Herts School Admissions Made Simple

My junior school clients’ appeal case was upheld today!

A delightful little girl gets to go to her local village primary school despite its tiny PAN and where she will form friendships and settle in to her new rural village life.

My record remains in tact at 100% success and I have a 1,000,000% happy family celebrating today.

If you have taken all three South West Herts Consortium School tests you will have three separate scores with which to apply.

These scores are standalone and are not added to each other and there is no extra merit for having taken more than one test.

If your child has taken the Academic test then their score will be a three digit number that is the result of their age standardised score of both their maths and verbal reasoning score added together. A child of average ability can expect to score in the region of 180 and whilst this is not a qualifying score for some of the Consortium Schools it would likely mean a place at at least one of them.

It’s important to remember that your score is not “out of” anything. As with any age standardised scores, no two children with perfect raw scores will have the same standardised scores because of their age difference.

This also important to remember that the SWHS Consortium academic test score is in no way comparable to the 11+ (as in, the Bucks test or the Kent test) and that there is no pass or fail.

Test results are published in Wednesday 16th October giving you a good two weeks before the County deadline of 31 October to make your application.

It’s wise to wait until you have your scores because you may qualify to apply for a school you hadn’t previously considered….

Go to ALL the open events if you are in Year 5 and go to the open events for the schools that you are most likely to apply to if you are in Year 6. Whilst you are seeing the schools at their best (and not warts and all) you will get an idea from the students who conduct the tours of what life is really like.

Children are often refreshingly candid!

It’s almost here. Test day for the South West Herts Consortium Schools is just over a week away. Are you having a final push this week with practice papers or one of the mock tests that may be being held in your are? Or have you put the books away now because you’ve been at it all summer?

Just under a month now til The South West Herts Consortium Schools hold their Test Day across 6 centres…

These books should look familiar. Keep practicing… practice makes perfect practice!

Herts School Admissions Made Simple came about as a result of the need for clarity surrounding secondary transfer applications and admissions to the popular South West Herts Consortium schools.

As an admissions officer of more than twelve years standing at several of those schools, as someone who has trained many of their admissions staff and as the sole consortium schools test administration “team” for 7 years, I decided to set up an independent consultancy to demystify the testing and transition process and ultimately help parents to navigate the maze that is secondary transfer. The website link www.hsamadesimple.co.uk

Why not tap and have a look and see what I can offer?

#11+

Come along to the parent information evening tonight at 6.45 at the Quaker Meeting House. £10 on the door. It’s a small crowd so far so you would be getting a very personalised and tailored talk plus Q&A afterwards.

Thinking of applying for a different school for your younger child than the one your older child is at?

This post is aimed at parents like you who aren’t sure whether to just roll with the sibling rule or to explore your options.

In the case of parents wanting to look at alternatives I would have the following advice:

1. Apply for the South West Herts Consortium School Tests. This way you are automatically getting a chance of being considered for schools you don’t have a sibling connection to. Registration closes in two weeks, so get your skates on;
2. Your kids, though siblings, are very, very different and one size does not fit all. Consider the quirks of your younger flamingo and see what school might fit them better or best - this means research;
3. Still place your older child’s school as your “banker”… which is to say, don’t be left without a good or outstanding school in favour of letting the Universe decide. In South West Herts, the Universe will give you a school you don’t want if you don’t qualify for a school you prefer.

If all of this feels like too much of a gamble or responsibility, just get in touch… my rates are reasonable and in reality, my 15 minute clinic for £40 gives you a follow up 30 minute meeting/call to discuss the information you have been sent in writing.

I’m here to help you make the best decision about your child’s future.

I have worked as an admissions officer for two consortium schools (Rickmansworth and Watford Girls) over a 13 year period, I have been the sole South West Herts Consortium School Administration Team since 2017 to 2024 and I have trained the Admissions Officers of the Consortium Schools by virtue of being longest in post and from working as Consortium Admin.

I have worked closely with the Admissions Officers of Dame Alice Owens, Mill Hill, QE Boys, Henrietta Barnet and other South West Herts/London borders selective schools for over 12 years including decisions on providers for entrance tests.

Finally, I have a 7 year relationship with GL Assessment, the leading provider of testing for the schools in the areas mentioned above

Don’t roll the dice. Talk to me!

Join me for my inaugural parent information evening on Friday 7th June at the Quaker Meeting House, 150 Church Road, Watford from 6.45pm…

I will be giving a short presentation followed by a Q&A session where you will have the opportunity to ask all those pressing questions about secondary transfer, testing and appeals.

Hope you can make it!

If your child is in Year 5 and you are thinking about applying for any of the Consortium Schools, your first “tick box exercise” is to make sure you have applied for their tests. No late registrations will be permitted however hard or long you protest. Don’t be the parent that forgot… and don’t be the parent who left it til the last minute only to experience technical problems. Having been the Consortium Administration Team, your pleas for mercy will fall on deaf ears. With 9 weeks or more to register you really would have no one to blame but yourself.

Hello it was lovely to meet you today and talk about your Year 4 and 5 children’s options for secondary transfer… and what wonderful school office staff you have; such a pleasure to meet you.

Looking ahead to my parent information evening and to meeting those who have already registered.

I have twelve years of experience as a consortium schools admissions officer and seven years of experience as the sole consortium test administrator. There is nothing I won’t be able to advise you upon in relation to entrance testing, secondary transfer and appeals, so come along and get those tricky questions answered so you can proceed confidently with your child’s secondary transfer journey.