How do you read this?

As you read through the Forest 4+ Assessment procedure, you can read a very detailed description about what the 4+ Assessment will be like for your child at this school. I’ve always been very impressed by the level of detail Forest go into when describing exactly what the 4+ Assessment will be like at their school.

The one thing that I find fascinating and that to this day remains on their website is this sentence here…

‘We want to see if this will be the best place for your child and if we feel they are and will be ready for the type of education that we offer at Forest. For this reason, we would request you do not specifically prepare your child for the 4+ assessment procedure.’

How do you read this?

Here’s how some parents read this.

They read it to mean that they absolutely must not prepare their child for their 4+ Assessment at Forest. They read it to mean that if they prepare their child for their 4+ Assessment at Forest that their child will not show their true level and ability and that therefore this will not be a true reflection of their child.

This is absolutely not the case at all and if you think in this way, I urge you to reconsider.

If your child is not prepared to a very high standard, it is highly unlikely that they will pass the 4+ Assessment at Forest. With only 64 places and with so many children applying (the number is in the high hundreds!), competition is fierce.

Assessment at this school is not easy.

Don’t just expect your child to go in, happily engage in all the activities to the standard that they expect and to pass with no preparation.