5 reasons boys failed their 4+ at Habs Boys (2025 entry)

Habs Boys at 4+ is a tough Assessment.

You may not believe that it will be but you would be very wrong.

It is not a ‘play based assessment’ or whatever you are making that phrase mean in your head. It simply isn’t. Sure, your son will ‘play’ but no one cares about your child ‘playing’. Do you really think their ‘playing’ is being assessed at this top boys’ school?

Oh and it’s an hour and a half by the way. I’ve never known my nearly 3 year old son to engage in focused ‘play’ activities for 90 minutes! Perhaps your child has? I doubt it.

The groups will be with children in close proximity of age but don’t for one moment think that your summer born son will be assessed differently to an autumn born boy. He won’t be.

I’m thrilled that Habs haven’t written that the second round will be ‘play based’. No, it is a 1:1 with your son in which your son will engage in focused activities with an assessor (a teacher or senior leader at Habs).

With 40 places available and over 500+ boys applying, you have to prepare thoroughly for this Assessment (for all 4+ Assessments!)

This is real feedback from real students who did not pass their 4+ Assessment at Habs Boys (2025 entry). I share it with you because some of you are not preparing thoroughly enough for this school and you have to if you want your son to pass.

5 reasons boys failed their 4+ at Habs Boys (2025 entry)

Reason #1

Didn’t show enough independence.

Reason #2

Reluctant to try when it was harder.

Reason #3

Didn’t answer the questions immediately when asked.

Reason #4

Didn’t speak enough when spoken to.

Reasons #5

Didn’t consistently follow the instructions.

As you can see none of these are curriculum focused. So you must’t only prepare your son to be academically able. You must focus on your son in a holistic way and support him to demonstrate what the assessors are actually looking for in order for your son to be offered a place!

Join our 3 Month Bespoke Intensive 4+ Emerald Curriculum to fast track your son’s chances for success at Habs’ Boys’ School. Work with the best of the best to ensure that your son is as ready as he can possibly be to pass this 4+ Assessment.

Your child not enjoying doing something is not a reason not to do it.

Hear me out!

I’m referring to those of you preparing for a 4+ Assessment here (others too but let’s focus on 4+ for this blog).

I hear my own clients and potential new clients telling me this…

‘I’ve tried to do x with her/him but she/he just doesn’t like doing it.’

Do you think my son has always liked doing the things that he now is so amazing at doing?

No, absolutely not!

Do you think it meant that I didn’t do those things?

No! I did them anyway.

At the end of the day, if you are preparing your child for a 4+ Assessment and they don’t like to do something that they have to do in their 4+ Assessment, you’re going to have to find strategies to support them to want to do those things anyway!

Saying to me that your child doesn’t want to do phonics or writing just means nothing if you are preparing them to go to their 4+ Assessments in the next 2-5 months!

So your child is not interested in writing at the moment? Is that a reason to not do it?

No!

It is a reason to do it! To find strategies to support them to be interested to do their writing!

So your child is not interested in drawing at the moment? Is that a reason to not do it?

No!

You see where I’m going with this!

Your child is not always going to enjoy doing things.

Then comes the whining - ‘But my child is only 2/3 - this is just not fair!’

Then don’t send them to a 4+ Assessment!

Simple!

Join our Emerald Curriculum Intensive 3 Month programme to give your child the highest chances for success in their 4+ Assessments. This is your full 3 month commitment to providing your child with the support that they need to be able to go in a show their truest potential in any and all of their 4+ Assessments.

Top 3 LIES about the UCS 4+ Assessment

So you have your heart set on UCS for your son. You’ve decided this is the school you want to send your son to. You’ve visited the school and this is it! You’re feeling so excited and you believe that your son is ready for his 4+ Assessment and that he will ‘just be offered a place’.

Will he though?

Are you sure?

Doubts start to crop up in your mind…

You’re not alone, don’t worry and it is perfectly normal to fear the unknown.

To me it is not an unknown.

Myself and my team have been preparing boys for the 4+ Assessment at UCS for over 16 years!

I speak to parents every single day about the 4+ at UCS and here are the Top 3 LIES about the UCS 4+ Assessment. We have prepared hundreds of children to be very successful in their 4+ Assessment at UCS.

