Sutton VR Wilson's

Eleven Plus (11+) in Surrey (Sutton, Kingston and Wandsworth)

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Irene+
Posts: 81
Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2009 2:19 pm
Location: London, Ealing

Sutton VR Wilson's

Post by Irene+ »

What this schools are really like?
Does anyone have children already there? Is your child happy there?

My concern is: DS is not "mathematical", his strongest subject is English, he loves writing essays, very creative, likes art and drama, very fond of geography. He doesn't like traditional sports: football, rugby, cricket, but plays basketball, tennis, badminton.
Which school would suit him, we can not decide.
I would love to hear your opinions.
Giulio
Posts: 188
Joined: Thu Oct 02, 2008 4:31 pm
Location: London

Post by Giulio »

my son just started at Wilson's and he is very happy
we had Sutton as higher choice, got on the waiting list of both and got an offer from Wilson's first
we would have been happy with Sutton too so I'd suggest to go with the one that is closer and/or the one where his friends are going, or indeed the one that gives him a place, like in our case
Irene+
Posts: 81
Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2009 2:19 pm
Location: London, Ealing

Post by Irene+ »

Giulio wrote:my son just started at Wilson's and he is very happy
we had Sutton as higher choice, got on the waiting list of both and got an offer from Wilson's first
we would have been happy with Sutton too so I'd suggest to go with the one that is closer and/or the one where his friends are going, or indeed the one that gives him a place, like in our case
Thank you very much for your opinion.

Could you please describe Wilson's?
Do they give a lot of homework? Are there sets in Y7? How do you feel about the school?

We will move to Sutton if DS gets in, so it doesn't matter which school is closer. I doubt his friends will try Sutton GS as we live so far away.

We need to decide about CAF preferences.

I've heard that Wilson's is more "liberal" then Sutton GS. I wonder if it's true.
Giulio
Posts: 188
Joined: Thu Oct 02, 2008 4:31 pm
Location: London

Post by Giulio »

only one month so far, but the impression is great

I assume you visited the school, so won't discuss facilities

homework are about one or two hour per day, although not every day
this might be only initially, the Head mentioned that they will give the boys a bit of slack at the beginning

school day, activities, seems all very well organised, even regimented
they have a nice school diary, which helps tracking homework, parents are expected to sign regularly, and the diary includes pages to set objectives and track progress towards them, a bit like you might find at work in some organisations, I was surprised to see this in a school, unsure if this is used and when, not so far

plenty of extra curriculum activities (I am still looking at schools for our second child, an the other schools seems not to have quite so many opportunities for extra things)

canteen food is good, but boys spend up to half an hour queueing, so my son prefers packed lunch and spends the rest of the time playing football on the astros

he is happy with the sport they offer

not mentioned to prospective parents, once you join the school asks for a voluntary contribution towards costs of about £48 per month, it is discreational, they do not insist on it so I guess that not everybody contributes, maybe some parents contribute more then that; I do not consider that a problem, the school asked gracefully and I did not feel forced to comply,
I wonder if the local Sutton and Wallington grammars also ask for contributions, I think Tiffin does

background of the intake is fairly mixed, I would guess half white British and half not

the very first impression that my son had of his intake is that there was a majority of the "studious" type, so to speak, all computers and books, that he did not like much
he changed his mind now, mainly because of the sport, there are plenty of opportunities for it, and he made friends quickly

I believe football is the main sport, they have several teams and they are quite keen on doing well in the school turnaments

they seemed very keen on peforming well at the exams, great focus and structure in working towards the objectives

they have a weekly newsletter, so you get a feeling of what is going on in general

there is no PTA, but they do ask the parent to contribute, e.g. as work testimonial, presentations, sport coaching, and so on, I guess, need to get involved

from year 8, I believe, they do sets in some subjects (math, foreign languages, english), although one of the teachers gave the impression that setting in a selective school is not necessary

PS
If you leave in Ealing maybe you could consider a commute to Kensington to Tiffin Boys? just a thought
melinda
Posts: 226
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 8:40 pm
Location: surrey

Post by melinda »

My son has been at Sutton for one year and he loves it there. He has made lots of good friends, has plenty of good support from the teachers and, so far, is doing well.

We did look at Wilsons but it was too far away for us and anyway my son preferred Sutton.

There are lots of out of school activities - very strong on football and rugby, but have basketball team, table tennis, chess, swimming, gym, street dance etc. You can see details on the website.
Canteen queuing seems to be a problem in both schools - but the food is good. They pay by fingerprint so it speeds things up.

They have similar diary systems (as most schools do nowadays).

Contribution wise we have been asked for £90 a year which we happily pay. I have heard rumours that Tiffins asks for something like £500 but that may be exaggerated. :?:

Good luck and I hope, wherever he gets in, he is happy.
melinda
Posts: 226
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 8:40 pm
Location: surrey

Post by melinda »

ps PTA is very strong and raises lots of money for the school each year!
Irene+
Posts: 81
Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2009 2:19 pm
Location: London, Ealing

Post by Irene+ »

Melinda, Giulio, thank you SO much for your replies! Really helpfull!
ardmore
Posts: 75
Joined: Sun Oct 18, 2009 10:11 am

Post by ardmore »

what score in sutton above 326 and that in wilson above 163 are safe to get through offer? My DS has not done terribly well in Wallington Test this year ( 329) is not expected to have a place as the waiting list will be too long.
surreymum
Posts: 553
Joined: Wed Jan 23, 2008 10:26 pm

Post by surreymum »

Sutton have not given out scores after the exam in previous years so you only find out your score if you are unsuccessful on national allocation day so unfortunately you will not have an idea until then.

Wilsons send out a letter about the end of January without actual scores but giving you some idea like Wallington i.e. guaranteed place, very likely to have place, pass but not likely to have place or not pass. I found that one the worst of all worlds as upsetting for those who failed and of no use for applying.

Don't read too much into one schools result. Different children appear to have done well/poorly on the different exams. It is hard to keep the studying going over a 4 month period and inevitably children will peak at different times. We know plenty of people who failed Wallington and did fine in the others and vice versa. The tests although roughly the same format seem to differ in difficulty for different subjects.

Take comfort, your son has passed. That is an achievement and shows that he is there or there about. He has plenty of time still to improve upon that performance.
ardmore
Posts: 75
Joined: Sun Oct 18, 2009 10:11 am

Post by ardmore »

surreymum wrote:Sutton have not given out scores after the exam in previous years so you only find out your score if you are unsuccessful on national allocation day so unfortunately you will not have an idea until then.

Wilsons send out a letter about the end of January without actual scores but giving you some idea like Wallington i.e. guaranteed place, very likely to have place, pass but not likely to have place or not pass. I found that one the worst of all worlds as upsetting for those who failed and of no use for applying.

Don't read too much into one schools result. Different children appear to have done well/poorly on the different exams. It is hard to keep the studying going over a 4 month period and inevitably children will peak at different times. We know plenty of people who failed Wallington and did fine in the others and vice versa. The tests although roughly the same format seem to differ in difficulty for different subjects.

Take comfort, your son has passed. That is an achievement and shows that he is there or there about. He has plenty of time still to improve upon that performance.
Many thanks Surrey mum for much kind word of comfort. We are having through tough time. What is your advice on putting WCGS in CAF or not? Many thanks in advance.
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