Latymer announced Admissions arrangements for Sep 2019

[neo1232]

So again next year - you just need to be top 650 and IC then virtually English paper score does not matter.

We have to remember there were 291 OOC students this year for initial 650 list ,same thing can happen next year , since they are officially allowing them.


I hope they change it, they have not fixed problem fully.

[thisisnuts]

Thanks for confirming. I was confused as the FAQ section on the Latymer website states "WHO SETS AND MARKS THE ASSESSMENT TESTS? The assessment tests are set by CEM (Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring); the answer sheets will be marked using Optical Mark Recognition (OMR)."

FAQs are 2 years out of date - the Consultaion Document is the one to believe.

So again next year - you just need to be top 650 and IC then virtually English paper score does not matter.

We have to remember there were 291 OOC students this year for initial 650 list ,same thing can happen next year , since they are officially allowing them.

I hope they change it, they have not fixed problem fully.

Not fully fixed, but being in the middle of the exam overload in early-Sep makes it less useful for OOC to use as a mock.

[streathammum]

They do need to fix the wording of the admissions criteria though, so that it doesn't contradict itself. At the moment it says (1) out of area applications will be "withdrawn" after the January deadline and (2) that if there aren't enough Inner Area applicants to fill the places the out of area applicants will be given admission by rank order. One or other of those statements needs to go.

[neo1232]

Exam tourist as free mock test, every school face it.
But DAO will not face this problem larger extent as Latymer since in DAO case there is no hope while Laytmer case there is hope.
I am not sure why they are keeping end date as Jan 2019, why they not are not reducing to 1st Sept 2018. That will resolve their most of problem.

[leanmeamum]

Tourism should be less of a problem next year as it is in the middle of Exam season and less likely to be used as a mock

[themazzystar]

Regarding the details of the tests themselves I can see some changes have been made there as well.

Time allocated for the English paper has gone down from 60' to 45', which is straightforward enough. However, the wording of the consultation document regarding the maths and VR elements is less so and suggests something I haven't come across before: "The Mathematics and Verbal Reasoning test will be provided by GL Assessment, will be one hour in duration and of multiple choice format. The School will have no advanced knowledge of the content of this paper."

They refer to a 'test' and 'paper', rather than 'tests' and 'papers'.

I wonder what this means exactly. Can anyone help? Does it mean, do you think, one distinct 30' section on VR and one distinct 30' section on maths? Or does it mean perhaps that there will be a mix of questions within just one overall section?

One other thing: because the time allocated to VR and maths combined has gone down from 100' (50' plus 50') to just 60', presumably there will be fewer questions next year.

[exam2019]

The more I read, the more I annoyed I get!

It has all the hallmarks of being written by a committee with no single person responsible for the overall content.
The structure is jumbled, the text is repetitous and there are factual & spelling mistakes.

The first paragraph is a case in point......

[tiffinboys]

However, when determining the final ranking of the top 650 candidates, priority will be given to those applicants who are resident in the Inner Area as of 12 January 2019; thereafter the application will be withdrawn."

If this clause is determined as it is, OSA will look into the objections if these are made in time i.e. by 15 May 2018.

This years objections were received by OSA after September 2017. At first OSA took these objections as 'non-implementation' of the determined admissions arrangements (i.e as outside of their scope), not as objections against the determined admissions arrangements. The previous OSA determination was about 2016 admissions arrangements, which didn't have such clause.

This is an advance notice to the school.

[tiffinboys]

Today is the last day for the schools to determine their admissions arrangements and put it on their website.

[Stroller]

Is the music oversubscription criterion in the consultation document legal?

http://www.latymer.co.uk/admissions/yea ... cument.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

4. Up to 20 applicants from the Inner Area (see note 1) who show exceptional musical talent will be considered for a place in the 192 intake with ranking based on assessment of musical ability with a recognised board such as ABRSM and Trinity. Exceptional musical talent can be shown on any instrument/s (including voice). As a guideline an applicant should usually have achieved at least Grade 5 distinction level, but this will depend on the instrument as well as previous opportunity and experience. The school recognises that some candidates may not have reached grade 5 distinction as a result of their starting point but this should not prohibit candidates from applying under the music criterion. Confirmation of this level may be tested by an audition. In the event of a Music candidate withdrawing from the process, the next highest ranked child under this criterion will be considered for the place. Due to the high volume of applicants expected to apply under this criterion, we will only be able to contact those candidates required to audition. A separate music application form will need to be completed under this criterion. Candidates applying under this criterion must reside within the Inner Area and be ranked within the Top 650 candidates following the outcome of the mathematics, Verbal Reasoning and English tests.

1. All supporting evidence in relation to the above over-subscription criteria (1-4) will need to be provided by 18 June 2018.

The School Admissions Code says:

1.9 It is for admission authorities to formulate their admission arrangements, but they must not:
...
i) prioritise children on the basis of their own or their parents’ past or current hobbies or activities...

Aptitude should not be confused with attainment.

Also, the code says on

Selection by aptitude
1.24 Schools that have arrangements to select by aptitude must not allow for more than 10 per cent of the total admissions intake to be allocated on the basis of such aptitude (even if the school has more than one specialism).

20 may be generous...