LIE #1

‘No preparation is needed for this play date assessment’

What a LIE.

Believing this is like believing that dieting is not needed in order to lose weight.

I have no more to say about this.

LIE #2

‘UCS will be able to tell if my child has been tutored and if they do, he will not pass’

What a LIE.

If your son is not tutored he will not pass.

It is really very simple.

Either you prepare his yourself or you have someone else prepare him, you must prepare him.

LIE #3

‘You don’t need to do much to be offered a place at UCS.’

What a LIE.

Sure, go and tell that to the hundreds of parents who are rejected each year following their son’s 4+ Assessments.

You need to do A LOT actually in order to have any chance of passing this 4+ Assessment.

Preparing for the UCS 4+ Assessment for 2026 entry? We have an incredible new course launching from September 2025. It will be on Mondays at 4pm with Emily Armstrong and will be open to the first three children who join the Waiting List.

5 important facts about the 4+ at South Hampstead.

Is South Hampstead a school you dream about for your daughter?

Would you love to send your daughter to South Hampstead at 4+?

Then do yourself a favour, sit back and relax and listen to what I have to say.

I have been preparing girls for this school for over 16 years. This means that for 16 years, I have seen what works and I have seen what doesn’t. This means that for 16 years, I have seen the calibre of girl that will pass this assessment and sadly I have seen and spoken to hundreds of parents of girls who have not passed.

I know exactly what is expected of the girls in their 4+ Assessments and so do my team of exceptional teachers.

1. There are only 24 places on offer at 4+.

Each year hundreds and hundreds of girls will sit their Assessment at this school.

This year at least 250 girls sat their Assessment at South Hampstead. Your daughter therefore will typically have a 1:10 chance of passing this assessment. Two of our girls this year have passed their Assessment at South Hampstead.

2. You should NOT consider it a ‘play date’

It is not a play date.

That is all I have to say.

3. Special preparation IS necessary.

South Hampstead are looking for very strong phonics and reading skills and very strong mathematical skills in their girls. How will your daughter pass without ‘special preparation’?

4. Formal knowledge IS expected.

A lot will be expected of your daughter in her 4+ Assessment for South Hampstead. Prepare her to a very high standard.

5. To be offered a place at 4+ is something exceptional.

If you have been offered a place, you are in a very privileged position and I hope you are aware of that.

We have exceptional success with South Hampstead at 4+ every single year. This year both of our students have been offered a place to study at South Hampstead and will be starting from September 2025.

‘Maria helped us with preparing our daughter for the 4+ assessment at SHHS. She is a summer baby and not in a nursery that formally prepares kids for the 4+. She comes to every lesson prepared but also flexible with content to suit the mood of our 3 year old. She is very patient and encouraging. The exercises she shares after the lessons are also useful to continue progress. All in all we are very happy especially after we got the offer from the school.’

Preparing for 2027 entry and beyond? Join our Waiting List today.

How does entry into Dulwich Prep work?

Dulwich Prep call their 2+ room ‘Fledglings’. Children are not assessed to gain entry into Dulwich Prep at 2+. Entry into Dulwich Prep at 2+ is on a first come, first served basis. So you have to be quick - basically!

There are only 16 places available at Fledglings! Dulwich Prep will only accept 30 registrations. This is really not much at all considering the sheer volume of parents that will be applying to send their sons to this school. If they exceed 16 applications - a ballot will be held to choose the children who will be offered a place into Fledglings.

It is important to note that although girls are welcome into Feldglings and the Nursery, Dulwich Prep is for boys only from Reception.

Entry into reception is not guaranteed even if your son has a place at 3+. Your son will be assessed internally at 4+.

At Reception there are 30 new places available in addition to the places offered to the children coming up from 3+.

It is a tough 4+ Assessment and to be offered a place your son will have to pass all of the the criteria that the school has in place to a very high standard.

The boys who we have prepared who have passed their 4+ Assessment at Dulwich Prep have been boys who have been able to demonstrate maturity, boys who have been calm, boys who have followed instructions perfectly and boys who can show that they are very ‘teachable’.

