Martha - A 4+ Assessment Success Story.

Martha’s parents contacted me in May 2024. They were preparing her for her 4+ and their top school of choice was Highgate. Martha’s parents were both very unsure about the online lessons for their daughter and in fact after our Sample lesson, Martha’s mother signed her up with a different teacher to have in person lessons. For 3 months, they took their daughter to this teacher’s house for her weekly lessons. It was incredibly inconvenient for them (she lived 30 minutes for them and with traffic it would sometimes take up to 50 minutes to get there) and they found her pace to be slow. This teacher had no experience with the 4+ Assessments but she was a very qualified EYFS teacher. I told them that this would not cut it and that they needed to do more to help Martha to get into Highgate.

From August 2024, Martha’s parents started tuition with me. We went all in and Martha was seeing me 2-3 times per week.

At the start, she was very shy and very reserved. She didn’t want to give me much eye contact and didn’t want to directly answer my questions. Instead she would whisper the answer to her mummy or daddy - they had a stunning relationship. Her mother would sometimes get very frustrated (she would tell me after the lessons) and she desperately wanted Martha to make more progress but her father insisted that they persevere. They did.

Each week, Martha would meet with me. Each week, we worked on her confidence and all of the 7 areas of the EYFS curriculum. The progress she made was out of this world. By October of 2024, she was writing beautifully, drawing with precision, cutting amazingly well, completing her play doh tasks well and she was giving me eye contact and answering my questions. Our lessons were filled with laughter. We all very much looked forward to them. I coached Martha about what to expect in her 4+ Assessments and she did exceptionally well.

She applied for NLCS, South Hampstead, Queens College, Northbridge Prep, Highgate and Notting Hill Prep.

She was unwell for her South Hampstead 4+ Assessment and did not pass.

She did not pass NLCS.

She was successful to all of her other target schools and she will be attending Highgate in September 2025.

Preparing for 2027 entry? Join our Waiting List today!

Preparing for 2026 entry? Book your Sample Lesson today!

Everything you need to know about the Habs Girls' 4+ Assessment

Register by 20th November 2025.

December 16th-17th will be the first round (group activity sessions)

January 12th - 20th will be the second round (parent interview and child assessment)

January 26th - Offer day.

The Summer Open Event has now Sold Out. Follow this link to join their Waiting List. It’s doubtful someone will drop out and their waiting list will be very long but still worth joining it if you’d like to go.

On October 3rd, they will be holding another 4+ and 7+ Open Event and this one still has places.

I highly recommend you go and visit the school before applying for it. So please do ensure that you do go to this Open Event.

With only 40 places available to join their Reception year, I strongly recommend that you prepare your daughter thoroughly for this 4+ Assessment. I advise you to take the process seriously and to not say things like - ‘She’s only 3, come on!’

With hundreds and hundreds of applicants (think 500+), this 4+ Assessment will be fiercely competitive. What will give your daughter the slight edge over the other hundreds of girls applying for a place?

Habs clearly state that they have ‘high expectations’ of their girls so it’s clear that they have very high standards and that they will be looking for girls who are able to demonstrate these high standards in their 4+ Assessments.

Round 1 (Group activity session) lasts for 50 minutes. Your daughter will be placed in a large group and she will be assessed. ‘Children with birth months in close proximity are placed in the same group’ does not mean that children who are summer born will be assessed any differently to those who are autumn born. It just means what they’ve written - don’t take it to mean anything else.

Round 2 (parent interview and child assessment) will be only for the girls who pass their first round. Getting to this stage is something exceptional. Do not take it for granted and understand how well your daughter will have done in her first round in order to be called back to this stage. Habs calls this stage an ‘informal meeting’ and I assume they are referring to the parent interview here. Your daughter will be taking part in a 1:1 assessment whilst you have your informal meeting with the head teacher and senior teachers.

Habs girls does not have a sibling policy.

Habs girls is adamant that ‘no tutoring or preparation is needed’.

Up to you if you listen to that.

Join our Waiting List for 2027 entry today.

Book your Sample Lesson and Sample Week today.

I have to bite my tongue when I hear parents say this one thing...

‘He/she is behind because they are summer born.’

I take this sentence very personally. You see my son is summer born. He is a July baby. You will never, ever hear me say that my son is ‘behind’.

Why should he be behind?

Why should his date of birth determine how well he does academically?

It doesn’t.

Sure, all children develop at their own pace. Absolutely. Does my son know his phonics as well as one of my October born students of his same cohort? No, he does not.

Does my son know how to answer questions better that some of my September born students of the same cohort? Yes, he does.

Developmentally he is struggling with his phonics but this is nothing to do with the fact that he is a ‘July baby’. This has to do with the fact that he is simply struggling with them right now.

Developmentally, his questioning skills are just extraordinary. The way he speaks is something out of this world. I honestly feel like I’m speaking with a 5 year old. This is to do with the fact that he is just very gifted with his vocabulary. And also most likely due to the fact that I’ve focused on this skill far more than I have focused on his phonics.

The date of birth of my students is so insignificant to me. I do note them down when students sign up to work with us but this is purely to know their date of birth and for no other reason.

