Ask A Henrietta Barnett Student - New Year Sevens

2

Hey all!
Firstly, well done if you were offered a place at the 11+ for Henrietta Barnett this year! I’m a student in the pre-GCSE years at HBS. As there are just a few days until the deadline to accept your secondary school places, if you have any questions about the academics or life at HBS send a message in this thread. There's lots to know about the life and I can imagine you will have many worries starting secondary school - I did too! I look forward to hearing from you and hope I can help ☺️

Reply 1

thegeek888

18

2 of my neices go to Henrietta Barnet and they are so intelligent and have such a high quality of education!!! :smile:

lol

Reply 2

username6850484

OP

2

That's amazing - well done to your nieces! Hope they're loving it - it's a really good school in general :smile:

Reply 3

Uwush

3

Original post

by pineapple_24

Hey all!
Firstly, well done if you were offered a place at the 11+ for Henrietta Barnett this year! I’m a student in the pre-GCSE years at HBS. As there are just a few days until the deadline to accept your secondary school places, if you have any questions about the academics or life at HBS send a message in this thread. There's lots to know about the life and I can imagine you will have many worries starting secondary school - I did too! I look forward to hearing from you and hope I can help ☺️

HBS vs Latymer Upper at 85% bursary. Which one would you gi for if they are all the same distance?

Reply 4

username6850484

OP

2

Hi Uwush, well done! I can't decide for you as I know practically nothing about LU, but I'll tell you what I like and dislike about HBS!

Likes:

•

community is great. everybody has found their place, little to no bullying and kind people. mentoring from older students is offered if you are struggling, and from what I hear the counselling is very good.

•

*most* departments are great (i'll expand on that in dislikes), the best ones are: English, Music, Science (from my experience but some other teachers in sci aren't good), History and Languages

•

extra-curricular is superb. there's something for everyone - the club list is on the website!

•

lots of extra responsibilities to take if you want to - there's School Representative, VEX team member and more as you get older.

•

I find it's a great sort of pressure, not too demanding and not too easy going - after all, you're at the #1 grammar school! but then I do thrive under (moderate!) pressure and I love academics with all my heart :smile:

Dislikes:

•

*some* departments aren't great - I won't name but anything I didn't mention before is either okay, bad or very very small (I'll expand on that).

•

others do often say the pressure is too much for them - I find this to be very untrue but best you hear from others too :smile:

•

umm so basically some of the departments (DT, Computing, Drama to name a few) are very very tiny - one or two people. not a problem as such but does lead on to my next point.

•

the school is broke. like properly broke. a teacher said it herself/himself. i won't specify too much but the school can't afford various things. it's not such a big problem but do consider it.

•

not a lot of GCSE and A Level options - no FM at GCSE, no CS at A Level etc. This is a hassle when choosing your options.

so personally I find it to be an AMAZING school - i think you should come here, but it's up to you! :smile:

did you come to the open day for offer holders last week btw? it's good to know how the school is. let me know what happens though! :smile:

Reply 5

Uwush

3

Original post

by pineapple_24

Hi Uwush, well done! I can't decide for you as I know practically nothing about LU, but I'll tell you what I like and dislike about HBS!
Likes:

•

community is great. everybody has found their place, little to no bullying and kind people. mentoring from older students is offered if you are struggling, and from what I hear the counselling is very good.

•

*most* departments are great (i'll expand on that in dislikes), the best ones are: English, Music, Science (from my experience but some other teachers in sci aren't good), History and Languages

•

extra-curricular is superb. there's something for everyone - the club list is on the website!

•

lots of extra responsibilities to take if you want to - there's School Representative, VEX team member and more as you get older.

•

I find it's a great sort of pressure, not too demanding and not too easy going - after all, you're at the #1 grammar school! but then I do thrive under (moderate!) pressure and I love academics with all my heart :smile:

Dislikes:

•

*some* departments aren't great - I won't name but anything I didn't mention before is either okay, bad or very very small (I'll expand on that).

•

others do often say the pressure is too much for them - I find this to be very untrue but best you hear from others too :smile:

•

umm so basically some of the departments (DT, Computing, Drama to name a few) are very very tiny - one or two people. not a problem as such but does lead on to my next point.

•

the school is broke. like properly broke. a teacher said it herself/himself. i won't specify too much but the school can't afford various things. it's not such a big problem but do consider it.