Boys who have passed the 4+ Assessment at Dulwich Prep have all been the ones who had a full 12 months of assessment preparation and knew exactly what to expect in their 4+ Assessment.

The boys who have historically not passed their 4+ Assessment at Dulwich Prep have been the boys with less than 3 months of assessment preparation, the boys who didn’t follow instructions, the boys who were not compliant and the boys who didn’t demonstrate maturity.

If you are preparing your son for the 4+ at Dulwich Prep for 2027 entry and beyond, join our Waiting List today.

3 ways to NOT pass the Merchant Taylors’ Prep 3+ Assessment.

1. Believe that just because your child is two (or 3!) that it will just be an ‘easy’ assessment. It won’t be. 

Many parents I speak to are so sure of themselves. They just know that their child will just be offered a place! After all they have the money to pay for a Merchant Taylors’ education. Well so do the other 300 or so parents applying! 

One parent last week literally was in shock when I told her that I’m currently preparing 5 other boys for their MTP 3+ Assessment (myself and my team) and that her child will be up against them! They’ve been with us since January of this year! Their parents are determined to get them a place there to study and not have to do the 4+ (which is virtually impossible given the number of places available!) 

2. Send your child in with virtually no assessment preparation. 

When parents say things to me like ‘But Maria, my son is two!’ And ‘What can they even ask two year olds to do? I know there and then that they will be bitterly disappointed. Nothing I can say will change their minds (and I don’t have time to do that anyway). They are so convinced that their child will just go in and play - after all that’s what Merchant Taylors’ have told them! They haven’t done the work needed. They haven’t dedicated their time and effort to preparing them every single day for their 3+ Assessment. It won’t end well for them. Sadly.

3. Not prepare your son to know exactly what MTP are looking for. 

And yes even though your child is 2 or 3, they will totally understand you when you explain it to them. 

If you don’t know exactly what MTP are looking for, work with specialist teachers who do. Work with teachers who have real and actual experience of supporting boys to be very successful in their 4+ Assessments. 

Preparing for the 3+ for 2026 entry? Book your Sample Lesson and Sample Week today.

Preparing for the 3+ for 2027 entry? Join our Waiting List today. Once joined, our Director Maria Mazarese will be in touch to discuss ongoing lessons.

Prepare for the 4+ at Guildford High like an expert in 3 easy steps.

The first thing GHS tell you about the 4+ is that they don’t expect their girls to read and write and if you believe this, you would be very wrong. Our girls who pass their 4+ Assessments at Guildford High at 4+ go in knowing exactly how to read and write! Oh and by the way, they have historically always been asked to read and write!

GHS will be ‘assessing your daughter’s readiness to learn.’

Don’t over think this. ‘Readiness to learn’ simply means how ‘ready your child is to learn!’ Basically= ‘How easy your daughter will be to teach”.

Very, very simple.

And GHS assess this over two 45 minute assessments!

They say that they look at language, number, manipulative and general cognitive skills and social interaction.

This is a very early 4+ Assessment that generally takes place in October! So I do hope that you’ve been preparing thoroughly for this one!

So how can you prepare for the 4+ at Guildford High like an expert in 3 easy steps. Here you go!

1. Start at least 12 months in advance with a bespoke, tailored programme of study that will give your daughter the highest possible chances for success at Guildford High School. (So October of the Year before the Assessment). If your daughter will be sitting for 2027 entry, begin from October 2025!

2. Ensure your daughter knows all of her phase 2 and phase 3 phonics and knows how to blend. Cover a broad and vast maths curriculum and cover all 7 areas of the EYFS curriculum at depth.

3. Prepare your daughter to be able to go in calmly and demonstrate maturity.

If you are preparing for 2027 entry and beyond for Guildford High School, join our waiting list today.

3 ways to pass a 3+ Assessment at Merchant Taylors' Prep School

1.Fully understand that you must prepare your 2 year old for their 3+ Assessment at MTP. And if you don’t believe this, you can just stop reading this right now.

This isn’t for you.

If you do believe, keep reading!

We are currently preparing 5 boys for their 3+ Assessment at MTP (2026 entry) . All five boys started with us between January - March 2025. Some are spring/summer born and some are autumn/winter born. We have achieved so much together in these last few months.

