Competition for 4+ Entry has intensified. How to ensure that you stay ahead of the game.

Things used to be far more laid back even just 10 years ago.

As a teacher who has been preparing children all over the country for their 4+ Assessments for over 14 years now, I can tell you with certainty that getting into a top school at Reception age is a lot harder than it used to be.

Many parents don’t think this to be the case. It doesn’t even cross their minds. It should.

They think things like…

‘How hard can it be?’

‘Come on, my child is only 3 years old!’

‘You can’t prepare a 2 year old for an Assessment!’

They are wrong.

It is hard.

Your child is 3 and so what?

You absolutely can prepare a 2 year old for an Assessments and you absolutely MUST prepare your 2 year old for their Assessment.

If you want your child to pass their 4+ Assessments, you must stay ahead of the game.

You must know exactly what is expected of your child.

You simply must prepare your child.

Essentially ask yourself these three questions…

Is my child ready to learn in a group setting?

Is my child able to follow instructions?

Does my child have a level of emotional maturity (relevant to their age) ?

If you cannot answer yes to all of these questions, do not send your child to a 4+ Assessment.

You still have time to prepare.

Book your Sample Lesson Today.

How do I get my two year old to focus?

First of all, you don’t ‘get’ a two year old to do anything!

My nearly 2 year old seems to do what he wants as far as I can see.

His favourite word at the moment is ‘no’!

I ask him to do something and he usually says ‘no’!

Focus is not something I expect him to do well at the age of nearly 2.

However, many of my clients have this expectation that their child should be able to focus for longer periods of time. Most of my youngest students are currently either 2 or 3 years of age.

I understand them. After all, they are preparing their children for their 4+ Assessments which will take place in the next 4-9 months. In their 4+ Assessments, their child will be expected to focus for a very long amount of time.

So let’s change the question ever so slightly?

How can I support my two year old to focus?

Now, this question is a lot easier to answer.

There are so many ways that you can support your two year old to focus.

Here are my top 3:

1. Provide them with opportunities to do a single activity within a specified time duration. You will have the expectation of the time duration, they won’t understand this yet. You will say something like this…

‘We are going to sit on the floor and we are going to do the puzzle. I would like you to only focus on the puzzle for 2 minutes.’

You will then clear the area so that there are minimal distractions and your child is only focused on that one activity.

Start with smaller time durations and then build up to longer time durations.

If your child gets distracted, starts looking around or simply doesn’t want to engage in the task, never make it a problem. Just gently encourage them to come back to the task. Sometimes they will and sometimes they won’t. The problem I see is when parents get cross or frustrated that their child is not meeting their expectation. I promise you that this will never help the situation.

It takes practise, patience and perseverance. Eventually your child will focus for your expected amount of time.

2. Provide them with activities that encourage focus.

Youtube have endless options of focus videos for very young children. Just take a look and choose the ones that you like and that you know your child will like. Today, we were doing phonics and we were popping bubbles to practise the sound ‘p’. My son was really getting into it so I went to Youtube and searched for ‘Focus bubbles for kids’ and an incredible video came up which he adored.

Always try to go with what interests your child. This will allow them to focus lots more.

At only 22 months old, my son watched this video 4 times and focused on it for its entire duration each time. Educational screen time is fine with me (I do limit it however)

3. Model to them how you focus.

Children learn through copying what you do. You are their role model. You are their inspiration. I often model what I would like my son to do. I often sit next to him as he is reading independently and get out my own book. I can see him watching me through the corner of his little eye! I model to him how I focus on my book (even for just 30 seconds) A few days later, I will often see him copying what he saw me doing!

Support your child with their focus and concentration skills by trying these three strategies.

The Top Three Reasons Children were Unsuccessful in their 4+ Assessments in 2023

If you will be sitting your child for their 4+ Assessments in the upcoming future, you will want to do everything you can to avoid these!

I am sharing this with you because I want all children to be successful in their Assessments.

These are our youngest students. The students who are preparing for their 4+ Assessments (actually the youngest are those preparing for their 3+!)

Reason #1

Not Being Appropriately Prepared

A lot of parents underestimate the importance of actually choosing the right person to support their child with their Assessment preparation. They place value on having a person come into their home rather than actually looking at the experience of the person coming into their home. They place value on someone who is an EYFS teacher rather than a teacher with actual experience with the schools that they will be sending their child to do their Assessment at.

