Daogroupie wrote:
The North London Grammars are a lot harder to get into than any of the independent schools.
Your dd may be able to get into many more of the independent schools than you might think.
What is the opinion of your tutor on this? I expect you would have chosen a tutor with experience in the school your dd is interested in.
You must have had some focus previously or your daughter would not have got a place at her highly academic prep school.
Have you met with the school for advice? After all this is a lot of what you have been paying for all these years.
Both the school and your tutor should know your dd well enough to be able to give you an idea of what schools she can get into.
The North London consortium has a non English and maths (CEM) exam that was supposed to be online but is still on paper.
You are lucky to have a dd who wants to succeed. I know many parents who are in despair about their dcs lack of ambition and drive.
Aldenham is another more accessible school that I would recommend.DG
Thank you! Aldenham is definitely one I want to have a look at. Unfortunately, their open day clashed with Highgate, so we will have to visit it another day.
I got the two(!) tutors apparently most of her class go to. She goes to a small group session at one of them for two hours once a week and the other comes to our house for a 1-2-1 session again once a week for two hours. I am scared to cancel either, as they both know each other and are apparently over-subscribed and very touchy. As ridiculous as this sounds... She has also started the Explore learning 11+ and creative writing courses. I wanted to cancel at least Explore Learning (mainly for financial reasons and to give her a break!) but she wants to continue with it.
Her tutors say she is bright and quite good at maths, NVB and VB, but her English grammar and spelling are awful (in my personal opinion).
We are having a meeting with the Headmistress in March 2020, but she has already indicated that although I should let my daughter sit all the super-selective exams, she is more likely to get into the less selective schools. She has recommended numerous independent schools to us, but many of them are all-girls schools, which I would rather avoid.
Here is a list I have compiled (based on recommendations from the Head of her prep and my own research)... Any thoughts are highly appreciated!
The highly academic schools my daughter wants to sit but is unlikely to pass:
1. Latymer
2. Henrietta Barnet (I don't even know if there is any point sitting this one and it's an all-girls school, but it is one she wants)
3. Habs Girls
4. Highgate
The independent schools she might have a better chance of getting into:
1. Mount House
2. Aldenham
3. Northbridge House
4. Princess Helena (recommendation from the Head at her school)
We are also looking at:
1. Queenswood
2. St Christopher
3. Kew House
4. Bales College
5. Prince Gardens Prep School (a new school as I understand it)
6. Royal Alexandra and Albert School (because my daughter is quite serious about her horse riding and I think this school offered it, but it's mostly a boarding school so a real long shot)
P.S. I also forgot to mention Mill Hill County High School and North London Grammar. I don't know about North London Grammar, but I have heard that the Mill Hill County High School exam is easier to prepare for (although they only offer 24 places!)