These parents were all very sceptical before working with us. They just couldn’t wrap their heads around the fact that they actually had to prepare their 1 or 2 year old for a 3+ Assessment. But they had all been loyal followers of mine for years and they believed everything that I was saying and they chose to invest in their child’s education and prepare them fully before sending them into their 3+ Assessment at MTP.

2. Do not stay with your child if you want them to have any sort of chance of passing.

I have nothing more to say on this.

3. Prepare your son to be able to do the following:

• Follow instructions to a very high standard.

• Be able to speak to adults that they’ve never met before in their lives.

• Be able to answer questions to a very high standard.

• Show that they can socialise within a small group of children (what I mean by this is that they can play nicely, share, take turns, listen to others and show respect and kindness).

• Speak very well. Boys who pass their 3+ at MTP have a very high level of vocabulary and are able to articulate themselves very well.

Preparing for the 3+ for 2026 entry? Book your Sample Lesson today.

Preparing for the 3+ for 2027 entry? Join our Waiting List today. Once joined, send us your preferred days and times and when you’d like to begin.

Why investing in your child's education is one of the most important things you can do - Part 5

Part 5 - My career

After completing my PGCE which I studied at Goldsmiths, I landed my first job. It was at a lovely little pre-prep in Hampstead - The Mulberry House School. I had no idea what I was getting myself into!

For three years I was working from 7am - 7pm (It’s an extended day school so we would work until the kids stayed at school) and we worked long after they left. I learnt a lot from my first school and it was definitely and positive experience for me. I decided to leave mainly because I wanted half terms! But I also decided to leave because I wanted experience with the older year groups.

I went on to work at George Eliot school in St John’s Wood and let’s just say there was a big incident with the Head teacher which forced 8 of us teachers to leave. I stayed there for 3 years.

I then went on to work at Preston Manor in Wembley. This was mostly a positive experience until I reached the top of my teaching career and they were trying to force out all of the more expensive teachers to replace them with newly qualified teachers! There was no where for me to go from here. I had no interest in working in management (and there were no roles anyways!) and in order to maintain UPS 3 (the highest paid teaching status) I was expected to do at least 10 hours extra on top of my actual hours, I decided that enough was enough. I handed in my notice the week I found out I was pregnant!

I had always been tutoring on the side of working full time (along with 6 other jobs I did on the side) Teaching does not pay well! I moved everything online after covid and I’ve never looked back.

I don’t regret my education but I know I could have had better and that’s why it is so important to me that all of my students receive the best possible education for them.

Was I ready for the world of work when I started my career? No, I wasn’t - my school didn’t prepare me properly or well enough.

Did I know what I wanted to do after I graduated? No I didn’t.

My students deserve better than this and this is what we provide them with. The best education possible for them.

Why investing in your child's education is one of the most important things you can do. Part 4

My University Experience - Part 4 2/2

My success at UCL became my failure. I kept having the narrative that I just wasn’t ‘good enough’ and that I didn’t ‘belong here’. And of course it was pure and utter nonsense. I ended up completing my first year at UCL and transferring to Reading.

I lived in Halls which I didn’t love. I was never really aligned with the lifestyle of going out and staying out late (took me a while to realise this!) But I love my sleep! I love to be in bed early and I love to just read books and relax! On my third year I did my Erasmus year in Bologna. This year I loved so much! I met my current best friend in the whole wide world and I made some beautiful friends that I still speak to. I didn’t study much at all as I found it all very ‘easy’ and I completed my studies by January. The rest of the year was pretty much a vacation and I did have a lot of fun. My final year at Reading, I lived in a house with 5 other girls and it went very well.

I graduated with top marks and I received my degree.

Once completed however, I was completely lost. I couldn’t get a single job (and I was applying for hundreds!). I didn’t have ‘experience’! Well how could I have experience? I had just graduated.

I wanted desperately to interpret law but all the doors just closed on me.

My peers were offered jobs. They went to better schools that me, got better grades than me and had connections. I had none of that!

I did a law Post grad course for one year and tried again. Still nothing.