This is a problem because if your child is not appropriately prepared then how can you expect them to go into each of their Assessments and actually pass?

To find a professional who specialises just in the 4+ Assessments is very rare. And if you do actually find them, hold on tightly to them.

You must work with a professional who knows the actual standard expected at the school or schools that you are applying to.

Not Starting preparation early enough

Please don’t leave it to the last minute. Give your child enough time to cover all of the curriculum that needs to be covered. Give your child enough time to develop the skills needed in order to be successful at the schools that they are sitting Assessment.

9-12 month of preparation is optimum.

If you’ve not started yet, please just get started now.

Reason #2

Not having developed the skills needed in order to be successful at each specific school.

Please do not prepare your child in a generic way for each school that they will be sitting Assessment at. Each school will need to be prepared for in a specific way. Again, you must know the expectations at each school that you are sitting your child at. Each school will have specific key skills that your child will need to have developed in order to go in and actually be successful.

Reason #3

Not behaving in line with the behavioural expectations of each school.

Not demonstrating the behaviour expected of the schools will lead to your child not passing their 4+ Assessment. Work with someone who knows exactly what these behavioural expectations are and that can support and guide you to ensure that your child actually goes in and demonstrates these behavioural expectations.

This is why it is so important to work with someone with actual experience with the schools that your child is applying to. How else will they know what is expected of your child?

Let me give you some examples of behaviours that led students to not passing their 4+ Assessments or that at least contributed to them not passing their 4+ Assessments. I've changed the students names.

Sara

A very bright girl, Sara would have 100% passed every aspect of her 4+ Assessment but this one thing let her down. Half way through the Assessment, she went up to one of the Assessors and asked, 'Are we done yet?'

She did not pass her 4+ Assessment at this school.

Ben

Ben had completed his Assessment and the group he was in were told to line up one behind the other. He decided to run around and ignore this request. He had to be asked three times to line up.

He did not pass his 4+ Assessment at this school.

Last few places remaining for tuition with me (2025 entry). Avoid disappointment and book your place today. Once I am at capacity, I will not be offering 1:1 tuition for 4+ Assessment preparation for 2025 entry.

Would you tutor your toddler to pass their 4+ Assessment?

If you wouldn't, then don't send them into a 4+ Assessment. They have no business being anywhere near there. 

That's my honest opinion. 

In order to be successful in their 4+ Assessments your child will need 9-12 months of Assessment preparation. That means starting between January and March before their 4+ Assessments (Assessments take place between October and January with some earlier than this!)

Here is was 95% of parents do.

They contact me in January or February or perhaps they start thinking about Assessment preparations around January/February time and they think that they have plenty of time and before they know it, it is May!

As it stands, you have between 5 and 7 months before your child’s 4+ Assessments. This doesn’t leave you with much time but it is still an okay time to get started.

Don’t put it off for too long.

I’ve had parents starting tuition as late as one month before the 4+ Assessments. Let me tell you that this is absolutely not enough time and in most instances the children who start late are not successful in their 4+ Assessments. Nothing to do with them but to do with the fact that they did not have enough time to cover all of the curriculum that needed to be covered in order to actually be able to pass their 4+ Assessments.

I am nearly at capacity for 4+ Assessment preparation. Every year, I only tutor 10 very lucky children for their 4+ Assessments. I have two spaces available only because 2 of my clients have decided to send their children other types of schools.

To secure the last 2 places, book your Sample Lesson Today! Don’t delay, the time to start is right now.

Summer Kids Disadvantaged or not in their 4+ Assessments?

What do you think about this?

I know my current clients and parents that I speak to each and every day have a lot of thoughts and feelings about this.

So far this week I have spoken to several potential new clients who have told me that their 'summer born child will be disadvantaged in their 4+ Assessment' 

Here are 3 reasons why I disagree. 

1. Having taught children for nearly 20 years both as a nursery practitioner and as a teacher, let me tell you that I have of course worked with thousands of children who are summer born. I have worked with summer born children who have been labelled as 'behind' and I have worked with some summer born children who have been labelled as achieving at mastery. 