I have to bite my tongue because I know that when parents tell me about their summer born children that it is purely out of love and compassion for them. But it is just not helpful when preparing for the 4+ Assessments (I hear this for the 7+ and 11+ Assessments too by the way but that’s not what I’m speaking about here).

Your child will be assessed in the exact same way as their autumn born peers. You may or you may not believe me, that’s up to you. You may or may not like that fact, but it is what it is.

I say this out of pure love and compassion for you and for your children who will be sitting their 4+ Assessments.

We only want the best for our children and when some of my potential new clients become defensive with me about this, I do not take it personally. I know that it is only because of the love that they have for their children. I get it.

However, when you prepare your child for their 4+ Assessments, I encourage you to not spend too much time dwelling on this who ‘summer baby’ thing. Put that to the side and just prepare your child to the best of your ability to go in and shine in any 4+ Assessment.

Join our Waiting list for 2027 entry today.

Book your Sample Lesson and Sample Week today

Your child being 'grouped by age' doesn’t mean what you might think it means.

Careful what you make this mean.

So you’ve applied to your dream schools and you read that your child will be grouped with peers of their same age.

Perhaps you make this mean that your child will be assessed differently because of their age.

This is simply not the case.

Do you really think these top schools have the time to differentiate their 4+ Assessments?

They do not. And why should they?

Your child WILL be assessed in the exact same way regardless of their age.

Read that again.

So please don’t waste a precious moment thinking that because your child is summer born that they will somehow have an ‘easier’ assessment than their autumn/winter born peers.

It is simply not the case.

Read carefully what these schools write.

They write things like - ‘All children who have applied will be invited in small groups of a similar birth month…’

No where in the phrase above does it say that ‘… children will be assessed differently because of their birth month.’

Prepare your child thoroughly regardless of their date of birth.

Prepare your child to go in and pass any 4+ Assessment. Our CMT Curriculum programmes have supported thousands of children to pass their 4+ Assessments at the best inner and outer London schools.

Book your Sample Lesson and Sample Week today.

Join our Waiting List for 2027 entry.

Don't waste another second putting off preparing your daughter for her NLCS 4+ Assessment.

So you have applied to North London Collegiate for your daughter’s 4+ Assessments (Remember that this year registration closes on 31/10/25.

NLCS is one of the hardest schools for girls to get into.

Even our most brightest, highly academically gifted girls have struggled with being offered a place at this school. Be aware of this. Be mindful of it and go into this 4+ Assessment with the knowledge and understanding that for your daughter to be offered a place is something incredible.

So let’s have a look at each round at this school and gain a better understanding about why it is so hard to pass for the 4+ Assessments.

Many parents go into the Assessment at this school very naively. They don’t know how hard it is to pass the 4+ Assessments at this school. Of course, it isn’t their fault if it’s their first experience with this school. We all want the absolute best for our children.

This is what the school’s website tells us about Round 1:

Play activities testing school readiness which lasts about an hour.  Children are grouped by age and there are about 12-16 children per group. Activities usually include pre-school tasks such as colouring, cutting and sticking.

School readiness is exactly what the two words tell you. How ready your child is for school.

And it really is not just ‘colouring, cutting and sticking!’ They will be assessing at least 20 different things and looking to see if your daughter can do things such as:

Listen well

Follow instructions

Complete tasks with enthusiasm

Show excellent focus and concentration

These are just a few.

The Assessors will be observing the girls and simply choosing the girls who are able to demonstrate these traits. If your daughter is unable to show these, they will not pass the first round at NLCS.

So the first round is a group activity. Your daughter will be with a big group of girls (up to 16) and she will take part in a variety of different eyfs activities in a classroom most likely.

This is what the school’s website tells us about Round 2:

A smaller group are recalled for the second round, which includes a group activity followed by one to one puzzles and games with a member of our teaching staff.

We are looking for children with a curiosity for learning and the confidence to have a go at something they haven’t seen before. They need to be able to listen to and follow simple instructions as part of a group or one to one with an adult.

In the second round your daughter will be in a smaller group (5-6 girls) and the Assessment will then become 1:1. Don’t be surprised if there will be a group of Assessors in the room with the girls.

‘Curiosity for learning’ is the most important part of the Round 2 Assessment at NLCS and perhaps where certain girls didn’t quite show what they needed to show in order to pass the Assessment.

A curiosity for learning can be taught.

It can be practised.

It can be refined.

Encourage your daughter to be curious. Supporting her to ask more questions and to want to know more is 100% something that you can practise with your daughter.

That's what we do in our lessons. And especially if our students are preparing for NLCS.

So if you are preparing for NLCS at 4+. Be prepared. It’s not easy to get into. But with the right preparation, you will definitely increase your chances for success.

Book your Sample Lesson and Sample Week today.

Join our Waiting list for 2027 entry.

Everything you need to know about the Kings College Junior School 7+ Assessment

Each year we prepare a number of boys for their KCJS 7+ Assessment.

The KCS Open Day will take place on Friday 13th June. You can click here to secure your spot.

There are approx. 54 places available for entry into Year 3 at KCJS. If you would love for your son to go to this school, you will want to prepare thoroughly for it and to the highest of standards.

