Changes to the St. Paul's 7+ and 8+ Assessments that you must know about.

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This will be the final year of 8+ Assessment preparation for St Paul’s. 2026 entry will be the last time that boys will enter the school at 8+.

For 2027 entry, St Paul’s will now be offering a huge 70 places at 7+ rather than their usual 54. This seems appealing and attractive but it really isn’t. Far more children will now be applying fot the 7+ at St Paul’s due to the simple fact that the 8+ is now longer an option!

St Paul’s will see at least 400-500 applications for the 7+ Assessments. Parents will no longer have the option to delay sitting assessments to this school and they will have to sit their son for their 7+ if they would like them to go to this school.

The main problem I’ve seen is that this news has caught out many families because in their minds they were feeling calm and relaxed preparing for the 8+ but now have to prepare their child for the 7+. These families will be behind in terms of preparation compared to families who have already been preparing for the 7+ since before their son had even set foot in a Reception classroom.

Thankfully hundreds of parents have made the decision to start preparing their children from as early as possible for their 7+. Over the last 16 years, I have seen parents choosing the 6-12 months of prep time before the 7+ Assessments but this has now increased to 24 months before which is fantastic.

After all, even with all of these changes to the St. Paul’s 7+ and 8+ Assessments, it is vital that you remember this. Yes, you are preparing your child for their Assessments but far more importantly you are setting them up to have a love for learning that will go far beyond any 7+ or 8+ Assessment result.

Whether you start early or you are starting a little later - just always remember that this love of learning should always be at the forefront of your mind and not a letter that says your child has passed- that is just the cherry on top.

Key takeaways from this Blog:

  • No more 8+ Assessments at St. Paul’s (2026 entry will be the last 8+ cohort)

  • More places available at 7+ from 2027 but also far more boys will be applying.

  • Creating a love for learning is far more important than any assessment result.

Preparing for St. Paul’s for 2026 entry? I will be launching an extra special course in September which will be open to only 3 very lucky boys! If you are interested in being the first to hear about it, email me (office@creativemindstutors.com)