2. I have taught hundreds of summer born children in preparation for their 4+ Assessments who have been incredibly successful. 

3. My own son is summer born and I will never ever say the sentence above. 

I remember when I worked as a teacher at a top pre-prep in Hampstead that one of my students really stood out. He articulated himself so well, he was polite and charming. He was very intelligent and was successful at all of his target schools at 4+. He was August born. I remember that his mother was always telling me about how 'unfair' it was that he was going to be Assessed with children who were almost a whole year older than him and I remember telling her that she had nothing to worry about. 

And she didn't. 

As long as you prepare your child properly for their 4+ Assessments, you have nothing to worry about either. I don't pay any attention to the month of birth of my students. They are all prepared in a way that will allow them to go in and shine in any 4+ Assessment. 

We have a brand new Group 4+ Assessment Online 8 Week Course launching on Saturday 1st of June. Book your place today!

Curriculum Coaching is the best option is the best option for the 4+ for you if...

You want to teach your child yourself but have no idea where to start in terms of covering the curriculum.

In comes Curriculum Coaching.

An incredible programme that I created for my clients.

Many of my clients would tell me that they wanted to prepare their children themselves but didn’t have a clue what they should be covering. Didn’t have a clue about the level expected at each different school.

Become an expert in the curriculum that your child is currently studying.

Receive expert guidance from a teacher who has over 16 years of experience teaching children aged 2-11.

Ensure your child is always ahead and making the accelerated progress that they deserve to be making.

If you are currently preparing your child for the 4+ and would like to know that you are covering everything that needs to be covered, this is the programme for you.

What you will get

Bespoke learning created only for your child.

Learning will be sent weekly.

Once learning has been completed, you can send pictures of any incorrect learning and receive tailor made resources only for your child to support them to grasp the concepts that they may be struggling with.

Unlimited access to Company Director, Maria Mazarese either by phone or by email. You can contact me at any time and I will always reply and be there to support you.

£240 per month

£50 Registration fee

Try for one week (£60)

Cancel anytime

2 things your child must never do in their 4+ Assessments

The day of the 4+ Assessment will be a very important day for my clients. They really want their child to be successful at being offered a place at the school that they have applied to and they have invested a lot of time, money and energy into preparing for this moment. They are also sending the most precious person in their lives into the Assessment and so they will be most likely feeling a mixture of anxiety and stress. Our children are the most precious little loves and we want them to succeed. We want them to thrive. We know exactly what they are capable of and we want them to be able to show this and we want others to be able to see this!

That’s why when a lot of the parents that I speak to receive the letter in the post saying that their child has been unsuccessful that they feel a deep sense of sadness. That’s their little love being rejected. That’s their little love not being offered a place at the dream school that they wanted them to go to.

That’s why I take what I do so seriously.

I know how important this is for my clients.

I know what it means to them.

So let me share with you 2 things that your child must never do in their 4+ Assessment.

1. They must not go in upset.

Seems logical but many parents overlook this. They are so focused on preparing their children academically that they skip this step.

If your child goes in crying, screaming, doesn’t want to leave you. is clinging to you, refuses to go in with the Assessor, this will be an immediate no (in most instances)

2. They must not refuse to do something that they are asked to do.

Again seems logical to me but if you don’t explain this to your child then they will not know that it is an expectation. Children at the ages of 3 and 4 naturally want to do their own thing. But if your child is asked to do something in their 4+ Assessment and they don’t do it or they refuse to do it then in will be a no.

Need bespoke Assessment preparation for a teacher who has over 14 years’ of experience with all of the top inner and outer London schools? Book your Sample Lesson today.

How your child expresses themselves will be very important in their 4+ Assessment

Language and communication is a key skill to get right when preparing for the 4+ Assessments.

At the age of 3 or 4, your child will be expected to express themselves very well in their 4+ Assessments.

Here are some examples of what this might look like in the actual Assessment.

1. Answering questions with clarity and confidence

2. Answering questions by going into more detail

3. Talking to other children calmly and politely

4. Talking to other adults with confidence

5. Asking for something politely

Here are some examples where students have not been able to express themselves well and therefore were unsuccessful in their 4+ Assessments

1. Giving short answers or no answers at all

2. Not being kind and polite to other children - eg. snatching something or not giving the other child the possibility to have a turn.