The KCJS 7+ assessments consist of:

Round 1

English- A 45 minute long test which is divided into 2 sections – Comprehension and Writing (creative writing).

Maths – A 45 minute test based on the Year 2 National Curriculum and extension questions will be provided. Year 2 National Curriculum means the full Year 2 National Curriculum and not just the Autumn term.

Reasoning – This will be a selection of Verbal and Non Verbal Reasoning questions.

Listening test – A 25minute long test played via speakers. There will be a listening exercise followed by following the instructions given in the recording.

 Round 2

 If your child shows exceptional academic ability in the first round, they will be invited to the second round. These will be the activity sessions and interviews. Here your son’s personality will also be assessed. KCJS say that you can’t prepare for the activity session but we know exactly how to prepare for the activity sessions. We’ve been preparing boys for their KCJS Round 2 Assessments for over 16 years! Your son will then take part in a 20 minute interview with a senior member of staff. You definitely must prepare your son for this interview. Not to memorise (don’t do that!) but to be prepared to answer all of the questions asked of them.

Preparing for the 7+ at KCJS for 2027 entry?

Join our Waiting List Today.

Time duration of a lesson V quality of a lesson

A parent that I was speaking with told me that she didn’t think one hour was enough time to cover the curriculum that I plan to cover in the 7+ Intensive Bootcamp.

One hour is more than enough time.

I do not believe that children need to spend hours and hours of time sitting down doing their lessons. I know many of you send your children to these intensive lessons where they spend hours and hours each week preparing for their 7+ Assessments. Up to you of course. You can prepare your child as you wish.

Here are questions I encourage you to ask.

Is your child enjoying their time? If they are – carry on. If they are not, question why you are choosing to send them to hours and hours of assessment preparation each week.

Is your child’s knowledge and understanding improving?

It better be for all of those hours spent there. If it’s not, question the length of time that your child is spending there. Could they be doing something else with that time?

 Are you equating longer learning times to quality learning time? Don’t.

I can teach a very high quality lesson in 30 minutes and get a lot out of my students. I don’t need hours and hours with them.

 Why do so many of you think that longer lessons mean better quality lessons? It doesn’t.

 What your child truly needs when preparing for their 7+ Assessments is independent learning time. Not hours and hours with their teacher. After all, will their teacher be there with them in their 7+ Assessments? No, they will not.

 Spend half an hour with myself or one of our exceptional teachers once a week and watch how your child’s learning, knowledge and development quickly goes to the next level. Watch them become in love with learning. Watch them become determined, resilient and hard working. Watch them as they begin to persevere at those harder tasks. Watch them try to figure things out for themselves rather than this over reliance on the teaching of others.

Quality above quantity when it comes to 7+ Assessment preparation.

Book your Sample Lesson today.

Everything you need to know about the 4+ at Manor Lodge

Manor Lodge is a very popular school that we prepare our clients to have tremendous success at.

It is a highly sought after school. Parents tend to adore their open day and fall in love with the school itself. They love the extensive grounds and the fact that they are told that a lot of the learning takes place outside. They love the head teacher and the teachers that they meet. Overall, I hear a lot of positive things about Manor Lodge.

First of all it is important that you are laser sharp aware about what exactly Manor Lodge are even assessing when it comes to the 4+ Assessment.

They will be assessing:

• Confidence

• Communication

• Collaboration

• Creativity

• Curiosity

The 4+ Assessment for Manor Lodge takes place in October (17th October 2025) - therefore it is one of the earlier 4+ Assessments. You have 5 months from now left to prepare your child to go in and pass this 4+ Assessment.

In my vast experience, what I’ve noticed is that parents start far too late preparing for the 4+ Assessment at this school. Perhaps they haven’t planned their time correctly, perhaps they don’t imagine their child will have any difficulty in being offered a place or perhaps they just don’t understand the 4+ Assessment process. For whatever reason, parents starting too late preparing their child for Manor Lodge, usually does not lead to positive results.

Interestingly, Manor Lodge group children by their nursery which I don’t personally think is the best idea. Children tend to become overly ‘confident’ when they see their nursery peers and sometimes this can lead to behavioural issues. Obviously this is not in our control but please do prep your child by telling them that there will be children they know and telling them your behavioural expectations.

‘Your child’s age at the time will be taken into account’ means nothing. Disregard this comment completely please.

The 4+ Assessment at Manor Lodge lasts 45 minutes. Be aware that this is a very over subscribed school and competition will be fierce.

Don’t assume that because it is in the forest garden that your child will just be running around and having fun. Your child is going to be assessed. And your child will need to meet all of the criteria to a very high standard.

I suggest you cover all 7 areas of the EYFS curriculum to a very high standard. I suggest that you don’t forget about physical development as this is an important aspect of this 4+ Assessment. I suggest you give yourself at least 12 months of preparation time for Manor Lodge. 30 minutes a day of focused learning with your child every single day for 12 months.

Book your Sample Lesson today.

Join our Waiting List for 2027 entry - Simply purchase via the link. I will then email you to discuss your preferred times. As soon as that time becomes available, we will begin. Curriculum only option can begin when you tell me. The £100 credit will be deducted when you are charged for your first curriculum package (it will count as your Registration fee)

3 supportive ways to help our children build a genuine love for learning rather than 'just preparing for an assessment.'

