Notting Hill & Ealing Admission Policy

[clarew13]

Hello

Ive just found this board after a frantic days Google-ing
I had previously posted a neurotic message on mumsnet but Ive calmed down now, a little....

My daughter has been asked for an interview at Notting Hill after previously sitting the exam
What has thrown us is that her class mates who are obviously brighter than her havent been

Now we are very very local but her class mates live a fair distance away

Im trying to imagine she miraculously outperformed them on the day but Im also wondering if Notting Hill make an effort to take some local girls - we can easily walk there from our house

Its the waiting which is the hardest bit
If she hadnt been called for interview like the rest of her class it would have been much less stressful in the short term

Many thanks

[hermanmunster]

I am sure it will come clear - schools have odd reasons for interviewing, sometimes they interview very high fliers, other only borderline - may be some interview those with a discrepancy in the test ... susepct that happended to me at age 11 - dire english writing , but v high reasoning and maths ... probably interviewed to see whether it was an exam glitch.

Maybe someone will post who knows the school a bit better and can shed some light onit.

[clarew13]

Gosh my brain really isnt working

I hadnt considered they didnt interview her class mates on account of them breezing the exam

Although my impression was they interviewed all

[hermanmunster]

have just looked at the website and it says:

Girls will also be interviewed and interviews are held in January/February


... maybe the others haven't heard yet ?

[mad?]

Hi. In the past Notting Hill has interviewed all but a very tiny minority of entrants and then issued offers in strict exam result order, with no over offering. Perhaps its newish head has made some changes? Certainly when 'we' sat (2008 and 2010) there were many children from further afield using it as a back up. As a consequence of this and the not over offering policy they seemed to go a long way down the waiting list and were still making at least one offer in July of last year. I am also aware of several girls who turned down offers which they received from the waiting list as by that time they had decided to go somewhere they had learned to feel more positive about. Perhaps now they are focussing on those children who are more likely to benefit from what is on offer there and who might be more likely to accept? Most of all perhaps your DD did really really well and some of those other girls weren't as bright as they had been made out to be, or just had a bad day etc. Good luck.

[JGBallard]

I thought Notting Hill and Ealing interviewed all girls. I do hope they base it on merit rather than distance. Some people might have plans to relocate if an offer is madeand they like the school enough.Infact I think it says a lot for the school and its popularity if people are prepared to travel there.