3. Not wanting to speak to the adults in the room.

4. Asking for something and not saying please or thank you.

Here is one example that I heard from one of my current clients who is now preparing her son for the 7+.

A bright boy, her son went into these 4+ Assessments filled with confidence. I had no doubt that he would pass most of his 4+ Assessments. He went into his Assessment and was asked to go to the lego table. He looked at the Assessor and said ‘No, I don’t want to.’

Here is another example.

One of my students was a little timid and struggled to answer questions. She didn’t like to answer questions even when it was someone familiar to her asking her the questions. The Assessor asked her to describe the flower. She said ‘It is pink!’ She should have gone into a lot more detail in order to successfully answer this type of queation.

Here is another example.

A boy went into his Assessment and half way through he told the Assessor, ‘I’m bored!’

So if you are preparing your child for their 4+ Assessment, work on this part. Work with your child to support them to express themselves. To communicate with others well. Don’t take it for granted that your child will just know how to do it. They will need to be taught how to do it. To practise how to do it and to know the expectations in their 4+ Assessments.

Book your Sample Lesson Today.

Nurture Social Strength by frequently and consistently exposing your child to new experiences.

Your child’s social skills will be assessed in their 4+ Assessments.

How they interact with other children.

How they interact with other adults.

I believe that the only way to master these skills is by frequently and consistently exposing your child to new experiences.

New experiences where they will meet new children and new experiences where they will meet new adults.

Just going to a nursery everyday will not be enough. Those people are familiar to your child and they will already be comfortable around them.

In their 4+ Assessment, they will have never have met the children in the room (most likely) and they will definitely have never met the adults in the room.

Exposing your child to new experiences is the best way to work on their social strength and empower them to go into their assessments socially ready to handle anything!

New experiences could be going to new play groups, visiting different restaurants, going to the zoo, going to museums, going to different clubs. If you can leave your child somewhere new even better. There are so many things that you can do in London!

Need further support with developing social strength in order to be successful in the 4+ Assessments?

Book your Sample Lesson today!

Empower your child's reasoning and thinking skills by doing this one thing.

In their 4+ Assessments, your child will be observed.

They will be amongst hundreds of other children also being Assessed.

The Assessors will be looking for many different things but amongst these will be how your child thinks.

Independence of thinking is a quality that will be observed.

How your child reasons and uses their logic will be observed.

This 100% can be prepared for.

In each of our lessons, we encourage our children to think. We ask so many questions. Different types of questions that help our students to develop their thinking.

Do this one thing every day consistently for 6 months and see your child’s thinking and reasoning skills go to the next level!

Provide your child with something new and unfamiliar to do every single day. You don’t need to spend money every day on new resources to do this. Use your imagination!

Give your child a new puzzle, a new lego construction to create, a maze to complete, a page in a book to answer questions about, a physical task to complete.

By giving them something new and unfamiliar to complete, you will be supporting their reasoning and thinking skills because they will have never done this task before.

What we tend to do (myself included!) is provide our children with the same or similar activities to do every day. This is ok and children of course improve the more they do the same thing.

However, if you are preparing for the 4+, remember that you are sending your child into a new and unfamiliar environment and they will have new and unfamiliar activities to do.

If you don’t expose your child to new and unfamiliar things to do, this will be challenging for them and they will not be able to fully demonstrate their reasoning and thinking skills.

Need further support with 4+ Assessment preparation?

Book your Sample lesson today.

How we prepare each of our students for their 4+ Assessments

Many parents wonder if it’s possible to prepare for the 4+ Assessments.

Absolutely, yes.

Here is how we prepare each of our students for their 4+ Assessments.

Most parents book a Sample lesson before beginning their Assessment preparation journeys with us. After our online Sample lesson, parents then make a decision about continuing their Assessment preparation with one of our exceptional teachers.

The Sample lesson is an opportunity to see the style and structure of our online lessons and to establish a connection with your new teacher.

At the end of the Sample lesson, you will have a discussion with your teacher about the schools that your will be applying to and choose the day and time for your weekly lessons.

See some of our exceptional reviews here!

Your teacher will then plan and prepare the Assessment preparation for your child based on the schools that you are preparing for.