I’m currently creating a ‘Love for Learning’ series. This will be a series of 4 videos that I will provide on our Website for free that will support parents to help their children to build a genuine love for learning rather than ‘just prepare for an entrance assessment.’

I’m creating these videos with the hope that it will help thousands of parents all over the world to know and understand how to support their own children to genuinely love their learning and not just feel that they are preparing for an assessment.

Obviously that is what we are doing - that is a fact.

But none of us want our children to feel like they have to study.

What I want is for my students to want to study. To want to learn more. To look forward to their lessons with us every single week. To want to do their home learning. What I don’t want is for them to not want to do it. If that does happen, it is up to me to intervene immediately and find strategies to support them.

Are all of my students delighted to see me every single week at their lesson? I’d say 95% of them are which is an incredible achievement. For the 5% who aren’t delighted to see me, that’s up to myself and my clients to find strategies to help our students to be more excited about their learning.

Here are 3 supportive ways to help our children build a genuine love for learning rather than 'just preparing for an assessment.'

1. Let your child take ownership of their learning.

   If your child is in charge or their own learning, they will be more likely to want to do it. No body likes to be told what to do - especially not children! This applies to all ages by the way. I find that my son is far more receptive to learning when he chooses when he wants to do it (he is nearly 3). Most often, if I ‘tell’ him to sit and do learning, he will just tell me ‘no’. A very simple way to do this is to just ask your child when they would like to do their learning. Give them some options if you need to - morning/after school/before bed?

2. Set clear boundaries for when the learning will take place.

   Find out exactly for how long your child would like to study for. Some children study better in small chunks. Others are fine to go for an hour at a time. There is no one size fits all. I have some students who like to do 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes when they get home from school and before dinner and 10 minutes before brushing their teeth for bed. Clear boundaries will keep yourself and you child laser focused and get rid of any chances of time wasting and procrastination.

3. Give praise for when your child gets things right as well as when they get things wrong.

   This one is so important. Many of you will just want to give praise when your child gets things right. This creates a fear for getting things wrong. I praise my son in equal measures - when he gets something right and when he gets something wrong. Both deserve equal amounts of praise.

Book your Sample Lesson Today.

Why I started my own business and left the ‘security’ of a full-time teaching role.

Why I started my own business and left the ‘security’ of a full-time teaching role.

It was 2009  when I first started my teaching career as a qualified teacher. I had always worked. I worked from the fresh age of 15 in a shoe shop- Russell and Bromley. I was earning £2.75 per hour plus commission! I’ve always been someone who has worked. After that I worked as a lifeguard for Nuffield Health which led to me applying for the gym creche nursery practitioner role. That was my first real exposure to working with very young children.

We looked after children aged from 6 weeks of age and I absolutely loved it. I loved looking after the children and I loved the relationship I had with the clients. It was a great job. My next job was as a nanny. I worked with several families looking after their children and I learnt a lot from this job. I learnt that I had a gift with children. Looking after them was something that I was just very good at. It came naturally to me and children just adored me.

That’s what led me to teaching and in 2009 I completed my PGCE specialising in early years. In June of 2009 I found my first teaching role – at The Mulberry House School. It was a very hard job. The Mulberry House school in an extended day school which means children can come in by 8 am and they can leave by 5:30pm. This meant starting work at 7:30 and leaving at 6pm on most days. I worked very hard in this teaching job. We also did not have half terms at this school. We only had Christmas break and Summer break. I stayed at this school for 3 years (supporting children from the early years all the way to year 2) before moving to a state school in St. John’s Wood. This was an ‘outstanding’ school but I went through a very turbulent time here (story for another time!). I stayed here for another 3 years before moving to an academy in Wembley. Another very tough school to work at with a lot of behavioural challenges.

In the early years of my teaching career, I really felt like I was making a difference to the lives of the children that I was teaching. But as I progressed through my teaching career, I felt like it became more about the paper work than the children. And that’s when I decided that I no longer wanted to work full time as a teacher and I left my ‘secure’ job the week before finding out that I was pregnant with my son! I did consider begging for my job back – after all, I had worked all of my life – I ‘deserved’ a ‘good’ maternity pay. But I took the risk and I left anyway. I was far too stressed out in my teaching role and I didn’t want that excessive stress whilst being pregnant.

 I left because of many reasons but here are the main reasons.

 1.     The paper work was excessive and I was working 10 hour days + 1-2 hours in the evening when I got home.

2.     I had reached the ‘top’ of my teaching career (UPS 3 teacher) and I was earning the highest income I could ever earn as a teacher (3k a month). This wasn’t enough for me to raise a son living in London and having the dreams and ambitions that I personally have for us as a family and for him as my son.

3.     I felt like I didn’t have a voice in any of the schools I worked at and when I did express my thoughts and opinions, they were quickly silenced by senior management.

 I will be talking more about my experience working full time in schools because I think it’s important that new teachers know what they could expect and for parents to know what it’s like from the other side.

 It’s not always flowers and sunshine – like anything in life. Like anything in life, it was very 50:50. 50% great and 50% not so great.

