Why is Merchant Taylors so hard to pass at 4+?
/Expectations are high and places are low.
And also because most places are offered to boys already in the Nursery (those who got in at 3+)
Your son will have to be one of the ‘strongest applicants’ in order to even be considered for a place at Merchant Taylors. It is a group assessment with 10-15 other boys however your son will also be assessed on a 1:1 basis.
MT’s write that their assessments are not challenging but I firmly disagree. They are challenging and a lot will be expected of your son.
MT’s are looking for ‘teachability’ and ‘sociability’ so basically how easy your son will be to teach and how they are socially (with both adults and children). MT’s are looking for children who are focused and alert and who have the capacity to answer all questions asked to a very high standard. The nursery report will be very important for this assessment too.
I personally think MT’s is very hard to pass because most parents do not understand that they need to start preparing their children at least 12 months before the assessment. By leaving it too late, you simply will not have time to cover all of the curriculum that needs to be covered. Therefore it will be very hard for your son to pass. Remember that they will be given an overall percentage based on the assessment criteria. You need to know what the criteria will be in order to be in with a chance of them passing. If you don’t know the criteria, it’s up to you to either educate yourself and learn the criteria or to work with someone who knows it like the back of their hand!
If you are preparing for MT’s, we have incredible success. Each year we prepare at least 1-2 students and each year at least one of our students is offered a place to study at this school.
