Caterham School VS Sutton High School

[capsulemum]

Dear All,

Does anyone have your children in either Caterham School or Sutton High School?
I'm thinking about sending my daughter to either one of these if she can pass the entrance exam. Your advice on these topics would be appreciated:
- Competition on entrance exam
- Good/bad or your experiance of these two schools
Thank you in advance for your advice.

[Babiloo]

Dear capsulemum

My DD took caterham exams and got a really good scholarship but we turned it down for Nonsuch which was a very difficult choice to make. We absolutely loved the school and the ethics of the school.

The principal informed us that 250 girls and boys took the exams and competition is fairly high.

Sorry can't say much about Sutton high but DD took Croydon High as well and got academic scholarship there too.

If you need further info on Caterham please let me know.

[capsulemum]

Dear Babiloo,

Thank you very much for your reply. Your DD is a very smart cookie. I think you chose the right and the best choice as I believe Nonsuch is the hardest one to get in. I wish my DD could pass exam to Nonsuch as well but I have to be realistic that although my DD is good, to compete with 1300 girls, it is not easy.

As you mentioned that 250 girls and boys took the exam (Caterham), how many places does school offer? And about the scholarship (if we could get it), how long will the school give us? I mean only 1st year?

Thanks Babiloo.

[Babiloo]

Dear capsulemum,

I am sure your daughter will definitely get into nonsuch with bit of hard work. There is no harm in trying out for the exams is there.

I am not really sure about how many students Caterham take on in a year. Sorry couldnt help you there.

About the scholarships, the scholarships are until year 11 after the GCSEs but the clause within the offer is the scholarship is reassessed half termly and DD would need to be top 3rd or so in the year group. Bit of a pressure I think. But I am sure that is not an issue.

Hope it helps.

Babiloo

[capsulemum]

Dear Babiloo,

Thnak you very much for your advice. I agree with you that there is no harm in trying out.

Sorry that I forgot to ask you last time about interview. I read in Caterham School's website and interview was conducted prior to the exam. Would you mind asking your DD what kind of questions she was asked at the time?

About GS in Sutton such as Nonsuch and Wallington? If DD passed tests for both schools and she liked both schools, would parents put both schools in the (council)application form? Or is it too risky to do that?

Thanks again for your help.

Capsulemum

[Babiloo]

Hello Capsulemum,

Yes, the interviews were held before the exams and after the interview my DD mentioned they asked her about what is CURRENT i.e what is happening around the world and UK. At that time my DD mentioned about financial crisis in Greece and Middle East situation. My DH prepared her for that thinking they would ask these questions.

Also they asked her about her activities she gets involved in and what are her most favourite and least favourite subjects at school.

They also asked her what her parents do....(I suppose to see if we are able to pay the fee if she is offered a place )

About passing both Wally Girls and Nonsuch; after visiting the schools you will clearly have a favourite. We did - Nonsuch. So we put Nonsuch as number one choice and then Wallington as our second choice. Best thing is to put the school you like best as the first choice if you have the right marks for it. If Nonsuch did not offer us a place then our second choice would have been our first choice. i.e if my DD did not get Nonsuch then she would have been offered wallington.

So give you a short answer you would need to put both down according to your pecking order.

Best wishes
Babiloo

[capsulemum]

Hello Babiloo,

Many thanks for your advice on both interview and application. You are very kind to me. Thanks.

I have been to neither Wallington nor Nonsuch as my DD is in Y4 but will do very soon. In my office one of my colleagues is a medical doctor with PhD and she was from Nonsuch. She is not only a smart lady but also very nice and kind.

Your DD is very bright. I am very happy for you.

Thanks for all your advice.

Capsulemum.

[Babiloo]

Thanks Capsulemum.

Good luck with your DD's 11+ process.