I now feel a lot more free, fulfilled and happy doing what I do. I still teach students everyday but I know that I have a voice that is listened to. I know that I can support my students do the best that they can do and perhaps even more. Even though I do have a lot of paper work to do every single day, I know that I am making a huge difference and a huge impact to all of the students that work with me and that work with my exceptional teachers.

‘My child is summer born’ means nothing in the 4+ Assessments

So your child is summer born? And you really want to make sure that I know about it. But it really doesn’t matter to me if your child is July/August born or if your child is November/December born.

I can support any child to be successful In their 4+ Assessment. Their age is irrelevant to me.

When I worked in my first role at a top pre-prep in Hampstead the child who was at the top of my class one year was a little boy who was August born. I’ll never forget him. His mother also didn’t buy into this summer born/autumn born nonsense. He was always the brightest boy in the class ever since I knew him and I knew him from Reception. I worked in several other year groups and several other schools where the children who were scoring the highest marks were my summer born students.

So when I speak to parents and they tell me that they have a summer born child, they tell me this piece of information as though it is highly relevant and it simply is not.

Summer born/autumn born your child will be assessed in the same way. And being grouped with peers of their same age also means very little. Although some of you place great importance on this little nugget of information. 

The percentage being age adjusted is quite important to some of you too and it really is so slight, I wouldn’t waste any time or energy thinking that the age adjustment will make any sort of difference to the success of your child in their 4+ Assessments. It most likely will not.

So if you have a summer born child start earlier rather than later. It makes no sense to start later. Stop putting it off and waiting for the ‘right’ time. There is no ‘right’ time. Just start. Stop putting it off for when your child is older. This literally makes no sense. Your child will still be the youngest in the class no matter how much ‘older’ they are when you start preparing them.

 Book your Sample Lesson today.

The crazy truth about my summer born students and the 4+ Assessments

In the last 4 years (since moving exclusively online), we have supported 302 students to prepare for entrance exams. We have supported thousands in the last 16 years. We are still in the relatively early stages of this incredible business and I’m so proud of every single one of these students and I’m so proud of what I’ve created and what myself and my very small team of teachers have been able to accomplish in these 4 years. As we continue to grow as a team, I have no doubt that we will support hundreds more students in these next 4 years and have even more exceptional results.

I’ve been having a lot of conversations with parents lately and a lot of these conversations revolve around their summer born children.

They are filled with excuses and if they’re not making excuses they are merely telling me their thoughts and beliefs about their summer born children. They believe these thoughts to be facts. But they are not facts, they are merely thoughts. And they are thoughts that will not serve them to achieve what they are hoping to achieve – the success of being offered a place at their most desired schools at 4+.

 So here’s the crazy truth for you.

 I created a simple table with the names of all of my students, their dates of birth and the date in which they joined CMT.

 The summer born children (I classify them as children born between June – August) have historically been the ones who had the least time preparing for the 4+. They were also the ones who were least successful (compared to their autumn/winter born peers).

 Now, I’m sure most of you will say to me – ‘They weren’t as successful because they are summer born.’

Absolutely not.

 They weren’t as successful because they didn’t have as much preparation time as their autumn/winter born peers.

 This is crazy to me.

 So you have a summer born child? Start a year earlier than someone with an autumn/winter born child. My son is summer born. Guess what?

I don’t care.

It means nothing to me.

He will do just as well, if not better than his autumn/winter born peers. Just keep watching!

 Did you know there is such a thing as parents planning their pregnancies so that they only have autumn/winter born children? I didn’t. I do now.

 Have a summer born child? Start the learning process with us as early as you can. We currently work with 16 and 17 month old children preparing them for their 4+ Assessments (they’re not necessarily summer born just fyi).

Yes, that’s right and I’m extremely proud of what we do.

Book your Sample Lessons today.

The most destructive thing you could do when preparing for the 4+ Assessment at Chigwell.

I’m not sure why but this is the one school that parents that I speak to really don’t take very seriously. First of all, the Chigwell 4+ Assessment is one of the earliest 4+ Assessments. It takes place in September. This year it will take place over a 3 week period beginning Monday 22nd September 2025. So this means you have about 4 months left to prepare for the 4+ Assessment at Chigwell. This really isn’t a very long time and if this truly is a school that you would like your child to attend, please do ensure that you take massive action to prepare your child for the 4+ Assessment at Chigwell. Lessons once a week simply won’t cut it. You will need to be meeting with your teacher at least twice per week and be committed to working with your child every single day of the week.

 Just last week, I spoke to two parents who called me to ask me for further information about 4+ Assessment preparation. Both parents seemed very sceptical about what I was saying. Here are a few things that they said to me.

 “My friend told me that her son got in without any preparation.”

 “My neighbour down the road told me that it’s absolutely insane to prepare a child for an assessment.”

 “I heard that the children just go in and play games.”

 So, first of all let’s be clear. These two mothers called me to ask me about 4+ Assessment preparation. If they truly believed this to be the case, why were they calling me?

 Surely, something in the back of their minds is telling them that this absolutely is not the case.

