5 reasons you should attend the 4+ VIP morning at 3pm today.

Grab a coffee or a tea and join me for 60 minutes of pure knowledge and insights into the 4+ Assessments.

Knowledge is key when it comes to the 4+ Assessments.

I had originally only opened this up to current clients but as most of my current clients are only able to watch the replay, I have a few spaces remaining so I have decided to open it up to everyone.

You have 7 hours only to book your place on this incredible 4+ VIP event.

It is happening TODAY Sunday 16th February @15:00 (60 minute VIP morning)

Reason #1

I will give you my honest opinions about the 4+ Assessments with a focus on everything that I have learnt from this year’s 4+ Assessments at all of the top inner and outer London schools.

Reason #2

I will share with you real stories of parents who were unsuccessful at their target schools at 4+ and I will tell you my reasons why I think their children did not pass.

Reason #3

I will tell you exactly what came up in the 4+ Assessments that caught out a few children with the hope that these won’t catch out your children in their 4+ Assessments.

Reason #4

I will tell you what your child must not do in a 4+ Assessment if they want to pass it.

Reason #5

I will share with you a real Assessment criteria sheet from a top school and the reason why percentage points matter even at 4+.

Everyone who joins (live or watches the replay) will be in with a chance to win a FREE Additional consultation (worth £120)

Special Bonus

I will provide every single parent who attends with the top 3 Assessment Tips that supported my students to PASS their Assessment at the schools that your child will be sitting Assessment at (I just cannot provide this for Westminster this year!)

I have only 3 places remaining so book your place today.

This VIP morning is worth thousands of pounds in my opinion. After all, if your child passes their 4+ Assessments, you won’t need to worry about the 7+ or the 11+!

Top 3 Client 4+ Frustrations.

I have been personally preparing children for the 4+ Assessments for over 16 years! That’s a very long time!

I adore teaching children at all ages but this age group is currently particularly fascinating to me as my own child is 30 months old right now.

At the age of two and three, students often start off with their guard up initially. They don’t know me. In the first few lessons, it’s all about warming up. After a few lessons, they transform and the relationship that we develop is something that I cherish long after our lessons are complete and they go to their ‘big’ schools. In fact, I keep in touch with most of my clients long after the lessons have completed and in fact most of my clients continue with tuition long after the assessments.

Each year, I speak with parents and each year I hear the same things come up that cause many of my clients a lot of frustrations. And it’s understandable!

So here are the top three 4+ frustrations that I hear from many clients and many potential new clients.

1. My neighbour/ My aunty/ My cousin told me not to have my child tutored for the 4+

This is a common one!

Parents feeling very frustrated because they put so much effort into preparing their children for their 4+, investing in tuition and investing their time and energy into actually coming to the lessons with their children and then completing the home learning tasks. Then they are told ‘You don’t need to prepare your child.’

First of all, let me say this…

If a child is sitting the 4+ Assessments they will have been ‘tutored’.

Hear me out.

In one way or another a child sitting the 4+ needs to be prepared, So whether you pay for formal tuition or you ‘tutor’ your child yourself, they are still being ‘tutored. Being ‘tutored’ just means that your child is being taught.

2. I thought my child would automatically get in because of the school’s sibling policy and they didn’t get in.

Schools may tell you that they have a sibling policy but I personally wouldn’t pay attention to this. Regardless of if they have one or not, please assume that there isn’t one. Your child still needs to pass the Assessment! Several parents have made the mistake of thinking that because there is a sibling policy that they don’t need to prepare their child. The result of this will always be that a child who is not prepared will not be successful. I’ve seen it happen countless times.

3. I thought my child’s date of birth would be taken into consideration.

Again, even if the schools tell you that your child will be grouped with children of the same age group (and this may be the case), please don’t take this to mean that your child will be assessed any differently to their autumn/winter born peers. Whether your child is August born or your child is December born, they need to still pass the Assessment. The criteria will not be different for summer born children compared to autumn/winter born children. It will be the same. It will be age adjusted up (slightly) if your child is summer born but that is about it.

I have taught children who are July/ August born who surpassed their peers who were born in September/November. Ok, you can argue with me that nearly one year makes a difference. And perhaps it does. But rather than put your energy into worrying about this, put your energy into ensuring that your child is appropriately prepared to be able to pass any Assessment!

So many parents that I speak to on a daily basis use their child’s age as an excuse for their progress (or lack of progress). My son is July born and I never factor in his date of birth. I’ve never uttered the words, ‘Oh but he’s July born.’ to anyone and I promise you that I never will.

Our results are out of this world yet again this year. I will be publishing them on Monday!

Need further support with 4+ Assessment preparation?

Book your Sample Week today.

Why we only ever work with 3 students each for the 11+

Currently there are four of us who support our students with their 11+ Assessments.