That’s when I decided to do my PGCE. I specialised in Early Years. I was naturally very gifted. I had always worked with young children from the age of 18 (working in a Nuffield Gym creche for 7 years, teaching swimming to young children and also working as a nanny). It came naturally to me and at 25 I landed my first teaching job at a top prep school - The Mulberry House School. I worked so hard for 3 years preparing children for their 4+ and 7+ Assessments and we had amazing results.

I will always speak words of positivity to my son. I will always tell him that he is ‘more than good enough’. I will always tell him that he can be whatever he wants to be and I will provide him with the stepping stones to get there. It is the privilege of my life to provide him with the best education possible for him and to be able to provide my students with the same.

When I think of the thousands of students I’ve now personally helped to secure places at amazing schools, I feel proud. I’m so incredibly proud of myself and I’m so proud of them. I know that I’ve helped to provide them with what they need to have the success that they want and to make it that little bit easier for them. So that they don’t have to struggle as much as I did. They will struggle as that’s part of life but having extra opportunities and have doors opened for them is what I know I was able to help them with.

Why investing in your child's education is one of the most important things you can do. Part 3

Part 3 - My University Experience 1/2

One of my clients said something which totally matches what I am going to write about today.

‘Success isn’t what is damaging, it’s the narrative around it.’

Whether done intentionally or not, as a child my narrative was that I was not good enough. That’s what I was brought up hearing. I wasn’t the ‘brightest girl in the class’, I wasn’t the ‘most gifted in anything really!’. And what I did was just never ‘good enough'.’

I didn’t get into the best secondary school. I wasn’t in the top set at school. I was too thin. I was too fat. I didn’t have enough friends. I wasn’t the ‘popular’ girl. All of these messages as a young, fragile girl growing up in a world that will chew you up and spit you out if you are not strong enough would never lead to anything positive.

I lost my father when I was 11. He died in a terrible car accident in Sicily. My mother raised us alone and I know that she did her very best. It was hard for her too. She had lost her husband and was left with 2 very young children to care for. However, I lacked that guide. And I 100% didn’t have it at school.

So when I went to University, I was literally thrown in the deep end. I remember it clearly- I had turned 18 and I had pretty much finished my A levels. And I just stood at the top of the stairs of my child hood home and balled my eyes out. I had no idea what I was going to do.

You see, my education had never taught this one fundamental.

Independence.

And now I had to go to uni? Alone? Figure things out for myself?

I wanted to go to Oxford or to Cambridge to study Italian. Well actually, I wanted to study Law but I was just told ‘no’. Although my grades were good, they were not good enough for these universities and definitely not good enough to study law. The teacher who wrote the recommendations simply refused to write me one. So guess what? I applied without her recommendation and guess what? I was rejected from both!

So despite everyone telling me that I ‘wasn’t good enough’, I applied to UCS and I got a place to study there.

However, even though it is an excellent University, I just felt completely out of place. Everyone who I saw around me was just so amazing and brilliant and I just felt like a fraud. I felt that I shouldn’t be there. As a result of this, I quit after one year and transferred to the University of Reading.

University is such a huge investment and I paid for it all myself - I got a student loan which I understood nothing about at the time! I want my son to go to university to study something that he truly loves first and foremost but also something that will actually support him to be able to enter a career pathway that is financially abundant. And I will guide him every step of the way to do this (if he wants to of course!) and I will always be by himself as he figures things out.

Because without the best quality education from the early ages all the way through to 18, don’t expect your child to just wake up and know what they want to do, to know how to be independent and make choices for themselves, to know the meaning of the words ‘grit’ and ‘fortitude’, to know how to handle failures. It doesn’t work this way.

That’s why I’m writing this 5 part series. In the hope that it will help someone to understand the power of the best quality education possible for our beautiful children. They deserve only the best of the best. And it is up to us to provide it for them.

Summer Born V Autumn Born in the 4+ Assessments

So your child is summer born and they are going to be doing their 4+ Assessment in the next 2-6 months. You breathe in a sigh of relief because the school you desperately want to send your child to has told you that your child will be grouped in terms of age. You imagine that this means that your child will be assessed differently to their winter born peers and you would be wrong about this.