•

not a lot of GCSE and A Level options - no FM at GCSE, no CS at A Level etc. This is a hassle when choosing your options.

so personally I find it to be an AMAZING school - i think you should come here, but it's up to you! :smile:

did you come to the open day for offer holders last week btw? it's good to know how the school is. let me know what happens though! :smile:

Thanks. I heard from somewhere that lots of good teachers left this year?

Reply 6

Strawberry150708

3

Original post

by Uwush

Thanks. I heard from somewhere that lots of good teachers left this year?

Hi, I'm a HBS student going into GCSEs next year. You're probably talking about last year (2022/23) - that was a year a lot of teachers left and this year I think it was only one or two teachers who did leave this year. Unfortunately, I did think a lot of the teachers who left then were very good, but so far I've been more or less unaffected by this since the new teachers in the subjects I'm taking have all been good for me. It depends on if you can work independently, which is encouraged quite a lot by the school. Personally, we've been given a lot of good resources by multiple departments, which you should use as much as you can, and teachers are mostly very approachable if you want to ask them about questions (I'd name the ones who aren't, but like OP said I don't want to name names) - so I wouldn't say the teachers are particularly problematic as of now. Definitely nothing in comparison to what some teachers in other schools are like, so if you plan on coming here then enjoy! It's a wonderful experience and I for one have really enjoyed learning here :smile:

Reply 7

maryvr

1

Original post

by pineapple_24

Hey all!
Firstly, well done if you were offered a place at the 11+ for Henrietta Barnett this year! I’m a student in the pre-GCSE years at HBS. As there are just a few days until the deadline to accept your secondary school places, if you have any questions about the academics or life at HBS send a message in this thread. There's lots to know about the life and I can imagine you will have many worries starting secondary school - I did too! I look forward to hearing from you and hope I can help ☺️

Hi, is it too difficult to enter to Henrietta, are the exams so difficult? I am thinking if my daughter could apply for a place there. thanks

Reply 8

Strawberry150708

3

Original post

by maryvr

Hi, is it too difficult to enter to Henrietta, are the exams so difficult? I am thinking if my daughter could apply for a place there. thanks

Hi, I'd say it depends on how you revise. You'll know the first round of exams is made up of multiple-choice papers on English, and Non-Verbal and Verbal Reasoning. Since this round accepts only 300 out of around 3000 applicants, it is quite tough, but practicing past papers or workbooks in these subjects (GL Assessment was the company who made my first round papers, I don't know if it's the same but doing papers from the same company will definitely help your daughter learn the structure of the assessments and how to answer these questions - start with workbooks and then help her work her way towards GL Assessment papers) will ensure your daughter has a much better chance at securing a place in the first round exams. Generally, wider reading will help for English so encourage her to read when she can/wants to.

The second round is definitely harder. They accept around only 100 students out of the 300, so your daughter will have significantly more competition. These papers are standard-answer (full sentences/no multiple choice) English and Maths papers. Again, start with workbooks of these questions then work your way towards past papers (Henrietta Barnett themselves don't give out past papers, but you can find and do past papers from other grammar schools (such as Dame Alice Owens) or good private schools (City of London, Bancroft etc) which will be challenging). Wider reading, as I suggested earlier, will help in English, particularly creative writing. As for maths, practising questions is really the only way to get better. Also time your daughter to ensure she can answer questions under time pressure.

I assume your daughter would be taking the exam next year - now is a great time to start revision. Don't overdo it now or let your daughter get burnt out, but do start getting her into the routine of doing regular work so she can be more confident in herself when the exams come around. Closer to the exams themselves, maybe pay for a mock exam or two so she can get the feel of an exam and make the real ones feel less daunting.

In terms of order, prioritise the multiple choices, but also start working with standard-answer papers - don't wait for confirmation your daughter will go to the second round to start preparing for it. Also try to apply to multiple schools in case your daughter doesn't get into Henrietta Barnett - don't do too many more, but there are plenty of great grammar schools in London that will be good for your daughter and it's good to keep options wide open and to be prepared for any scenario.

Sorry this was so long 😅, but I hope that's helpful enough. Good luck to your daughter!