We only every take on three students each for the 11+ Assessment preparations and there is a very important reason for this.

We absolutely couldn’t take on any more than this amount.

Preparing for the 11+ takes a lot of time, effort, focus and dedication from everyone involved in the process.

The amount of time that goes into one lesson each week goes far beyond the 30 minute lesson. First of all there is the lesson planning and preparation. Each lesson is thoroughly planned and prepared based on our students’ target schools. This usually takes me 15-30 minutes. Then there is the lesson itself - 30 minutes. Then I need to set the home learning tasks - 10-15 minutes. Once these are sent, my 11+ students are expected to send these back to me so that I can mark the learning and provide feedback - another 10-15 minutes (depending on the amount returned to me). My clients also have 24/7 email support from me as part of all my packages which means that I am available to them 24/7 for anything that they might need in relation to their child’s 11+.

So this is why we only ever work with 3 students for the preparation of the 11+. Currently I am working with 2 students who are both currently in Year 4. We are preparing for the likes of City, Latymer, UCS, Hampton, Reeds, RGS - Guildford, Epsom College, St Johns and City of London Freeman. My team of exceptional teachers are also preparing students for their 11+ Assessments.

I have the capacity for one more student preparing for their 11+ so if you’d like this spot, book your Sample Lesson today!

Tomorrow is results day! So excited to share with you our results!

Parents who are suited to working with myself and my team.

Parents who are 100% not suited to working with myself and my team and parents who think that other people will prepare their children for their 4+ for them. 

Listen carefully, no one will care more about your child passing their 4+ Assessments than you will. 

I've worked in several pre-prep nurseries and there is no way a pre-prep nursery alone could ever prepare your child for the likes of Notting Hill and Ealing, Habs boys or girls, NLCS or South Hampstead. Yes, they will market themselves as being able to do so and I have no doubt that the quality of the teaching received by your child will be exceptional... but... they alone will not prepare your child to have the success that you would like them to have in their 4+ Assessments. 

That is up to you. 

If pre - preps alone would be sufficient to prepare your child for their 4+ Assessments, then why do the Head teacher of these top pre-preps personally recommend me to their clients? 

Reflect on that. 

Parents who are suited to working with myself and my team are those who are willing to put in the work. Who don't tell me they are too busy because of this, that or the other. Parents who every day will follow my guidance and prepare their children to have incredible success in their 4+ Assessments. Those are the parents that we work with. 

Many of you seem to want instant results and it doesn’t work like that when it comes to 4+ Assessment success.

How do you justify your tutoring being online?

I was asked this question yesterday and I found it fascinating.

I asked the parent I was talking to what she meant by this question.

She said, ‘What I mean is why is all of your tutoring done online?’

Justification means to show or prove to be right.

I don’t think online tuition is right or wrong therefore there is no justification needed. What I know for a fact is that our results speak for themselves. The fact that so many of our students are so successful in their Assessments is the proof that what we do is incredibly effective.

The parent I was talking to yesterday is currently preparing her daughter for the 11+ at several grammar schools and several private schools.

I asked her to explain to me why she thought in person tuition would have a bigger impact on her daughter’s success than online tuition.

She told me that she felt in person tuition was more nurturing than online tuition.

Not true.

We have beautiful, nurturing relationships with all of our students. We look forward to seeing each other each and every single week.

She told me that her daughter would focus more in person than online.

Not true.

And in fact I told her that in person tuition can actually become a crutch. A crutch where too much support is given. In the Assessment her daughter would be completely alone.

She told me that her daughter goes for 3 hours of tutoring a week and she couldn’t understand how I could support her in only 30 minutes.

Well, that’s the beauty of working with experienced teachers. We do not need to have your child for 3 hours each week to have results.

Online tuition is amazing. You can access the best teachers from wherever you are in the country. If you want to have the best results, you need to work with the best teachers. The teachers who know the schools that you are applying to like the back of their hands and who know exactly what will be expected of your child in their Assessments.

I know how important Assessment preparation is. I take it very seriously. We prepare children to the highest possible calibre to go in and be successful in any assessment.

Book your Sample Week today.

How perfectionism is holding you back from 4+ Assessment Success.

As parents, we want to do things perfectly for our children. As a society, we are deeply conditioned to be be perfectionists.

However, when it comes to 4+ Assessment preparation, perfectionism is the thief of 4+ Assessment success.

As parents, we want to do it all ‘correctly’.

You plan your week and you have it all picture perfect on paper. You’re going to cover all 7 areas of the EYFS in depth with your child and every single day, you’re going to spend 30 minutes doing some learning. Then before you know it, it’s Wednesday and you haven’t once shown your child their phonics. So what do most of us do? Most of us will say things like…

‘Oh, well. We’ve blown it for this week so let’s just start again next week.’

