CLSG Interview

[kenyancowgirl]

I can't comment about why numbers are dropping in the 6th form (did birth rates drop?) but using London-Dad's numbers, the Oxbridge measure, which seems a fairly standard measure each year (without the vagaries of "easy A levels" one year and not the next) the percentages of girls getting in is actually increasing year on year:

2011 21%
2012 23%
2013 24%

[London-Dad]

The CLSG numbers are from their website, but do need to be treated carefully.
Girls taking a GAP year (an increasing number) are excluded.

Oxbridge type stats are most useful / relevant where schools have large 6th forms that largely consist of their own students that they have taught since 11 (or younger in some cases).

I think SPGS + NLCS come into this category (??)

Where there is significant turnover at 6th form level (both in and out)...you have to treat the numbers with caution.

e.g. at SHHS I get the impression that quite a lot of the brighter girls opt for schools like Westminster.
If these girls go on to Oxbridge...the final leaver destination numbers will flatter Westminster at the expense of SHHS.

As has been indicated above...a proper assessment of 6th form policies / results needs a bit of input from current students + parents to establish what is really happening on the ground.

Also: full public disclosure of University Places has dropped off in recent years (presumably as schools become aware that these details are scrutinised + ranked etc)
SPGS used to disclose how many girls went to specific Colleges at Oxford / Cambridge to read specific subjects.
This was very useful as it gave a feel for any bias / strength in Classics vs Maths vs Science etc.
Now this info only available internally + raw numbers attending Cambridge / Oxford are given on website.

[staar]

Does anyone know the format of CLGS interview?

[Ellie]

I hope no one minds me wading in as a current CLSG parent. The selection is based mainly on the 11+ mark and to a lesser extent the interview as the girls are only 10 or 11 after all. Good preparation for the exam and/ natural ability is key rather than being super bright.

Siblings of existing students and girls from the prep will need to be up to standard and plenty go elsewhere. Around 10-12 girls leave at 16 for other schools and if parents can afford £24,300 p.a in fees will head for Westminster. New girls arrive to take their places and the standard of entry at 16 is highly competitive. A good number of girls head to Oxbridge, medical schools and other Russell Group Universities.

The teaching at the school is impressive and supportive. The workload and pressure on the girls to do well is gradual rather than unrelenting and the girls cope. No school is perfect in every way but on the whole I can safely say my dd's are very happy at CLSG and are typical teens.

[Daogroupie]

Another forum member commented that out of 25 preps only 18 go onto the secondary school. Is that their choice to go elsewhere or are they asked to leave? DG

[shootmenow]

A few are advised to go and a few want to go. Academic unsuitability is rarely the reason.

[Daogroupie]

But 25% is a very high number. I have never heard of 1/4 of the students at a prep school not going onto the secondary school. Where are they going? DG

[shootmenow]

PMing you.

[fairyelephant]

Staar, my DD had an interview at City last year. It was one to one starting with a maths question (not simple times tables but perhaps three digit mental addition or something harder which they may not be able to solve but should show the right approach). There was a question where she was shown a mythical animal and had to suggest what it's natural habitat would be (I think that's where she went wrong). Other girls had to describe a picture or talk about a short passage which she would have done much better. I wondered if they focused on what they think might be your weak area judging from your paper (DD more arty/creative although good at maths not as good). She didn't get an offer but we actually feel this was entirely a good thing, she is now very happy and in her comfort zone at another school. The good thing for us about doing the City interview was it was great practice as the first one (others seemed a breeze by comparison) and it gave us comfort that she must have done fairly well and so should get a place somewhere!! Parents have a nice chat with a teacher and refreshments whilst it's all going on.

[London-Dad]

I think the importance of the interview is being overstated...

It is simply an additional box to tick...alongside the exam result + school report.
A girl who has performed well in the exam would have to be a disaster in the interview...for it to jeopardise her chances of an offer.
Likewise a girl at the very bottom of the cut-off point for interviews...would have to perform really well to jump up the rankings.

There are maybe some schools where the interview is a key part of the admissions process but not CLSG + NLCS....they are primarily exam results driven.

Interviews play a role for girls in 4 distinct categories:
1) For the girls with the strongest exam results...it will help fine-tune whether they are offered a scholarship.
(This applies to NLCS not CLSG)
2) For the girls who are right on the cut-off point where offers are made...it may obviously give them a nudge over or under the line.
3) For girls who are outside the cut-off point for offers...but where the school report suggests that they may have underperformed in the exam...it is one last chance to secure a "wild-card" offer.
4) For girls where there is a clear imbalance in their exam results (e.g. very strong maths but only "average" English...it is an opportunity for the school to reassure themselves that the weaker subject will not be a material issue going forward. i.e. an assessment of creative / debating skills)

For the vast majority of girls who were pencilled in to receive offers based on their exam performance...the interview will have little impact on the process.

The above observations are not mine...but the combined thoughts of 3 head-teachers at prep schools that I have had discussions with (and who obviously get regular feedback from the schools in question)

Obviously....you cannot be 100% sure whether your daughter is in one of the above categories ahead of the interview...so it is important to take the process seriously... but this notion that the schools are "cherry-picking" the girls that shine at interview....and prioritising interview "performance" ahead of exam performance is nonsense.