You will then meet with your teacher weekly and receive bespoke home learning based on the needs of your child and to support everything that they will need to be able to do at the Assessments that they will be going to.

You also have something that is not available anywhere else in the Assessment preparation market.

You will have ongoing access to your teacher at any time.

Book your Sample Lesson Today.

A true story - 4+ Assessment preparation. Here is Sam's story.

I care too much about you to let this one thing happen to you. 

My client told me she was happy for me to share her story with the hopes that it might help someone else. 

So here it is. 

This is Sam's story. 

Sam contacted me in January of 2023. Her son was preparing for his 4+ Assessments for several top London schools including Highgate, UCS and Habs boys. 

When I spoke to her she had many reservations such as 'he's too young', 'he's not ready', 'I'm not sure online will work' 

She told me that she would wait. 

We kept in touch over the course of the months and I answered all of her questions and was able to support her as much as I could over email. 

She contacted me again in September. 

This time her energy was very different and she told me she was all in and ready to go. 

Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time. 

Her son was not ready for the three schools that she desperately wanted him to got to.  

He passed fist round at UCS but not the second. 

He passed first round at Highgate but not the second. 

He did not pass the first round at Habs boys. 

He is now preparing for his 7+ at all three of these schools with me. 

So rather than spending 9-12 months preparing for his 4+ and being successful (I have no doubt that he would have been), Sam is now preparing for the 7+ and will spend 12-18 months with me. 

A much larger investment in terms of money and time. 

He is doing really well in his lessons and I have no doubt that he will have tremendous success in his 7+. 

The point of this story is to get started and not wait until the last minute. 

Spaces with me are filling up fast so book your Sample lesson today and let's go. 

Everything that you need to know about confidence in the 4+ Assessments.

Confidence is key when it comes to 4+ Assessment success.

Because ultimately if your chid doesn't go in happily and confidently how else will they do well?

How else will they show their capabilities?

How else will they show how much they are able to do? 

If your child goes in upset, they won't be able to show confidence. In fact, if your child goes in upset, they will not pass their 4+ Assessment.

If you are preparing your child for their 4+ Assessments, work on confidence from very early on

Take them to new places where they need to interact with new children and new adults. 

There are so many options available living in London. 

Please don't just assume that taking them to nursery is enough. Their nursery is familiar to them. The adults there are familiar to them. The children there are familiar to them. The building is familiar to them. 

When they go to their 4+ Assessments, it will all be new to them and if they havent practised, they will find it challenging. 

Even adults find it challenging to go somewhere new. Even adults struggle with change. 

Imagine a 3 or 4 year old? 

Put yourself in their shoes.

They arrive a new and unfamiliar building to them. How will they be feeling?

Probably a little bit overwhelmed.

They are escorted by a teacher or two to a room they’ve never been to before. How will they be feeling?

Probably a little bit worried. A little bit anxious. A little bit confused. Perhaps overwhelmed?

They are placed in groups of 6-12 other children that they’ve never met before. How will they be feeling? Or they are put in a 1:1 situation with an adult they may have never met before.

It is up to you to prepare your child for all of this

I tell my students EXACTLY what to expect at each Assessment. Remember that each Assessment will be different and it is vital that your child understands exactly what will be expected of them at each different school.

I go through with them step by step exactly what will happen, what they will do, what they will hear what they will see, how they might be feeling. All of this helps them to go in with confidence and be their naturally confident selves.

If you would like further support with 4+ Assessment preparation, book your Sample Lesson today.

Don't choose someone to prepare your child purely based on the fact that they can come into your home.

All of our lessons are online.

They have been for the last 4 years.

I moved everything online for one reason and one reason only.

It works just as well as in person tuition.

I did in person tuition for 10 years before deciding to move everything online.

In person tuition works well. With the right person.

To me the ‘right person’ is not just a teacher who is qualified.

To me the ‘right person’ is someone with experience with the schools that you are applying to.

I spoke to a client the other day who wants her child to go to Highgate. I personally have over 14 years preparing my students for this school.

I answered all of her questions and then she told me that she would prefer to go with the teacher who can come into her home.

I asked her if this teacher had experience with Highgate at 4+. She said no but she is an eyfs specialist.

Irrelevant.

Yes, you will be teaching your child the EYFS curriculum (not only this!) but yes in part.