Perfectionism makes you think that it is all or nothing. Perfectionism is a liar.

You could also think something like…

‘I’ve had a hard week and I will plan at least 2 minutes to sit with my child and at the very least show them their phonics.’

Do you see the difference?

When it comes to 4+ Assessment success, consistency is the key. Isn’t it far better to do at least 10 minutes of learning every day with your child than to plan 30 minutes a day and do nothing at all?

I see this everyday with the parents who contact me and tell me things like…

‘I didn’t do enough.’

‘I should have done more.’

‘I didn’t prepare her well enough.’

This all just makes me feel very sad.

Your child’s education is one of the most important decisions that you will ever make for your child. The quality of their education will determine the quality of their future. I take this very seriously.

You do not need to be perfect to support your child to pass their 4+ Assessments. What you do need though is consistency. A little every single day goes a lot further then planning a lot and doing none of it.

My public reply to a message I received last week from an ex client

Last week I received what I would call a horrible message from an ex client.

This client had only three lessons with me.

She contacted me in October (end of October) for 4+ Assessment preparation support. I told her that this was far too late. She was preparing for a top boys’ school for the 4+.

I dedicated a lot of my time to her and answered all of her questions with honesty and sincerity.

She booked a package of lessons with me and we did three lessons.

I was raised to be a kind and caring human being and I am proud of the person that I am today. I was also always raised to keep quiet. To not speak up. Well, this time I will speak out.

The purpose of writing this is because this client now seems to think it’s okay to go around saying things about me that are just not true. So this message is for you. You can continue saying what you feel like, this is a free country of course.

Dear client,

My lessons are online. So for you to tell me ‘The zoom thing doesn’t work’ doesn’t make any sense. Let me remind you that you came to me. Nobody forced you to have lessons with me. ‘The zoom thing’ as you so respectfully put it does work and it works exceptionally well. My results speak for themselves. I have never been rude to anyone let alone to a 3 year old child. So perhaps this is a reflection of you rather than of me. To tell me that I was ‘rude’ to your child is completely incorrect. I dedicate my time, love and energy to provide the highest quality service to all of my clients and students.

You were annoyed that sometimes my son would need my attention during our lessons. And you said ‘if you’re working, you’re working’. My son will always come first. And yes, my work is of very high importance to me but if my son needs me, I will 100% be there for him.

To say that I am ‘disengaged’ is highly inaccurate. I am 100% engaged in all of my lessons.

If it was ‘off putting to you’ again that is a reflection of you and nothing to do with me.

You said that I would get to the 20 minute point and I would ask your son what he would like to do and you found this ‘as though I hadn’t planned my lesson.’ I often ask my students to pick an activity to do as it puts the ownership on them and supports them to develop independence and freedom of thought. I plan my lessons thoroughly. In fact, hours of my own personal time goes into planning my lessons.

You said you felt my approach was ‘patronising’ and ‘scaremongering’. Because I said to you to have a ‘word with your child’ before he went to his assessment. You asked ‘Does this go down well with parents?’

Yes, it does. Perhaps you even sat down with your child and told him exactly what to expect in his 4+ Assessment.

You said my Instagram is inappropriate and scaremongering. So please tell me why you spend time engaging with all of my content? If it isn’t for you, please do unfollow.

You said you’ve spoken to other parents who feel the same. That’s interesting as no one has ever spoken to me in this way before.

You said you found every single engagement with me ‘stressful’. Again, this is a reflection of you and not of me.

You say I should know for my future students.

You say ‘I claim to get children into these top schools’ but that I do it in a way that is ‘scaremongering and propaganda’. Absolutely not.

Your child got into your school of choice and ‘clearly the school saw something in him that I didn’t.’ Please remind yourself that I saw your son three times.

You say you’re being honest as a mum and that you don’t want me to take it in the wrong way.

Ok then.

You don’t need to recommend me but thank you for the kind offer to.

I do everything for this business. I care about it. I love it. I love my clients and I love teaching my students. This is the last I will think about this but I wanted to reply publicly because perhaps we should also reflect on how we talk to others.

5 important facts you must know if you are preparing for South Hampstead (4+)

Is South Hampstead a school you dream about for your child?

Would you love to send your daughter to South Hampstead at 4+?

Then do yourself a favour, sit back and relax and listen to what I have to say.

I have been preparing girls for this school for our 15 years. This means that for 15 years, I have seen what works and I have seen what doesn’t. This means that for 15 years, I have seen the calibre of girl that will pass this assessment and sadly I have seen and spoken to hundreds of parents of girls who have not passed.

I know exactly what is expected of the girls in their 4+ Assessments and so do my team of exceptional teachers.

