The MAIN Issue with the Manor Lodge 4+ Assessment last year (2026 entry)

A lack of understanding with regards to just how fiercely competitive it will be.

Parents I speak to often seem to be super relaxed about this 4+ Assessment. Perhaps because of what they have been told at the Open Day by the school. Perhaps because they don’t rate the school as highly as maybe they do a Habs or an NLCS. Perhaps because they have been told by friends and family that it’s ‘just a little run around in their forest garden’.

It is a 4+ Assessment and 4+ Assessments need to be taken very seriously.

With approx. 60 places available, parents tend to believe that this is a lot! Well, that’s relative to how many children apply is it not? Hundreds upon hundreds of children will apply to attend their 4+ Assessment at Manor Lodge.

Parents will often comment about how overwhelming the Assessment Day is at Manor Lodge. ‘It was a sea of parents and children!’ One of my clients told me last year. His daughter became so upset and did not want to leave his side. She had to basically be ‘encouraged’ to go into the assessment with the assessor but she was visibly ‘distressed’ by the whole experience. She did not pass.

Also note that children already in the nursery will have preferential treatment although they still all need to complete the assessment process too and still need to pass!

Manor Lodge is also one of the ‘cheapest’ 4+ schools in the area. At £5,990 per term for the infants it is significantly more affordable than Habs (£8,741) or NLCS (£8,925) for example. The price point of the school is very appealing to many parents that I speak with. To some it is irrelevant and they would still choose Habs or NLCS over Manor Lodge (if they had the choice!).

Manor Lodge will over offer places so many children will be Waitlisted following their 4+ assessment. This is because it is a very early 4+ Assessment compared to the others and they are very well aware that many, many parents will accept other schools rather than theirs if they had the opportunity to do so. Several of our client’s children were Waitlisted last year and once they found out that their children passed Habs or NLCS, they promptly rejected the Manor Lodge offer.

Friday October 16th is the date for this year’s Manor Lodge 4+ Assessment. You can no longer join my programme for 2027 entry but if your would like to join for 2028 entry and beyond, please join my Waiting List. Once joined, please send your preferred days/times for weekly lessons and I will confirm your start date. 12 months of Assessment preparation is needed for Manor Lodge so the time to start is definitely in the Autumn Term (September 2026).

Don’t delay! Join today!