To me it’s irrelevant because if you want your child to go to Highgate, you absolutely need to work with a teacher who is familiar with the Assessment procedures at this school.

This particular teacher charges £100 for a one hour session. Nothing else is included.

So a 6 month commitment with this particular teacher would e a £2,400 investment.

We charge £60 for a 30 minute lesson and this includes ongoing communication with your teacher and home learning, guidance specific to the schools that you are applying to and entrance exam support. So a 6 month commitment with us is £1440.

Yes some of the parents I speak to choose to invest the £2400.

Ultimately, you are free to spend your money where you wish.

But wouldn’t you rather invest your money into something that will have a higher chance for success?

My online lessons offer the highest quality of tuition available on the market in my opinion. The fact that I offer ongoing support to my clients (included in that price) is something that no one else currently offers. Tomorrow, I’m jumping on a call with my current clients to discuss their choice of schools and the progress their son is currently making. This is all included in what they’ve already paid for their lessons. I never charge extra for consultations with my current clients.

So when considering who you want to prepare your child for their 4+ Assessments, please think carefully. Someone coming into your home is 100% not better than working with someone with so much experience who can support your child bespoke to each individual school that you are preparing for.

The two main reasons your child was unsuccessful in their 4+ Assessment

I speak to a lot of parents who often tell me that they really do not understand why their child was unsuccessful in their 4+ Assessment. After hearing a few facts from them and a small amount of information, I am able to reveal to them the reason/s why.

There are so many reasons why your child might have been unsuccessful in their 4+ Assessments but here are the two main reasons.

Avoid these in order to have the highest chances for success in your child’s 4+ Assessment/s.

Here are the two main reasons in no particular order.

1. They did not meet the behavioural expectations of the school.

Each school will have their own set of criteria that the children must meet in order to pass the Assessment. These range from - being polite, showing kindness, being able to share, listening well to others etc. If your child doesn’t meet these expectations or shows something that goes against these expectations, they will not be successful.

2. They did not meet the academic expectations of the school.

Each school will have their own set of academic criteria that the children must meet in order to pass the Assessment. This is self explanatory. If your child cannot do several academic things that are on the list, they will not be successful.

You need to be very aware about what the academic and behavioural expectations are at each school that you are applying to.

Know those two things and you are golden! Your child will have a far higher chance for success in their 4+ Assessments.

Book your Sample lesson today.

5 facts you probably didn't know about the 4+ at UCS

1. There are 32 places available to join the pre- prep Reception class each year.

Many parents that I speak to often seem surprised about this. They often tend to think that there are far more places available than there actually are.

Hundreds and hundreds of boys will apply to sit their 4+ Assessment each year at UCS.

2. You can register for the 4+ Assessment at UCS any time after birth!

UCS is very over subscribed. Be aware of this.

3. Everyone who applies to sit the 4+ Assessment at UCS will be invited to the first Round. There will be hundreds and hundreds of boys at the 4+ Assessment dates at UCS at Round 1. There are 3 different dates for the 4+ Assessment (in 2025 the dates are 3rd, 6th and 7th January)

4. You are told to not prepare your son for this school and I highly recommend that you completely disregard this.

5. It is 100% NOT a playdate Assessment so don’t treat it as one.

We have had tremendous success preparing our boys for the 4+ at UCS for over 14 years and we would be delighted to support you.

Book your Sample Lesson today!

Why it's not enough to just write a 'simple story' in the 7+ Assessments.

I spoke to a potential new client who is currently preparing her son for his 7+ Assessment at Latymer.

We spoke in detail about the 7+ Assessment at this particular school and it was clear to me that she didn’t know very much about the expectations and the level needed in order to actually be successful at gaining entry to this school at 7+.

She said to me, ‘He is so strong with his maths, I know that he will ace the maths paper!’

I asked her if he was strong in the year 3 curriculum.

She stopped.

‘What do you mean?’ she asked me.

Yes, you need to cover some of the Year 3 maths curriculum to be successful in the maths Assessment at this school.

Next she told me, ‘He hates writing but that doesn’t matter, he only needs to write a simple story.’

I told her that his is absolutely not the case and that Latymer takes story writing very seriously and they expect to see a high quality story written by the students who sit their 7+ Assessments.