1. There are only 24 places on offer at 4+.

Each year hundreds and hundreds of girls will sit their Assessment at this school.

This year at least 250 girls sat their Assessment at South Hampstead. Your daughter therefore will typically have a 1:10 chance of passing this assessment. Two of our girls this year have passed their Assessment at South Hampstead.

2. You should NOT consider it a ‘play date’

It is not a play date.

3. Special preparation IS necessary.

South Hampstead are looking for very strong phonics and reading skills and very strong mathematical skills in their girls. How will your daughter pass without ‘special preparation’?

4. Formal knowledge IS expected.

A lot will be expected of your daughter in her 4+ Assessment for South Hampstead. Prepare her to a very high standard.

5. To be offered a place at 4+ is something exceptional.

If you have been offered a place, you are in a very privileged position and I hope you are aware of that.

We have exceptional success with South Hampstead at 4+ every single year. This year both of our students have been offered a place to study at South Hampstead and will be starting from September 2025.

Book your Sample Week today.

Which school is the 'best' for my child?

If I had £1 for every time I was asked this question…

As a parent, we all want the ‘best’ for our children and we will do everything in our power to ensure that we do the best for our children. We always will.

Our children are our number one priority.

And this is probably why this is the most common question that I get asked each and every day. Sadly, you won’t like my answer and in my opinion if you are spending thousands of pounds on educational consultants to tell you the answer to this question - you could put your money to better use.

Hear me when I say this. No one can tell you which school is ‘best’ for your child.

I’ve worked full time in many schools. Private schools, nurseries, state school and academies. I worked full time in schools for 13 years. Please remember that schools are always changing. Schools are always evolving. Management changes. Children change. Parents change. Parent associations change. Funding changes. Head teachers change. Every single school comes with its own set of very individual problems (even the top private schools!).

Which is why my answer to clients is always the same.

There is no ‘best’ school for your child. There is no school that will ‘suit’ your child better compared to another. There is no school that is the right ‘fit’ for your child.

Also, it’s so subjective.

I might think that a school is amazing and you might disagree.

You might think that a school is amazing and I might disagree.

So let me answer your question.

Which school is the 'best' for my child?

The ‘best’ school for your child is the school that you have chosen.

That’s it.

And one final point.

Be prepared to pivot. The school you choose which might have initially have been your ‘dream school’ might not be so dreamy after all. Be prepared to make changes along the path of your child’s educational journey. Be prepared for others to have hundreds of opinions about your opinions and be prepared to not care about any of them.

This is your child. This is the love of your life. You find the school that is the ‘best’ for them. Find the educational path that is the ‘best’ for them.

Go and visit.

See the learning environment.

Make a list of things you like and the things that you don’t.

And do this for 7-8 schools. Then choose the one you liked the best and just give it a go.

If your child loves their school, great. And if they don’t, pivot and make changes.

The secret to UCS 7+ Assessment Success.

UCS is one of our most popular boys’ schools that we prepare our boys for at 7+.

This is an exceptional school and very popular amongst our clients.

It is a tough school to get into.

With the correct preparation however, you will give your son the highest possible chances for success at this school. And at passing their 7+ Assessment.

In the Autumn term your son will be invited for a Reading Assessment and will do ‘listening and discussion’ exercises. This is just to make sure that your child can read well enough in order to actually be able read the questions asked in the Assessment. Do note that the score from this Assessment will be taken into consideration. 60 boys will pass their 7+ and be admitted into 3 classes in Year 3 at UCS. Keep in mind that about 30 of these boys will be coming up from their own Pre-prep. So really there are only about 30 places available at 7+!

Registration for 2026 is now open. Visit the UCS website to register your son.

A report is requested from your son’s current school and this report will be very important.

In January the boys’ sit their Assessment which consists of:

Maths

English

Social interaction observation

Behaviour observation

The Assessment is long and stamina will be important - It is a 3 hour Assessment (including a short break)

The UCS Assessment in 2025 was as usual a challenging one. The level of questions asked was high in both Maths and English.

The secret to UCS 7+ Assessment is to cover all of the Year 2 curriculum to greater depth. You must also dip into some of the Year 3 curriculum in both maths and english.

Invest in the highest quality 7+ Assessment preparation available. Book your Sample week today.

2 truths you'd prefer NOT to know about the 7+ Assessments

I’ve been having visions of a bear hiding in his cave.

This is how it seems some of you like to approach 7+ Assessment preparation.

Some of you don’t seem very open to hearing the truth about the 7+ and would rather stay comfortably in your cave. Well, I’m going to be very honest with you and if you don’t like it, that’s ok. You can always go back into your comfortable cave.