Children are grouped into age groups (at most 4+ Assessments) but please don’t take this to mean that they will be assessed differently to their peers who are older than them. They won’t be.

I’ve never spoken to one single parent who has ever told me that their child was assessed differently compared to a child who is winter born. They are assessed in the exact same way.

The Assessments will not be different for your child just because they are summer born.

Why would they be?

Do you really think that these top independent schools have the time to differentiate their Assessment procedure for summer born children? No they do not.

Prepare your child in the exact same way as a child who is nearly a year older than them will be prepared.

If you don’t, it is highly likely that they will not be ready for their 4+ Assessments and it is very likely that they will not pass.

Their percentage will be adjusted to give them their final mark but only ever so slightly.

At the end of the day, if your child is unable to fulfil the criteria of the school assessing them, they will not pass - regardless of their age.

Book your Sample Lesson today.

Why investing in your child's education is one of the most important things you can do. Part 2

Part 2 - My A levels.

So my primary school experience was mediocre at best. My secondary school experience was exactly how I spoke about in in Part 1. The main point I’m trying to get across here is this…

I hear parents telling me this one sentence all the time… “She just loves her school Maria!”

The problem is that children have nothing to compare it to. Also children are children. And especially our younger children - they just don’t have the capacity yet to articulate truly what they think about their school experience.

As a young girl, I totally pretended that everything was ‘fine’ but it really wasn’t. And ultimately, I had no other options. My school was where I would stay until the age of 18 whether I liked it or not. Because I was just too young to make other choices for myself.

When I got to sixth form, I chose to do the ‘easiest’ A levels because after years of being told that I wasn’t ‘good enough’, I actually believed it.

I was a very talented dancer and I wanted to go to University to study dance. I was simply told ‘No.’ I ‘had to go and get a proper degree!’. I ‘had to do something academic.’

Door slammed.

I continued to pursue my love for dance continuing with my flamenco dancing on the side up until I was 22. I was a very talented ballet dancer but I stopped after passing my Grade 8 RAD exam.

My A levels were in Italian, Spanish, English Literature and French.

Languages were my strength. I have always spoken 5 languages (English, Italian, Spanish, French and Portuguese).

I struggled with all of my A levels. I struggled with my GCSE’s too but I did exceptionally well considering the poor education I received (11 A levels grades A*-B). But I worked so hard to achieve those grades!

The reason I say that I struggled with my A levels was because there wasn’t the support in place that was needed. Italian was just natural to me and I didn’t need much help at all. I adored English Literature but the teaching was so, so bad (The English teacher actually ended up being suspended half way through the year for being intimate with one of my classmates). French and Spanish I adored too (still do!).

When it came to choosing Universities, we had one meeting each (about 10 minutes!) to discuss our ‘goals and aspirations’.

I had no clue what I wanted to do or what I wanted to be.

No one had ever bothered to ask me.

So what did I do? I chose the ‘easiest’ subject for me! I chose to study Italian literature and Spanish at University and somehow managed to work extremely hard to get into UCL.

Was this the degree I would choose again if I could go back in time? Absolutely not.

Did I enjoy this degree and was it worth all of the debt I went into to achieve it? I will discuss this in part 3.

Choosing the best secondary school or however you choose to educate your child is so important. Don’t just choose the school ‘down the road’ because it is convenient to you. Please, go and see as many schools as you can and decide as a family. Don’t rule out Grammar Schools because so and so down the road said that your child will ‘never ever get in.’ Don’t rule out private schools either - with so many bursaries around now, you can get a proportion or even all fees covered if your child is academically strong enough. Your child’s secondary school education is so important. Whatever path you choose - private school, grammar school, state school, home school or online school. Take it seriously and make sure that you invest in the best education for your child. I’m not just talking money here by the way.

Take the time, effort and energy to choose the best educational path for your child.

Why investing in your child's education is one of the most important things you can do. Part 1.

Part 1/5 - My education

Not all education is equal.

Of course we all come from different economic backgrounds and not all of us can afford to send our children to private schools.

But investing in your child’s education is one of the most important things that you can do for your child.

The best quality education can help to shape your child’s future in ways you probably can’t even imagine.