 Listen carefully, I’ve prepared at least 50 boys and girls historically for the Chigwell 4+ Assessment. I can tell you exactly why one child passed and why one did not. I can tell you that over the years I have spoken to many a heartbroken parent whose child did not pass the Chigwell 4+ Assessment. After all, this is the school that they dream of for their child. This is the school that they had their hearts set on to send their child to.

 It is pure nonsense if someone looks you in the eyes and tells you that they did not prepare for the 4+ Assessment at Chigwell. Pure and utter lies. Oh they 100% prepared their child, they just perhaps don’t want to tell you that they did.

 Perhaps they feel embarrassed or ashamed that they prepared their young child for an assessment. Perhaps they just don’t want you to know about it. But these pure lies are very destructive.

Because most people trust their friends and relatives and what will they do? They will make the choice to not tutor their children and most likely their children will not pass

 Now that’s just sad.

 Don’t do that.

You want to send your child to Chigwell? Then take the process seriously. Prepare your children so that they can go into a 90-minute assessment and actually do well. Nobody wants to receive that letter or email saying that their child has not passed their 4+ Assessment. Do you?

 So prepare your child properly. Take it seriously. And above all don’t complain about it when your child does not pass.

 Book your Sample Lesson today.

3 commonly made mistakes made by Glendower parents

Glendower is a very popular school that we prepare for here at Creative Minds Tutors. It is also one of the toughest schools that we prepare for. Girls will have to demonstrate that they are of a very high academic calibre and be able to show a very high level of focus and concentration in their 4+ Assessment.

 Common Mistake #1

 Not registering early enough

 Early registration is strongly recommended if you are interested in sending your daughter to Glendower – as in within a couple of months of her birth. Keep in mind that Glendower offer a limited number of 4+ Assessment slots for the 40 places available each year. As in if you apply late, you may not be guaranteed a place for your daughter to be assessed. I’ve had several clients who registered their daughter too late and were placed on the waiting list. Some of them were called for assessment and some were not. So if this is a top choice for you, just register early to ensure you have a chance for your daughter to be assessed. Please also remember that all parents must attend a tour of Glendower and meet with the head teacher before applying for an assessment.

Common mistake #2

Not understanding the assessment process at Glendower.

 By not understanding what is actually involved in the 4+ Assessment at Glendower, it will be very hard for your daughter to pass her 4+ Assessment. If you want your daughter to pass her 4+ Assessment at Glendower, you must understand the 4+ Assessment process. You must understand the expectations and you must understand what Glendower are looking for in their prospective new girls. The only way to do this is to speak to a teacher who has prepared girls historically for Glendower for many, many years.

 Common mistake #3

 Not preparing for 9-12 months

 In my extensive experience, I’ve noticed that the girls who start preparing early are the girls who are successful. This is because in 9-12 months they are able to cover the eyfs curriculum extensively and they are able to be taught and supported to be able to do everything that they are asked to do to a very high standard. Starting late preparing your daughter will not be helpful for anyone will it? You will feel stressed and frazzled, your daughter will pick up on your stress and your teacher will have a very limited time to cover the curriculum which most likely will mean that your daughter will not have the opportunity to cover the curriculum in its entirety.

So don’t be annoyed or frustrated if your child doesn’t pass their 4+ Assessment at Glendower. Instead, know that you’ve done everything in your power to support your daughter to pass her 4+ Assessments instead or at least to have gone in and give her best. I want my clients to be delighted, thrilled and amazed when they receive their 4+ Assessment results. Clients feeling annoyed, frustrated and upset will not help my business will it?

Book your Sample Lesson today.

The secret to successful Highgate 4+ Assessment preparation.

Cover all areas of the EYFS curriculum daily, frequently and with consistency.

You need a bespoke, tailored plan for your child’s Highgate 4+ Assessment preparation to ensure that you stay organised and on track. You need this plan to ensure that your child will be able to do everything that is asked of them in the Highgate 4+ Assessment to the highest possible standard.

Although there are 60 places available at 4+, please don’t for one moment think that this is a lot. Highgate is so over subscribed that they operate a ballot system and they choose who will attend the first round.

The Highgate open event will be on Saturday 20th September. You can book from Summer 2025 (so I presume quite soon) and it will be only for parents interested in 2026 entry.

Applications for Highgate will open on Monday 8th September 2025. The admissions policy that they currently have up on their 4+ section of their website is incorrect (it’s for the 16+). I’m sure they’ll update this soon.

Round 1 will be in November and Round 2 will be in January 2026.

Because Highgate is a very academically challenging school, they are looking for children who can handle their pace. Historically, this Assessment has been one of the more ‘stressful’ ones for the children but last year, I feel that Highgate made it a little more nurturing as I heard less complaints about the assessment from my clients. I remember one comment from one of my clients (2024 entry) where she told me how ‘awful’ and ‘stressful’ the assessment process was and that she would never send her child to the school (he passed but accepted Habs).

Please remember that if your child is unable to separate from you that they will not pass. This is a requirement. In fact, some children have been sent home because they wouldn’t calm down following the separation process and were ‘disrupting’ the other children trying to get on with the 4+ Assessment.

