realistic!!!!!!!!!

Independent Schools as an alternative to Grammar

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sandy123
Posts: 20
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2010 12:26 am
Location: NW London

realistic!!!!!!!!!

Post by sandy123 »

Just wondered what your thoughts were and am i being realistic?
My daughter is in year 6 at a state school. My husband and i would like her to attend an independent school from year 7.
She's average at school. We have applied to 7 independent schools, 4 of them are within the n london consortium. Only 2 i would say are less academic.
She has had a tutor for 3 years, the last year she has been doing about 3/4 papers a week,but she can,t seem to get over that 80% mark........some times getting as little as 65%.
Shes quite happy to sit the exams and i would say shes a little too confident.
They are all good schools and at the end of the day we don't really mind which school she gets into, but being to worry if we're offered none of them.
supermummy
Posts: 69
Joined: Fri Jan 15, 2010 10:54 pm
Location: kingston upon thames

Re: realistic!!!!!!!!!

Post by supermummy »

Hi Sandy

Seven schools seems an awful lot of exams for one year so in one sense I would be quite glad that your DD is not overwhelmed by the whole process!

I think the three of you should think quite carefully about what you want to get out of an indie - especially in London where the competition can be v. high. This does not go away once you are in the school and it can be very demoralising for children who are often given large workloads with v. high expectations.

My DD came from a state school and is now in yr7 in an indie. She loves the stretch but I know that a number of her peers (many of whom were tutored to pass) are beginning to feel some strain.

The best message I can give is to look for the best school for your child. Sample papers rarely reflect the reality and the entrance exam is only the beginning. 80% should be ok for a less academic school and they will often look for other things such as apptitude in sport, art, drama etc.

At the end of the day she can only go to one school so maybe focus on some exams in particular (good tip is to ask some yr 7s on the open days about the exams) so you are not left without.

Good luck!
Waiting_For_Godot
Posts: 1446
Joined: Thu Aug 19, 2010 1:57 pm

Re: realistic!!!!!!!!!

Post by Waiting_For_Godot »

It's not impossible to get into a selective London inde if a pupil is average, however I would be very concerned at aiming for these schools if after three years of tutoring she cannot hit 80% in her tests. She would fair better, less pressured and happier at a strong academic school that is not as selective as most London schools. Have you considered Aldenham or are you just looking at single sex?
sandy123
Posts: 20
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2010 12:26 am
Location: NW London

Re: realistic!!!!!!!!!

Post by sandy123 »

The least selective schools that we.ve been looking at are St Margarets in Bushey and The Mount in Mill Hill.
We want a school that our daughter will enjoy and where she will be able to cope with the work. We certainly haven't pushed her as much as we could of and we don't regret that.
My veiw(maybe the wrong one! ) is she's only 10, she has after school activities 3 times a week.She dances at a competitive level (which has taken over our lives).
sherry_d
Posts: 2083
Joined: Tue Sep 01, 2009 4:38 pm
Location: Maidstone

Re: realistic!!!!!!!!!

Post by sherry_d »

Sandy you can only do your best. I know things in London are extremely competetitive so our exprience in the home counties may be a bit diff. I have however send you pm.

Am I right in thinking you only sit one exam for the 4 consortium schools? If thats the case then you have 4 exams and thats managable. This http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... 31&t=13522" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; suggest 4 to 5 tests is quite normal in London.

3 years of tutoring may sound a lot but I have looked at many prep schools in my area. Most finish at about 4pm most days and thats definately adds up to more than an hour a week. If someone cant afford prep school fees and they go Sandy's route good on them at least she owned up to that than many who pretend. Can we therefore say all prep school kids will struggle in Senior schools because they are prepared? NO of course. Some prep school even go as far as having a "crammer" scholarship stream so it really shows even with natural talent these kids do get stretched something that seldom happens in bog standard state primaries.
Impossible is Nothing.
Chilled
Posts: 118
Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2010 9:13 pm

Re: realistic!!!!!!!!!

Post by Chilled »

If your daughter is not particularly academic and really into dance have you considered a performing arts school?

One of my neighbours sends her daughter to the Susie Earnshaw school in High Barnet. I don't know how many pupils they take but they still offer all the usual GCSEs like Maths, English, Science, History, etc.
mad?
Posts: 5621
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 6:27 pm
Location: london

Re: realistic!!!!!!!!!

Post by mad? »

Chilled wrote:If your daughter is not particularly academic and really into dance have you considered a performing arts school?

One of my neighbours sends her daughter to the Susie Earnshaw school in High Barnet. I don't know how many pupils they take but they still offer all the usual GCSEs like Maths, English, Science, History, etc.
not sure where in London you are but there's also arts ed in Chiswick
mad?
lefol
Posts: 382
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2010 11:13 pm
Location: Bexleyheath

Re: realistic!!!!!!!!!

Post by lefol »

Hi

Your daughter seems to be doing pretty well with her preparation 3 or 4 papers a week seems fine. You say she gets no more than 80% again that seems fine. I am going through papers with my ds and if he gets between 70 and 80% we go through the papers again sometimes you may find its just silly mistakes or notice a patter like dc may be weak in percentages ratios, fractions etc. What I do is go through the methods using a maths dictionary, or one of the many Sats book like scholefield and sims. Of the 7 schools you have applied for, she will be offered at least 4. If she is good at drama, then apply for a drama scholarship as well.

I am now more confident that my ds will get into one of the indies he is applying for.

Good luck!
sandy123
Posts: 20
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2010 12:26 am
Location: NW London

Re: realistic!!!!!!!!!

Post by sandy123 »

Thank you everyone.
We'll see what happens. As long as she does her best.
Going to investigate Aldenham. Maybe another one to add to the list!!!!!!!!!!1
Rob Clark
Posts: 1298
Joined: Tue Nov 25, 2008 1:59 pm

Re: realistic!!!!!!!!!

Post by Rob Clark »

Sandy, there is a regular poster here who has a DC at Aldenham – if you start a specific thread asking about it she might well pop along with some advice.

I had loads of friends who went there and all loved it (as did I when I visited for sports matches), but that was 20 years ago, so suspect I’m a bit out of date!
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