Latymer Upper School
Senior schools in london
Latymer Upper is a co-ed school based near Hammersmith, west London. The nearest station is Ravenscourt Park and the school grounds stretch from King Street all the way to the Thames.
School information
Alongside the more traditional halls and buildings, you’ll see that Latymer Upper also has state of the art modern facilities. There’s the glass and steel Performing Arts Centre, an onsite Sports Centre with a swimming pool (also open to parents) and a sports complex for football, rugby, cricket, hockey, netball and tennis a short walk away. With their own rowing facilities on the Thames, it’s not surprising the school has regular success in national competitions.
The education provided is no doubt first class, with 92% of GCSE grades being A*/A in 2018 and 88% of sixth formers attaining places at their first-choice university. Furthermore, the school offers a large number of bursaries to its students.
The school is proudly cosmopolitan, with the students coming from a wide range of backgrounds. ‘Rounded and grounded’ is the school’s motto. Latymer Upper goes a long way to creating an inclusive and nurturing environment where students can grow and thrive.
Outside of the classroom, you’ll find that the school offers their students every chance to join and participate in whatever interests and activities they want. There are over 150 to choose from and range from the more traditional chess, to the enigmatically named Curiosity club…
The performing arts centre has a 300-seat theatre for productions to be put on by students around the academic year. With a star-studded acting alumni including Sir Michael Boyd, Alan Rickman and Hugh Grant, if acting is something your child enjoys, they will be well looked after in this department. There are also 800 students taking individual music lessons, so your child will be able to hone and explore their musical talent.
The school is very big on sport and it is a vital part of what makes it so attractive to students. There’s a vast array of team and individual sport for students to participate in and great facilities. There are A-D teams in the usual main sports and there are also many co-curricular sports that the students can choose from. Should your child be looking to reach their full potential in their given sport, Latymer Upper is a school that will nurture this ambition.
admissions
Registration can be completed online and should be carried out in October, with the exam for 11+ occurring in January. An interview follows later that month. Over one thousand pupils sit the 11+ entrance exam each year, one paper for English and one for maths. Successful candidates from the exams are invited back for an interview and from these, around 170 are invited to attend the school.
Latymer entrance exams at 11+ are difficult. The maths paper is especially challenging and the questions may be unlike anything your child has done before. Don’t let this put you off. The boundary is lower due to its difficulty, so although your child may come out of the exam feeling like they haven’t done well, they may well get through to the interviews. Preparation is key and although it’s not expected for candidates to get 100% on these tests, attaining a higher score will obviously be beneficial and increase chances of getting an interview. Start with practice papers from other schools before moving onto Latymer’s so that your child’s confidence does not take too much of a knock. Little and often is the way forward, try to avoid cramming all the learning into the last two months!
There is no longer entry at 13+ level due to a lack of places. However, the school does offer entry at 16+. Students are assessed via personal statement, a school report, a reference and then an interview with a Latymer Upper member of staff.