Reply 9

maryvr

1

Original post

by Strawberry150708

Hi, I'd say it depends on how you revise. You'll know the first round of exams is made up of multiple-choice papers on English, and Non-Verbal and Verbal Reasoning. Since this round accepts only 300 out of around 3000 applicants, it is quite tough, but practicing past papers or workbooks in these subjects (GL Assessment was the company who made my first round papers, I don't know if it's the same but doing papers from the same company will definitely help your daughter learn the structure of the assessments and how to answer these questions - start with workbooks and then help her work her way towards GL Assessment papers) will ensure your daughter has a much better chance at securing a place in the first round exams. Generally, wider reading will help for English so encourage her to read when she can/wants to.
The second round is definitely harder. They accept around only 100 students out of the 300, so your daughter will have significantly more competition. These papers are standard-answer (full sentences/no multiple choice) English and Maths papers. Again, start with workbooks of these questions then work your way towards past papers (Henrietta Barnett themselves don't give out past papers, but you can find and do past papers from other grammar schools (such as Dame Alice Owens) or good private schools (City of London, Bancroft etc) which will be challenging). Wider reading, as I suggested earlier, will help in English, particularly creative writing. As for maths, practising questions is really the only way to get better. Also time your daughter to ensure she can answer questions under time pressure.
I assume your daughter would be taking the exam next year - now is a great time to start revision. Don't overdo it now or let your daughter get burnt out, but do start getting her into the routine of doing regular work so she can be more confident in herself when the exams come around. Closer to the exams themselves, maybe pay for a mock exam or two so she can get the feel of an exam and make the real ones feel less daunting.
In terms of order, prioritise the multiple choices, but also start working with standard-answer papers - don't wait for confirmation your daughter will go to the second round to start preparing for it. Also try to apply to multiple schools in case your daughter doesn't get into Henrietta Barnett - don't do too many more, but there are plenty of great grammar schools in London that will be good for your daughter and it's good to keep options wide open and to be prepared for any scenario.
Sorry this was so long 😅, but I hope that's helpful enough. Good luck to your daughter!

that's really useful, thanks so much for taking the time to respond.

Reply 10

Strawberry150708

3

Original post

by maryvr

that's really useful, thanks so much for taking the time to respond.

No problem :smile:

)))

Reply 11

Hkkkm

How is the facilities at the HBS? Is there a swimming pool and swimming lesson inside the school? HBS vs Tiffin Girl School, which one to pick?

Reply 12

unopened-mignon

4

Original post

by Hkkkm

How is the facilities at the HBS? Is there a swimming pool and swimming lesson inside the school? HBS vs Tiffin Girl School, which one to pick?

Hi, I'm a current Y11 student at HBS. There is unfortunately no swimming pool or swimming lessons, as the school is quite small, and it's also a grade II listed building so we can't build much on there, so generally, there's not a lot of facilities, but there are other sports opportunities and we often go off-site to nearby parks / spaces for PE. I'd say that if your daughter is more extra-curricular focused, go to a school with more facilities, but for academics, HBS is a very good option.

Reply 13

UnicornMom

2

Hey do girls do a lot of Tution’s in HBS . Would you suggest some good resources for GCSE prep in core subjects. They

Reply 14

Strawberry150708

3

Original post

by UnicornMom

Hey do girls do a lot of Tution’s in HBS . Would you suggest some good resources for GCSE prep in core subjects. They

I'm also in year 11. As far as I know, I can't think of many people, if anyone at all, who are going to external tuition for help with GCSEs. The teachers here are generally good and unless you're really struggling with a subject, using lessons to your advantage and completing homework on time as well as regular past paper questions is usually effective and can get you very good grades.

At GCSEs for all of the core subjects, you can get study help with sixth former 'mentors' for free if needed or if you request for it. As far as revision goes, the most effective methods are to do past papers that you can find on PMT or even the exam board's websites. Hope this helps!

Reply 15

M :))

1

Original post

by username6850484

Hey all!
Firstly, well done if you were offered a place at the 11+ for Henrietta Barnett this year! I’m a student in the pre-GCSE years at HBS. As there are just a few days until the deadline to accept your secondary school places, if you have any questions about the academics or life at HBS send a message in this thread. There's lots to know about the life and I can imagine you will have many worries starting secondary school - I did too! I look forward to hearing from you and hope I can help ☺️

Hi! I'm in year 7 at another school and I've just applied for in-year admission at HBS, which means I'm on a waiting list until a place opens up. How often would you say people leave, especially in year 7,8 and 9 and if someone new joined mid year, how hard is it to make friends and fit in. TYSM IN ADVANCE!!

Ask A Henrietta Barnett Student - New Year Sevens

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