Truth 1

The 7+ is hard

Perhaps your ‘well meaning’ neighbour/family member/best friend told you that their child got into their school of choice with no prep at all. First of all, I highly doubt that and second of all they are the exception and not the rule. Perhaps their child was already at a very high academic capacity (which means they have already put in the work by the way!). Perhaps their child was already at mastery level and perhaps their child already had the skills that they needed to go in and actually be able to pass.

This is NOT how is happens in most cases.

The 7+ is hard.

The assessments are hard.

Covering all of the content needed to be covered is hard.

Ensuring your child is at the level that they need to be before sitting the Assessments is hard.

So come out of that cave and into the wild. If you want your child to pass their 7+ Assessments and to actually have a chance of passing, you must prepare them thoroughly.

My recommendation is starting from the Autumn term of their Reception year.

This is where we have had the most success as a company. Later than this and we might not have enough time to achieve mastery level in the vast curriculum that needs to be covered.

Truth 2

The 7+ is very complex to prepare for.

It is complex if you’ve never done it before.

For us it is very easy.

We know EXACTLY how to prepare each and every one of our students to go into any 7+ Assessment and have the highest possible chances of passing.

This is because we ensure that our students are at mastery level in the curriculum that they need to master for the 7+ at the schools that they are applying to (each school is different).

Because we have so much experience with each individual school, we know exactly what is expected.

That is why all of our children (100%) who have the recommended 2 years of prep time before their 7+ Assessments are offered a place to at least 1 of their target schools. Many times are students are offered places at ALL of their target schools!

We would be delighted to support you to have the success that you desire to have at the schools that you desire to send your child to.

Join us in the wild as we prepare our children for tremendous success in all of their 7+ Assessments!

Book your Sample Week Today!

The TRUE reason you might choose in person tuition over the highest quality online tuition.

Most of you won’t like this and that’s okay.

These are my opinions.

I’ve been reflecting a lot lately on the products that I offer. Obviously, I know that my packages are out of this world. I know that my packages have supported thousands of children over the last 15 years to pass their Assessments at their target schools. I know that what I offer is far superior that what is out there. I know this because I have my results.

Here is the TRUE reason why you might choose in person tuition over the highest quality online tuition.

You don’t want to put the work in yourself.

Hear me out.

Preparing your child for a 4+ Assessment takes time, dedication, frustration, motivation, resilience, perseverance, grit and fortitude. And not all of you are cut out for these. Some of you want a teacher to come into your home so you can leave your child in a room with them, close the door and go and have a cup of tea or get on with your own work.

But what goes on behind that closed door?

Does the teacher you are working with know HOW to prepare your child for their 4+ Assessment? Truly?

And if you take a back seat will this help your child to pass their 4+ Assessment?

Does your child just see their teacher once a week and that is that?

IT DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY.

4+ Assessment success happens in those little pockets of the day where YOU can sit with your child for 5 minutes and have a break through with their phonics.

But what do some of you want?

You want someone else to do it for you.

This is the future of your child. This is all about your child’s future success. The school they will go to will determine the quality of the education they will have and ultimately the quality of how they learn will have an impact on their life when they grow up.

Take it seriously. Be hands on and get involved. And don’t expect any one else to care as much about your child’s success as you do.

And don’t be one of those parents currently contacting me and telling me that their child didn’t get a place anywhere.

3 ways NOT to pass the Highgate 7+ Assessment!

The Highgate 7+ Assessment is a very challenging Assessment.

50 children will have passed their 7+ Assessments in 2025 to join 60 children who are already in the Pre-prep. Believe me when I tell you that hundreds of parents are currently very disappointed that their son or daughter has not passed this assessment.

Registration hasn’t opened yet for 2026 Entry but you can register your interest here.

So here are 3 ways NOT to pass the Highgate 7+ Assessment. Avoid these at all costs and guarantee the highest chances for success for your child.

Way #1 to NOT pass

Not having a full 12 months of 7+ Assessment preparation tailored specifically to Highgate.

Whether you choose to teach your child yourself or you invest in the support of a specialised teacher, it really doesn’t matter. What matters is that your child has the full 12 months of Assessment prep. Historically (and I have no idea why!), parents leave this assessment to the very last minute. And it’s just not enough time! Their child will most likely not pass without the full 12 months of preparation. Take this Assessment very seriously and if you don’t, do not expect Highgate to take you seriously!

Way #2 to NOT pass

Choosing a teacher who does not have real and actual experience with getting children into Highgate at 7+

Perhaps they choose a teacher based purely on the fact that they live near to them or perhaps they choose a teacher based on the fact that their fees were lower (don’t do this!). If you work with a teacher who doesn’t have experience with actually supporting students to pass their Assessment at Highgate, how can you expect your child to be taught the curriculum relevant to the Highgate Assessment?

