11+ Colet COurt and Westminster

Independent Schools as an alternative to Grammar

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Suzie123
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2009 11:41 pm

11+ Colet COurt and Westminster

Post by Suzie123 »

Thinking of sitting my son for CC 11+ or Westminster 11+ - does anyone have experience of doing this and how difficult it is? Any info appreciated
T.i.p.s.y

Post by T.i.p.s.y »

Would opt for Westminster - a much nicer school in my opinion and not a hothouse. Unfortunately I cannot offer advice on the admissions although DS sat the 13+ pre-test which they do in Year 6. Maths, English (comprehension, reading a story and writing the final two paragraphs) and VR. All boys are interviewed regardless of results which is not the case for CC. WUS are looking for innate intelligence and a quirky spark.
Suzie123
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2009 11:41 pm

Post by Suzie123 »

T.i.p.s.y - many thanks
Thea
Posts: 250
Joined: Mon Dec 05, 2005 4:01 pm
Location: Richmond

Post by Thea »

Depends where you live? Depedning on that the the tube commute could be dire. and bear in mind that the W playing fields are in E London. We were put off after reading John Rae's book - if it was druggy in 70's dread to think of how it is now...
Best Regards,
Thea
T.i.p.s.y

Post by T.i.p.s.y »

Are you sure about the playing fields Thea? We were told they were less than a 2 minute walk away.
pebbles
Posts: 38
Joined: Wed Jul 08, 2009 7:04 pm

Post by pebbles »

The playing fields are in Vincent Square , Victoria. Westminster Under School is across the road and it's less than 10 minutes walk to the 'Great' School.
ealingmum
Posts: 156
Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2008 5:27 pm

Post by ealingmum »

Are you suggesting CC is a hot house. I think not.
T.i.p.s.y

Post by T.i.p.s.y »

CC/St Paul's has a reputation for a large number (not all so not attacking anyone on here)of pushy parents who are only interested in exam results (not a rounded child) and most CC boys that we know seem very unhappy, like coiled springs with poor social skills. There is also a culture of putting boys down who are not as bright (eventhough they managed to get in) and all in all our friends have been quite surprised and feel the environment to be too harsh. I would never send my sons there, even if we were offered a huge scholarship - see G55, I'm not totally biased! :wink: I did enquire a very long time ago about DS going a year early and they said to me "No, because it will affect the league tables". Well, frankly, that spoke volumes too me!
ealingmum
Posts: 156
Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2008 5:27 pm

Post by ealingmum »

But didn't St Pauls pull out of providing data for the league tables. The head there - who seems to be spending a lot of time on press work as Dr Rae did in 1980s -has made a name for attacking the league table culture.
SunlampVexesEel
Posts: 1245
Joined: Fri Jul 06, 2007 9:31 pm

Post by SunlampVexesEel »

As a friend of several CC/St Paul's teachers and an occasional visitor to the school I think the facilities and staff are excellent.

Don't dismiss it without proper research.

Regards
SVE
Animis opibusque parati
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