't a test which if you crack the code you can pass- it measures natural ability in a variety of subjects, as well as a few topics which required learned knowledge. As to the comment about not getting into other schools, I don't know of one girl here who did not get into Godolphin or City.
What I am trying to get at is that no matter how you put it, it is obvious that those at St. Paul's thrive. Yes, we are put under pressure to do well, however that is coming from ourselves. The school is very concerned about those who are spending too much time on homework etc., and letters are constantly going home to try and get us to stick to homework slots. As a matter of fact, after we had all requested revision lists for the summer exams, the teachers told us not to revise this Easter and to enjoy ourselves. If you are worried that the people at SPGS will reject you if you come from a state school, I can assure you that nobody cares. And also, if you think that we work too hard and have no time to have fun, that is also untrue. The main thing about this school is that you can be almost anybody. We have extremely sporty people , very academic people, fashionable people, those who couldn't care less about what they are wearing, girls who spend every second in between lessons with their face in a book, girls who practice the violin for two hours a day, kids who live in Wimbledon, kids who live in Barnet and everyone in between. The only thing that you are guaranteed to get in every girl at St. Paul's, is a wanting to succeed. And that is what makes us different.
Anybody who is interested in going or sending their daughter to St. Paul's, please send me a message as I am very willing to try and make people understand why I can honestly say that accepting my SPGS offer has been one of the best decisions of my life.
I am a Year 9 (aged 13) student from St. Paul's. When I took the interview the teachers were very nice, and made an effort to make me feel comfortable and welcome there. They asked me my favourite subjects, extra-curricular activities etc. and also showed me a picture which I had to describe. This was probably the most laid back interview I went to.
When I got accepted, I wasn't sure if I wanted to go- probably due to the jealous comments made on sites like these. In order to make my decision, I went and spent a couple of hours with a Year 7 form and instantly realised that this is where I wanted to be. The girls are from so many different backgrounds and are not just from private schools- in my class of 21 there are 7 from state schools. Many were not tutored, and even if they were, they had to be intelligent and motivated in order to benefit from it. What 10-year-old child who isn't motivated will actually spend the time to learn it all? No tutor can force information into an unwilling and unintelligent child. Anyway, the school is very good at picking out the best. In my class there are 2 dyslexics, 1 dyspraxic and 1 girl who I am fairly certain has Aspergers. I doubt they did extremely well on certain aspects of the exam and interview, but as I said, the school can see past this. Teachers and tutors seemed to have come up with arbitrary rules that you must follow in order to get in. According to "londonmum", kids can just "sail in" if they "passed the entry carefully". This isn't a test which if you crack the code you can pass- it measures natural ability in a variety of subjects, as well as a few topics which required learned knowledge. As to the comment about not getting into other schools, I don't know of one girl here who did not get into Godolphin or City.
What I am trying to get at is that no matter how you put it, it is obvious that those at St. Paul's thrive. Yes, we are put under pressure to do well, however that is coming from ourselves. The school is very concerned about those who are spending too much time on homework etc., and letters are constantly going home to try and get us to stick to homework slots. As a matter of fact, after we had all requested revision lists for the summer exams, the teachers told us not to revise this Easter and to enjoy ourselves. If you are worried that the people at SPGS will reject you if you come from a state school, I can assure you that nobody cares. And also, if you think that we work too hard and have no time to have fun, that is also untrue. The main thing about this school is that you can be almost anybody. We have extremely sporty people , very academic people, fashionable people, those who couldn't care less about what they are wearing, girls who spend every second in between lessons with their face in a book, girls who practice the violin for two hours a day, kids who live in Wimbledon, kids who live in Barnet and everyone in between. The only thing that you are guaranteed to get in every girl at St. Paul's, is a wanting to succeed. And that is what makes us different.
Anybody who is interested in going or sending their daughter to St. Paul's, please send me a message as I am very willing to try and make people understand why I can honestly say that accepting my SPGS offer has been one of the best decisions of my life.