To be completely honest, I don’t think she believed me.

Why would I lie?

I’ve been doing this for over 14 years.

I know what Latymer is looking for.

And I know exactly what my students must do in order to be successful.

It’s not easy.

But with the right support, your child will be successful in their 7+ Assessment at this school.

Take it seriously. Be prepared. Understand the expectations and let’s go!

Book your Sample Lesson today.

We prepare our students up to the Year 3 Curriculum for most schools at 7+

If your child will be sitting their 7+ Assessments, you may have wondered about what the level of difficulty will be like. Depending on the school that you are applying to, the level will be high.

The expectations will be high.

Your child will be expected to be at mastery level in the Year 2 Curriculum and they will have covered some of the Year 3 curriculum too. Some of my students (depending on the school/s that I am preparing them for) will also have covered some of the Year 4 Curriculum.

It is important to prepare your child to go in to these 7+ Assessments and be comfortable at answering as many questions as possible.

There is so much to cover when preparing for the 7+ Assessments.

You need to consider -

Writing

Reading

Spelling

Maths

Problem solving

Verbal

Non verbal

Interview skills

Communication skills

Speed of completing tasks

Accuracy and precision of answers given

To name a few.

We have been doing this for over 14 years.

We have had exceptional results year after year after year.

Let us support you to have the highest chances for success in your child’s 7+ Assessments.

Book your Sample Lesson today!

Why this is so misleading when preparing your child for their 7+ Assessments.

I completed an analysis of several top London School’s websites that provide information about the 7+ Assessments at their schools. Many of the schools specify this-

‘To be successful your child must be working at greater depth within the Year 2 Curriculum.’

I believe this to be very misleading.

As a parent who might be preparing their child for their 7+ Assessments, you might think that in order to pass, your child will need to be working at greater depth in the Year 2 curriculum.

Which term?

This is usually not specified.

Your child will need to be working at greater depth in ALL of the Year 2 Curriculum.

Keep in mind that their Assessments will be at the end of the Autumn term or the very beginning of the Spring term.

So let’s be clear about that to begin with.

It is also misleading because in some Assessments, children will be assessed in some of the Year 3 and even Year 4 curriculum.

For example, at one Top London boys’ school, they expect children to know their Year 3/4 spelling words because they always assess them on these.

At another Top London girls’ school, they expect children to answer double digit multiplication and long division questions. Both of these are absolutely not in the Year 2 curriculum.

These are just a few examples and I could give you many more.

At the end of the day, in order to guarantee the most successful outcome possible in the 7+ Assessments, you must work with someone who know the schools that you are applying to and knows them well.

There are too many elements to each 7+ Assessment and you must know them well in order to prepare your child to the highest possible standard and guarantee success in their 7+ Assessment.

We have a proven track record of exceptional results at all top inner and outer London Schools at 7+.

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7+ Assessment Recommended Reading List (2025 Entry)

Read well.

Read often.

Build vocabulary.

Understand well.

Answer questions with accuracy.

These are the 5 pillars of Reading success in the 7+ Assessments. Be able to do all 5 of these and you are golden.

So which books should your child be reading?

Here is my updated 7+ Assessment Reading list for children sitting entry in 2025.

I haven’t just picked these out of thin air.

I have analysed and studied the Assessments in the last 3 years and compiled a list based on the level and content of what has previously come up at a variety of schools.

These books will also help you, as parents understand the reading level expected from your child when they sit their 7+ Assessments. It’s usually higher than you think that it will be!

Fiction

Michael Bond - Paddington Series

Enid Blyton - Famous Five Series

Jennifer Gray - Atticus Claw Series

The Hodgeheg - Dick King Smith

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane - Kate Di Camillo

Roald Dahl Series - My favourite is ‘The Minpins’ to support story writing!

David Walliams Series

Charlottes Web - E.B White

How to Train Your Dragon. - Cressida Cowell

Non Fiction

Survivors - David Long

How to be a doctor and other life saving jobs - Dr Punam Krishan

Histories biggest show offs - Andy Seed

Kay’s Incredible Inventions - Adam Kay

Women in Sports - Rachel Ignotofsky

You are History - Greg Jenner

Expose your child to a variety of genres.

Keep reading!