Consortium Test 2008

[hertsmom]

Hi, We have now received the thicker moving on brochure and looking at the applications versus places at each school it would appear that the most difficult school to get into would be Parmiters. Does this figure (I believe something like 1200 applicants) include everyone from everywhere who put Parmiters as any of their choices? Thanks!

[WP]

Hi, We have now received the thicker moving on brochure and looking at the applications versus places at each school it would appear that the most difficult school to get into would be Parmiters. Does this figure (I believe something like 1200 applicants) include everyone from everywhere who put Parmiters as any of their choices?

Yes, it does. Have a look at the admissions statistics sticky for some indication of the relative difficulty of getting places at the schools. The Grammars are also difficult, especially from the outer area, and if they lose the cross-sibling criteria they'll be even harder.

[hertsmom]

Thanks, I thought so. I have read the sticky (thanks for that) previously. With all applicants being included in the figures, however, it is quite difficult to estimate how far down the list you can be before you get a place! I always assumed Watford Grammer would be more difficult than Parmiters but it would appear not (?) Am I being stupid or does anyone else find it confusing?

[watdad]

WGSB is a single sex school hence all other things being equal gets half the number of applicants that Parmiters does.

[hertsmom]

I'm embarrassed to say that I realised it was single sex but didn't work out that there would obviously be half the applicants Sorry, my brain is a bit pickled (with stress I promised I would never have, not pickled in a good way!). Thanks for your answers.

[tense]

I always assumed Watford Grammer would be more difficult than Parmiters but it would appear not

When my DD got into Parmiter's a number of people with kids at the grammars said "oh, was that your second choice?" - but it was our number one by miles!! I think Parmiter's has become more popular over the last few years - and if the cross-sibling criteria at the grammars goes it is likely to become more so (no offence to you WGS fans of course!).

Hertsmom - I would urge you to put your genuine preferrred schools 1st & 2nd and a realistic banker school 3rd.

Good luck!

[WP]

Hertsmom - I would urge you to put your genuine preferred schools 1st & 2nd and a realistic banker school 3rd.

I would say:

• Consider a range of the schools in the area, including those you've heard bad things about. Visit them and find out as much as you can about them.
• Arrange all the schools in your personal order of preference.
• Use the historical admissions data from the sticky to work out which of your preferences are overshadowed by schools higher in your list, and strike them out. That is, if you genuinely prefer school A to school B, but if you were to satisfy the requirements of B you'd certainly satisfy A as well, then B would be a waste of a preference.
• If your top three does not contain at least one "safe" choice, drop some of them.

[hertsmom]

Thanks. I have been lurking in this site for a month or two now and am really touched by how supportive everyone here is. Thank you for your sensible and helpful replies. We are lucky enough to have a great banker school (which may even turn out to be first actually!) Funnily enough, I have just been talking to my best friend and we are both going to look at the local schools we have heard bad things about, so that was a very timely comment!

[hertsmom]

tense - I didn't mean that WG would be first choice at all (with two boys and no sister I definately want them to go to a mixed school, so Parmiters would be on my list and WG wouldn't!). It was just when I was nosing through the brochure and looked at the number of applications I wasn't bright enough to realise that being a single sex school it would have less applicants and wanted some help clarifying. Parmiters looks pretty scary as I have worked out (with the help of a calculator!) that there are more than 6 applicants for each place at Parmiters! Your DD did superbly well to get in!

[tense]

Thank you! But not all of those people will have ranked Parmiter's first of course so it's probably not as bad as the application figures first suggest.

And with a great banker school you can afford to take a chance on one of the consortium schools if any take your fancy.

Let us know what you decide!