The realities of the NLCS 7+ assessment

It surprises me how many parents I talk to who actually don’t know how many girls are offered a place in Year 3 at this school.

It surprises me how many parents I talk to who think that they can start preparing their daughter for their 7+ Assessment at NLCS a few months before the assessment.

Many (many!) girls will apply to this school to sit their 7+ Assessments. As in hundreds and hundreds. 

There are 7-10 places available.

A parent told me this the other day, ‘I’ve heard it’s easier to get in at 7+ than at 11+!’

Well, you’d be wrong about that (and that’s exactly what I told her).

 At 11+ there are 60 places available so not sure how they worked this one out! Of course there will be more applicants than at 7+ but the ratio will still be far higher than the 7+.

Some girls will be applying for the first time at 7+, Many girls will be applying after not having been successful to this school at 4+. Many girls will have already tried for occasional places and not been successful.

In order to pass round one, your daughter will need to demonstrate academic excellence in their assessments. Your daughter will be scoring at least 85% in her assessments in order to pass the first round. This is my opinion based on the girls who we have prepared for this 7+ assessment and how they would have scored.

NLCS will then call back the girls who scored the highest in their assessments to the second round. This will be very tough to pass and you need to work with a teacher who can guide you with what exactly the school is looking for in this round. 

The second round is ‘a day at school’.

Because it is a ‘day at school’ many parents tell me that they didn’t prepare for this at all. This sadly would not have gone well for them.

Don’t do this.

Prepare for round 2 as well as you prepared for Round 1.

We prepare our girls for Round 2 in conjunction with their Round 1 prep. It is not standalone preparation. To be clear.

And if you don’t know how to, work with someone who does!

If you’ve not left enough time to complete the full 2 year 7+ programme, you can still join our Intensive 3 month programme and give your daughter the highest possible chances for success in this 7+ assessment. If NLCS a school that you would love your daughter to go to (2027 entry)? Then book your Emerald Curriculum 3-month Intensive Sample Lesson today.