Why ‘They’re Only Three’ Is a Dangerous Mindset when it comes to 3+ Assessments...
/The 3+ assessment at Merchant Taylors’ Prep School for 2027 entry will take place in November 2026.
We are preparing several boys for their 3+ assessment at Merchant Taylors and our clients have been working with us for a full 12 months.
‘They’re only 2/3’
I hear these words uttered even by my own clients at time. It comes out so innocently. But this one thought could truly derail you.
This school is hard to get into at any stage (3+, 4+, 7+ etc)
If this is a dream school for you, I highly recommend that you get in touch with us at least one year before the 3+ Assessment and commit to the full one year Curriculum Acceleration Programme.
Of course, we do not expect a child as young as this to have 30 minutes of weekly tuition with one of our exceptional teachers. But we do expect you to know the curriculum to follow and to cover in order to support your sons to be able to go into this 3+ Assessment and show the assessors (the early years’ practitioners) exactly what they are looking for.
If you truly desire to send your sons to Merchant Taylors’ Prep School, take it seriously and prepare them properly for the 3+ Assessment.
Hint: You don’t just rock up and expect that your sons will be offered a place.
85% of parents that we speak to here at CMT:
Do not understanding the expectations at Merchant Taylors for the 3+.
‘It’s just a ‘playdate’ - Absolutely not!
‘My child is only 2, I can’t prepare them’ - Of course you can. The other parents whose children passed 100% prepared them - trust me.
‘My son will just go in and play’ - NO!
Overestimating what their sons are actually able to do.
No disrespect at all, I also think my son is amazing. But I know for a fact that he would not have passed the MTs’ 3+ (He would have been 2 years and 4 months had I sat him). What you think your son can do and what he will actually do in the MTs’ 3+ are 2 different things!
Parents have said to us, ‘You don’t need to do puzzles/lego/play doh, he can do that already!’ Please don’t be so arrogant. Come down off that high horse and be humble to learning from someone who has been doing this for over 20 years. Here at CMT we know exactly how to prepare our amazing boys for their 3+ at Merchant Taylors and we have the results to show this!
Do not understanding the statistics or even know what they are.
I’ve heard different numbers but in my opinion over 150 boys will attend the Merchant Taylors’ 3+ Assessment. Around 35 offers will be made. So your son has around a 1:5 chance of being offered a place at 3+. It is my opinion that around 35 boys will be placed on the reserve list. If your son is placed on the reserve list, it will be very difficult for them to be offered a place as it is very rare that parents turn down their offer of a place at this school.
4+ is even harder with only 3-4 places available.
So if you are serious about preparing for Merchant Taylors’ 3+, apply to join our Waiting List today!
