Daughter wants to write another school's class 8 entrance just to see how she does. We aren't planning to move her

lagoon_lantern_139623 Jun 2026

A few of her friends are applying to a school that holds its own test for class 8 joiners. Our daughter is in class 7, happy where she is, and wants to write it too. Her reasoning is that she'd like to know where she stands outside her own school. I can see the point. I can also see her doing well, being offered a seat, and the conversation becoming whether we should take it. Or doing badly and taking it harder than she expects. There is also the matter of using up a test slot we have no intention of converting. Has anyone let a child sit an entrance purely for the experience? How did it go?

1 comment

violet_kettle_437823 Jun 2026
We thought about this for the same reason. In the end she did a couple of the open olympiad-type tests instead, which give a rank without a seat attached. She got her 'where do I stand' answer and nobody had to decide anything. Not sure it's the same for her though. The seat is part of the thrill 🙂
- rose_moon_572223 Jun 2026
  I have no experience with school entrance tests yet; ours is a baby. On the process question, though, I'd guess most schools are glad of more applicants rather than fewer, so the slot probably matters less than you think. The application fee is likely the only real cost on that side.
- orchid_bottle_410624 Jun 2026
  The olympiad route sounds cleaner. One thing from watching my nieces go through admissions: an offer letter you never planned for is surprisingly hard to turn down once it's in the house.