Highgate is a tough 4+ Assessment and one that requires thorough and bespoke assessment preparation for. Your son or daughter needs to be able to handle more complex tasks calmly and with maturity. Your son or daughter’s phonics need to be exceptional. Maths skills need to be on point. You need to have covered a broad maths curriculum to a very high standard. Questions need to be answered with confidence and clarity. Your child will be strong physically in both their fine motor and gross motor control.

We have been preparing hundreds of students for this 4+ Assessment for over 15 years and we would be delighted to support your child too.

Book your Sample Lesson today.

3 ways to support your son to PASS his 4+ Assessment at UCS.

So you’ve set your heart upon UCS. You would love for your son to go to this school at 4+. You’ve been on a tour of the school and you’ve seen the incredible facilities and met the teachers. This is the exact school that you want for your son.

With so many mixed messages about this school, it can be easy to quickly become overwhelmed.

Don’t waste your energy in this emotion. It won’t help you. It won’t help your son.

Take action immediately.

UCS will 100% tell you that ‘no preparation is needed’ and that ‘tuition is not needed’ and that ‘it will be a play date’ so expect this. Nothing to be surprised about. UCS tell my clients this every single year. And do you know what my clients do? They nod, smile and prepare their sons to the best of their abilities. Because with 500+ boys attending the first round 4+ Assessment at UCS and with only 32 places available, it would be rather foolish to not prepare their son wouldn’t it?

3 ways to support your son to PASS his 4+ Assessment at UCS.

1. Start 12 months before the 4+ Assessment. So many of you are contacting us now to begin 4+ Assessment preparation. It is far too late. Remember that most of our results are from our students who have at least 12 months of bespoke, focused 4+ Assessment preparation.

2. Prepare thoroughly for the 4+ Assessment at UCS. Disregard any ridiculous comment from anyone who tells you that ‘preparation is not needed’

3. Consistency and focus are key to passing the 4+ Assessment at UCS. Doing something everyday with your son is key. Don’t expect a nursery or pre-prep to prepare your son to pass his 4+ Assessment at UCS. It is up to you.

   Book your Sample Lesson and Sample Week Today.

Why an in person tutor with 10 years less experience than us won't even scratch the surface when it comes to 4+ Assessment preparation.

Let me just say that again for you.

Why an in person tutor with 10 years less experience than us won't even scratch the surface when it comes to 4+ Assessment preparation.

I’ve been personally doing this for 16 years. I know what I’m doing. I know what I’m talking about. And at the age of 40, I’m not afraid to tell it how it is.

I’m so bored of people sugar coating the 4+ experience. I’m so bored of reading how easy these assessments are and that it will be a play date for your child. I’m so bored of reading about how these incredibly complex 4+ Assessments will be ‘informal’.

And I really couldn’t care less that your child goes in and has a ‘great time’. What I care about are results. What I care about are my students being offered the best possible chances to have the best possible education for them.

That’s what I care about.

But when I speak to a lot of you, it seems our priorities are not quite aligned. And if that’s the case - so be it. But it’s important that you know and like your reasons. Because your choices will impact the futures of your child.

The best quality education is the most important thing for all of our children. They deserve the best of the best.

And then I speak to some of you who tell me that you don’t want to work with me because myself and my team are exclusively online and you want a teacher who will come to your home. Or you want to physically drop your child somewhere. Ok, that’s fine too. But when I ask you who will be teaching your child this is what most of you tell me.

‘She’s local’

‘She’s cheaper’

‘She’s in person’

Ok, but will she help you to have the results that you want to have?

You want to save money to send your child to a 30k per year school - ok then. Perhaps that makes sense to you? You want someone local rather than someone online - ok then, Perhaps that makes sense to you?

Listen to me carefully.

10 years ago I was also an in person tutor. I went from door to door 7 days a week. I’d work my full time job, jump in my car and go to 2-3 lessons every single evening. I charged 1/3 of my current hourly rate. Was I as good as the teacher I am now? 100% no.

I did not have the experience that I have now.

I hadn’t been as successful as I am now.

I didn’t know these schools as well as I do now.

Would I choose in person me 10 years ago over me now?

No.

But most of you make this choice every single day.

Listen up. You need to work with someone very experienced when preparing for the 4+. You want to work with someone who knows exactly what these schools are looking for and can tell you with honest what it is so that you can be in the best possible position to go in and pass.

Choose whosever you want to help you to prepare for the 4+ Assessment but like your reasons and understand that the ultimate goal is to pass the 4+ Assessments and not to have tea and cookies with your in person tutor.

If I truly dreamed of Merchant Taylors' Prep School for my son...

If MTP was truly the school that I dreamed of and desired for my son to go to, I would support him to get in at 3+. They have far more places available at 3+ (32-34) than at 4+ (6-8).

So why do parents apply at 4+?

Perhaps they hadn’t thought about the 3+. Many parents I speak to have never even heard about a 3+. Well, it’s a thing. And your child will be 2 when he will sit his 3+ Assessment at Merchant Taylors’ Prep School. Oh and by the way, you do need to actually prepare your son for his 3+ Assessment.

If my son were to have sat his 3+ Assessment at MTP, he would have been 2 years and 4 months old! (July baby!) Their 3+ Assessments are pretty early in the Academic Year (November).