Way #3 to NOT pass

Assume that because your child has passed Round 1 that they will pass Round 2

Many parents simply stopped their lessons with us when they found out that their child passed their first round! Big mistake. Highgate call back MOST of the students from Round 1. Round 2 needs thorough and careful Assessment preparation (in conjunction with Round 1 prep and not as a standalone service!)

Don’t leave this one to the last minute please.

Preparing for Highgate for 2026 entry or beyond?

Book your Sample Week today.

3 top tips to make Westminster 7+ Assessment preparation easier.

We are currently preparing several of our students for their Westminster 7+ Assessment this year and next year (8+ too!).

Here are 3 top tips if you are preparing for the Westminster 7+ Assessment.

You want to always try to simplify your 7+ Assessment preparations. I know it can seem overwhelming but it really doesn’t have to be.

1. Choose a teacher who has prepared boys for this school (this year will be the first year girls will be sitting for 2026 entry!)

Don’t just choose any teacher who offers 7+ Assessment preparation. Don’t just ask what they charge. If you want your son to have any chance of passing his first Round at this school, you need a teacher with at least 5 years of experience preparing boys for this school and you need a teacher who knows historically what has come up. Otherwise how on earth can the teacher that you work with prepare your son for his 7+ Assessment at Westminster? Some parents want to save money on tuition. Trust me, you don’t want to do this. You will spend thousands more getting your child ready for his 8+ or 11+. You’re trying to get your son or daughter into a £31,050 per year school. Please don’t choose a teacher purely based on their ‘low fees’!

2. Understand both rounds well.

If you don’t know what to prepare your child for how will they ever be successful?

You need to know exactly what will come up in the first and second rounds and prepare just for those things. Obviously we are not magicians and there will be things that may come up that we might not have accounted for. But it’s about preparing your son as thoroughly as possible to be go in and score the highest of marks in their Assessment.

Simple.

Here it is simplified for you.

Round 1 - Maths (We teach up to the year 3 curriculum for Westminster and some of the Year 4 Curriculum), English (writing and reading, SPAG), Verbal Reasoning and Non Verbal Reasoning.

Round 2 - Classroom activity and interview (interviewed by the Master and one other member of the SLT)

Only 50 children will be invited back for Round 2. So if your child is invited back, they will have done exceptionally well at round 1. Hundreds and hundreds of children will apply to sit their 7+ at Westminster Under School!

3. Allow yourself at 2 years to prepare your child for their 7+ Assessment at this school (and at the very least 1 year of intensive tuition). This is not to say that if you leave it later, you cannot be successful. You absolutely can be with the right guidance and preparation but your child will need even more intensive preparation and you need to keep in mind that you child is still only 6 if you are preparing for the 7+.

Out of the 50 children selected for Round 2, only 22 children will be offered a place! So about a 1:2 chance of passing if your child has made the cut at Round 1.

We know exactly how to prepare our students for both rounds.

Book your Sample Week today!

3 options if your child was unsuccessful to your target schools at 4+

I am speaking to hundreds of parents whose child was unsuccessful to their target schools (2026 entry).

My heart goes out to them. I feel their pain every time I speak to them. And if this is you, I am sorry.

Perhaps you went all in and did everything in your power to support your child to be successful or perhaps you didn’t know how difficult these 4+ Assessments would be. If you find yourself in a situation where your child is going to a school which was not your top choice, please do not worry. You have options.

The most important thing is that you act fast and you don’t allow thoughts like ‘I have plenty of time until the 7+ Assessments to sabotage your chances for success.’ If your child is unsuccessful in their 7+, you will then need to wait until the 11+. The 7+ needs 2 years of Assessment preparation. The 11+ needs 3-4 years of Assessment preparation. Obviously, I think that tuition is an amazing investment for all of our children but the most important factor to me if that your child goes to the best school for them. That your child receives the highest quality and standard and education for them.

And if you are paying thousands of pounds each month to send your child to a private school, you might as well send them to the best school.

Here are your options:

1. Apply for the 7+ Assessments.

   Keep in mind that there are far fewer places available at 7+ so your child will need thorough prep (and know their prep- school alone will not prepare them to pass their 7+Assessments)

2. Apply for occasional places - We are incredibly successful at preparing students to pass their occasional place Assessment at top inner and outer London schools. One of our students recently passed her Guildford High occasional place Assessment (year 2 entry). One of our other students passed his Dulwich College occasional place Assessment (Year 1 entry) in December. It is up to you to be proactive here and contact your target schools directly to ask them if they have occasional places and if they do to add your child to the list.

3. Apply for the 11+Assessments.

   Many parents I speak to have no idea how challenging it is to pass an assessment for the 7+. If your child is unsuccessful, you can start preparing them for their 11+. There are far more places available (40 compared to 8 in some cases) and you have a lovely, long time to prepare them.

