Exam for In year place at QE in Y8 for Y9 start in Sept 19

[Daogroupie]

QE has written to all parents with a son on the waiting list for current Y8.

A space has come up in Y8 to start in Y9 in September.

All those in the current waiting list for Y8, even those who did not sit the exam in Y6, have received a letter inviting them to English and Maths tests on Monday 24th June at 930am.

The tests will last for approximately 2 hours in total and will cover work that is based on National Curriculum material.

There will be a minimum score required in both English and Maths in order to be able to cope in the school. Those who have reached this standard in both subjects will be listed in rank order of their combined scores in the two tests and the place will be offered to the candidate who is highest on this list.

I wonder how many parents received this letter and how many boys will actually attend.

Parents have until Monday 17th June to respond and confirm attendance.

It shows that it really is worth sitting on waiting lists. It does not cost anything and one of the boys who received this letter is going to get the place. DG

[ToadMum]

Interesting. So they can cope with those who have had two years of education of an unknown and possibly dubious quality at this stage (and many selective schools would test on Science and/or MFL, as well as Engkish and Maths for in-year entry), but don't want to risk importing outsiders even with a full set of 9s at GCSE into the 6th form?

Re the 'one of the boys who received this letter is going to get the place', presumably, this is qualified by 'and who meets the required standard'?

[Daogroupie]

Indeed and this score is not specified so they are covering themselves.

But they can't leave the space vacant so it would seem they need to take one of them.

As many will be boys who just missed the cut off that year which was 224 and they have 210 as the required standard to apply for Y7 they should be able to find someone who did well in the exam in Y6 and has had a half decent education somewhere for the past two years! DG

[ToadMum]

It is a designated grammar school and therefore has no requirement to admit to PAN in the first place if there are not enough applicants of the required academic standard.

It only 'can't' leave the place vacant in that it would be paying the same number of staff, heating the same volume of space etc for one unit of funding less than it would otherwise receive.

[Daogroupie]

They do this every year for Y7 going into Y8 and Y8 going into Y9 and Y9 going into Y10.

Most years there is more than one space because of boys worn out by the long travel to and fro every day,

They have never left the spaces free.

I know boys who have sat more than one year in a row.

They do appear very keen to fill the spaces as they sent the letter out to parents of boys who did not take the test in Y6 and they are giving parents a week to decide whether or not to let their ds take the test. DG

[Lookingforanswers]

Latymer are running a test today for current Year 7s for a place in Year 8. Apparently the invitation was sent to 130 - I don’t know how many are actually sitting. A friend’s DS is there today. He sat the original test and had a ranking in the 400s.

[Daogroupie]

Thank you.

Any idea of the format of the test?

I thought the ranks got to the 400s last year.

They reached 470 on allocation day 1st March this year. DG

[Lookingforanswers]

It’s an hour maths paper and an hour English.

His original ranking would have got him a place for this year but narrowly missed a place the year he sat.

[Daogroupie]

I hope it goes well for him.

Is it just one space available? DG

[Lookingforanswers]

Yes, the letter said one place only - unless another family gives notice before the end of term I guess(?)