This year, the 3+ Assessments are on the 3rd or 4th November 2025.

In the MT’s 3+ Assessment, you can leave your child but you can also choose to stay with your child. I would suggest you leave your child (if you can!). If you want to know why, book an Additional Consultation with me.

MTP will be assessing the following:

Can your son follow instruction?

Can your son interact with the children in the group?

Can your son communicate (speak!)?

A big ask, I’m sure you will be thinking. But this is what it is. This is what they are assessing. So if your son cannot demonstrate all three of these, he will not pass his 3+ Assessment at MTP.

It’s really that simple.

So if I had wanted my son to have passed his 3+ Assessment at MTP, I would have been preparing him to follow instructions, interact well with other children and be able to answer questions to a very high standard. He would only have been able to have shown one of these. He would have only show the communication piece to a very high standard (for a 2 years and 4 month old boy!) He did not follow instructions well - he did what he wanted at that age and he had very poor sharing skills - still struggling with this currently!

If you are preparing for the 3+ or the 4+ at MTP, we will support you every step of the way to have the highest chances for success at this highly sought after school.

Book your Sample Lesson and Sample Week today.

'Why do you even bother?'

First of all let me start off by saying this. I have no judgement for how any single parent chooses to raise their child and chooses to educate them. The beauty of this life is that we are all free to make choices. Let me also say this. I am far from perfect and I get things wrong each and every day. I don’t think anyone in this world is perfect. And raising a child (or 2 or more!) is a very complex thing to do. I am just sharing with you my thoughts and my views. They are not right and they are not wrong, they are simply mine.

Yesterday, I had a call with a potential new client. Her daughter is currently 16 months old and she called me to ask me about 4+ Assessment preparation. This year there has been a huge shift in the amount of families calling to speak with me a lot earlier in terms of preparation for the 4+ Assessments.

We had a conversation about her target schools and she listed names like NLCS, Habs girls and South Hampstead as her top schools of choice.

She asked me this question.

‘When do children start preparing for their 4+ Assessments with CMT?’

I told her that we work with students from as young as 17 months.

Then came her next question.

‘Why do you even bother?’

She told me that it was ‘ridiculous’ for a child to be learning their phonics and their maths at the age of 17 months. She told me that parents should just wait until their children were 3 and it would just ‘click quicker’.

This is absolute nonsense. And if you’ve worked with children for more than a minute, you know with certainty and clarity that this is absolutely not how it works.

Here is my exact answer to her (for context, I started a bespoke and tailored curriculum of learning with my own son when he was 18 months old).

I bother because I want my students to have the best possible learning experience for them. I bother because children love to learn. I bother because my clients need me and they want to provide the best of the best for their children.

Why do I bother with my own son (who is currently nearly 3)?

I bother because I am his biggest advocate. I bother because I didn’t experience the same growing up (through the circumstances in which I was raised). I bother because the whole point of having a child was to provide him with the best that I could. I bother because I know that my son is capable of amazing things and I will do everything in my power to support him. I bother because I love the bonding time it provides us. I bother because he absolutely loves to learn. I bother because I want him to have the brightest and best possible future possible. I bother because I don’t want him to struggle as much as I did (although I’m fully aware that he will struggle in certain ways regardless of what I do). I bother because I love to see that spark in his eyes when I set up his learning for him in the mornings. I bother because I love to see the joy and happiness every time a new learning resource arrives and he has something new to learn. I bother because I love him to the moon and back and I will give him the lest possible learning experience that I can provide for him and I will do this at every stage of his life. I bother because no one else will ever bother as much as I will.

That’s why I bother.

So if you think that you can wait until your child is 3 and then get started, I invite you to question your thoughts. I invite you to stop listening to what others tell you (including me!). Listen to yourself. Listen to your heart. Do what you want to do just like your choices.

Everything you need to know about applying for the 4+ at UCS

There are 32 places each year offered to the successful boys who pass their 4+ Assessments.

The first thing for you to do in you are interested in UCS for your son is to book a tour of the school. UCS offers small group tours and you can email them directly to book your tour. They prioritise tours to families looking to apply for the following academic year.

Registration for UCS is open any time after birth and closes in October before the proposed year of entry. Friday 10th October 2025 is the deadline for 2026 entry.

You can apply online here.

When you apply, you pay a £180 registration fee.

There are two assessments for this school at 4+ and the first round will take place on Monday 5th or Tuesday 6th of January 2026.

UCS clearly states that ‘no preparation is needed’ and this is 100% not the case. You can decide who you’d like to listen to. That is of course completely up to you. But having preparing hundreds upon hundreds of boys for this school, I know what I’m talking about. The second round is week commencing 19th January 2026. Both assessments are referred to as ‘play date’ assessments. Do not tell your son that they are going for a playdate if you want to have any sort of chance for success.

After you’ve been to the open day and you’ve applied for UCS at 4+, get to work.

This is a £27,500 a year school (pre-prep fees) and if you want your child to pass this assessment, you will prepare him to the highest possible standard that you can. Your son will be competing with between 400-500 other boys for 1 of 32 places.

Just be very clear about that.

Book your Sample Lesson today.