We are experts at preparing children for their Assessments and we would love to support you to have incredible success. Book your Sample Week today.

UCS 4+ Why were so many boys unsuccessful this year?

Not just this year.

Hundreds and hundreds of boys will be unsuccessful every single year at this extremely popular school.

Many parents love this school for several reasons. Either because it is literally down the road from where they live or because of the fact that it actually is an amazing school. Or perhaps both of these factors!

I have known many boys who have gained entry to this school and who are still studying at this school. I still speak to their parents and all of them are thriving and very happy there.

Having visited the school myself several times, I understand why UCS is such a popular choice.

There are a few problems with UCS at 4+.

First of all, it is incredibly over subscribed. Hundreds and hundreds of boys will be applying for the 32 places available at 4+.

Second of all, many parents do not prepare their child to the highest possible standard for this school. They are told it is a ‘playdate’ and therefore assume that their child will just go in and have a play. This is not the case at all.

Finally, they hear mixed messages from their friends or neighbours who tell them things like this…

‘'My son passed and I did not prepare him!’

‘The school will be able to tell that he has been tutored and he will not pass’

‘You don’t need to do much to be offered a place at UCS’

And these are all lies.

If a boy passes their 4+ Assessment at UCS, it is because of these three reasons:

1. They were prepared to the highest of standards

2. They were able to perform very well in their Assessment

3. They were able to show the assessors exactly what their were looking for

Prepare for this school and prepare for it well and know that you have done everything in your power to give your son the highest possible chances for success in their 4+ Assessments.

Book your Sample Week today.

The top three traits of our girls who passed their NLCS 4+ Assessment.

Some key numbers for you.

I prepared 4 girls for their NLCS 4+ Assessment. 3 girls passed Round 1 and 2 girls have been offered a place to study at NLCS.

These are exceptional results.

We only work with a handful of girls each year to ensure the highest possible quality of teaching and materials we provide to our clients who are preparing for NLCS.

We know how HARD it is to pass this Assessment.

Most parents don’t know or don’t understand this.

They don’t know how heavily over subscribed this school is and they don’t know how amazing it is for a girl to be offered a place to study at NLCS at 4+.

Here are the top 3 traits of our girls who passed their Round 2 Assessment at NLCS.

1. Calm

2. Easy to get on with

3. Highly skilled academically

If your daughter holds these three traits, she will most likely be in with a high chance of passing this Assessment. If not, it is up to you to work with her over the next few months to support her to develop these traits.

We prepare our girls to be able to go into the NLCS 4+ Assessment and show exactly what the assessors want to see. This is why we have the results that we have each and every year.

Book your Sample Week today.

The 3 main problems with Habs' boys’ this year.

There have been many problems this year with the Habs’ Boys’ 4+ Assessment preparation.

Some figures for you in terms of how WE did.

• We (myself and my team) prepared 10 boys for their 4+ Assessment at Habs’ Boys’ (all boys started at varying times throughout the year).

• All 10 boys passed their 4+ Round 1 Assessment at Habs’ Boys’ (amazing I know!)

6 passed the second round and have been offered a place to study at this school from September 2025 (incredible I know!) 6/40 boys who passed were prepared by US!

However, I observed many problems throughout the year as we prepared our boys for their 4+ Assessment at Habs’ boys and I am sharing them with you here with the hope that you will avoid making the same mistakes.

Problem #1

Assuming that because their son passed Round 1 that it would be easy to pass Round 2.

‘Well they passed round 1, I’m pretty sure they will pass the second round.’

WRONG.

So what did some parents do after the Round 1 results came out? This is what they did…

They took their foot of the gas and they either slowed down 4+ Assessment preparations or they stopped completely. After all their son just passed the first round so who needs to bother any more for the second round?

WRONG!

You should not wait to start preparing for Round 2 until you know that your child has passed Round 1 anyway. Round 2 Assessment preparation goes hand in hand and alongside Round 1 Assessment preparation.

The most successful parents were the ones who stayed humble and who listened to me when I told them this…

‘It really means very little that they passed their first round.’

‘Keep… going!’

Problem #2

Not understanding the expectations of their child in the second round.

Many parents that I spoke to (not necessarily my clients) didn’t even know that the assessment would be on a 1:1 basis.

Some parents didn’t know that they too would be interviewed!

You must understand the second round and you must know the exact expectations. You must know the reason WHY some children passed and others didn’t.

Otherwise how do you think you will successfully prepare your son to pass the second round?

Problem #3

Being annoyed about their son not passing the second round when really the didn’t even put in half the amount of effort of the boys that did pass.

Passing the 4+ Assessment at Habs’ Boys’ is HARD. And to the boys who did pass - I hope your parents know this and will let other parents know.

Too many parents do not understand the complexities of the Habs’ Boys’ 4+ Assessments and it is up to us to inform them of this.

Knowledge is power in any 4+ Assessment.

Empower yourself today!

Book your 4+ Sample Week today.

3 things you can start doing yourself right now to support your child with their listening skills.

Being able to listen well in the 4+ Assessments has been very important again this year.

I have observed that my students who were able to listen perfectly well to my instructions and do exactly what was asked of them, were the ones who have been very successful so far in their 4+ Assessments.

Let me give you the example of my son and why he currently would not be passing many 4+ Assessments. He struggles with his listening skills. He doesn’t like to be told what to do (he likes to tell others what to do), he sometimes chooses not to follow instructions and he loses focus quickly if he is not interested in something. All of these qualities that my son currently has wouldn’t go down well in any 4+ Assessment.

Most parents are unaware of the reasons why their children didn’t pass their 4+ Assessments at their target schools. To me, it is obvious.

Listening skills are very important in the 4+ Assessments.

If your child is unable or resistant to listening well, it is up to you to ensure that you support them to the best of your ability to be able to improve these skills. It is not down to their nursery or pre-prep to do this. It is down to you.

3 things you can start doing yourself right now to support your child with their listening skills.

1. Sign them up to clubs

The more, the better. Being placed in an environment where they are expected to follow instructions and listen well will support your child to develop their listening skills. Do not start this 2-3 months before your child’s 4+ Assessments. Start it immediately.

My son currently attends Stage Coach once a week and I can already see a few improvements in his ability to listen well to the instructions of the teachers in the room.

Here are a few clubs that I’m currently looking into for my own son…

Stage Coach

Foxes Club

Swimming

2. Explain your expectation to your child.

Before my son goes to his club, we sit down and talk about what I would like him to do whilst he is there. I say things like - ‘It would be amazing if your could listen to what the teacher asks you to do.’ and ‘I would love it if you put the toys back when you are asked to do so and not get upset about having to do this.’

If children are aware of the expectations, they will be more likely to remember to do it.

3. Model to them how you listen to others.

Your child watches every single thing that you do. You can show them throughout the day, examples of how you listen well to others and even how you listen well to them.

Strong listening skills will be very important in any 4+ Assessment.

Work on these consistently every day with your child to support them to develop strong listening skills.

In our weekly lessons, we work on listening skills every single week.

Book your Sample Week today!

Will an in person tutor be beneficial for your Assessment preparations?

Only if they have real and actual experience with the schools that you are applying to.

Having an in person teacher who doesn't have experience with the schools you are applying to will not lead to success.

There I’ve said it.

I was an in person tutor with no experience with these top schools when I first starting tutoring. We all have to start somewhere of course. I definitely did NOT have the results that I have now. 15 years ago Maria was just starting out. She had time on her hands to be able to go to her client’s homes and provide them with in person tuition. She did have some success but she definitely did not have the success that I have now with over 15 years of experience preparing children for top school all across the country.

But ultimately if you want to be successful in your child’s Assessments, you must work with a teacher who is very experienced with the schools that you are applying to. If not, why do you think this teacher will help your child to secure a place at your dream schools?

Our biggest resistance from potential new clients is the fact that they believe that having an in person tutor will be superior than having an online tutor. Many tell me that they are traditional, others tell me that they want their child to be nurtured by having someone physically present and others simply do not understand how online tuition works.

They are simply sabotaging their Assessment preparation. Unless you find a teacher who has real and actual experience with the schools that you want to send your child to, simply choosing a teacher on the basis that they can enter your home or that you can drop your child to them will not lead to thee success that you desire- sadly.

Interestingly and sadly, the parents that say no to us initially are usually unsuccessful to their schools of choice.

An in person tutor with real and actual experience with the Assessments at the schools that you are applying to and that can be found within your local area is going to be very hard to find. So what tends to happen?

Parents reach out to their local tutoring agency (if there is one!) and that agency sends over a teacher but more often than not has no experience with the schools that they are applying to. Or parents take their children to a tutoring centre.

How is this better than working with a teacher who fully understands the schools that you are applying to? Who fully understands exactly what the schools that you are applying to are actually looking for? How is this better than working with a teacher who knows historically what has come up in the Assessments at the schools that you would like to send your child to?

Parents cannot answer these questions when I ask them. They just tell me that ‘in person is best’

If it is, great! But this is not what I have found personally!

You want to work with a teacher who knows the schools that you are applying to exceptionally well. That should be your number one priority when choosing who to work with in preparation for your child’s Assessments.

Another reason I sometimes get is that parents want to ‘save money’. This makes no sense. If you want to get your child into a 25k - 50k a year school, saving money is not the way to do this!

Book your Sample lesson today.