As a child, I did not have the best education possible.

I remember my primary education not being good enough. There were so many behavioural problems that I remember just being ignored for the most part. All the attention would go to the ‘naughty boys’ in my class. I remember huge chunks of time being dedicated to just resolving issues that they were having. A lot of time was wasted and what I learnt during my 6 years at this primary school was simply not good enough.

I wanted to go to Henrietta Barnet but I was told there was ‘no point trying’ and ‘you wouldn’t get in anyway’. Wow, what damaging messages to put onto a young, ambitious 10 year old girl. So I was put into a Convent school. It was awful. But I was too little to know any different. Every day I went and every day I didn’t learn much at all. The quality of teaching was low. I think I had one teacher that I liked - my Italian teacher. That was all. Again, the focus was on behaviour which only got worse as the years passed.

I remember the year 7 classes were in the basement. We would go down these long flights of stairs into an old brown door that led to the 7 year 7 classes. Each class had 30 girls. The classrooms were very small and the tables were close together. It was very claustrophobic. Because the classes were in the basement, there were obviously no windows! We would move around to our different classes obviously but no classroom should be in a basement in my opinion anyway.

Because I had nothing to compare it to and because I was a child, when I was asked the famous questions that we ask our children every single day, ‘How was your day?’, I would simply reply ‘fine’. I guess this is why I don’t accept this answer from any child I teach when I ask them this question. I always need more information.

There was a lot of bullying in my school. A lot. I was bullied and most girls were bullied. The teachers ignored the bullying. It just ‘never happened’ or ‘It just happened once so it’s not considered bullying.’ I guess this is why I have zero tolerance for bullying and why bullying was simply a no in any of my classrooms as a teacher.

I could go on but I think you get the point.

My primary and secondary education were simply not good enough and I deserved better. All children deserve better.

Not all of us are in the financial position to choose ‘better’ - I get that. But it’s about not just settling and actually doing your research. Taking your time to go and see the schools you plan to send your children to. Going on a tour of the schools and seeing if the school would be right for your child. Or perhaps looking at alternatives. Because although we’re not quite in the position to have hundreds of alternatives, we do have some. You have home schooling and you also have online schooling which can be an option.

It’s just about investing what you can and what is reasonable to you and your family.

We all choose what we want to invest in. We all choose what we spend our money on.

I will always invest in my child’s education and I know it is one of the most important things that I will ever do for him.

Don't do these 3 things if you would like your son to have a chance of passing the 7+ at St. Paul's.

Having prepared hundreds of boys for their 7+ at St. Paul’s, I know exactly what to expect. I know exactly what works and I know exactly what does not. St. Paul’s is a highly sought after school. Thousands of parents across the UK would love to send their boys to this school at 7+. In fact, many dream of sending their boys to this school at 7+.

St. Paul’s is a prestigious school with a reputation for achieving exceptional academic results. The campus is modern and includes a sports centre, swimming pool and a beautiful dining hall. You will be paying for a nearly 30k a year education for your son.

Don't do these 3 things if you would like your son to have a chance of passing the 7+ at St. Paul's.

1. Start late to prepare your son.

You can absolutely be successful starting later but your son will need to study a lot more intensively than if they were to have started at least 12 months before the Assessment (which is what I advise)

If your son starts too late, it is going to be very hard to cover all of the curriculum at greater depths (which is the level expected at this school!)

St Paul’s write, ‘It is hoped that boys who apply are working at a Greater Depth standard within the Year 2 curriculum.’

This is not just the Autumn term curriculum. This is the whole of the Year 2 curriculum. So basically, your son will need to be at a year 3 standard at a minimum to even be in with a chance of passing the first round.

2. Not understanding the Assessment process well enough.

So much is expected of the boys in this Assessment. If you don’t understand the Assessment process well enough, how will you ever prepare your son to be able to pass?

Most parents sadly underestimate what this assessment will be like and don’t even scratch the surface when preparing their son’s for their 7+ Assessment at this school.

3. Not being able to achieve the pass mark percentage.

When I prepare my boys for St Pauls (7+), I am aiming for 80- 85% in all papers. There is a reason for this!

It is very simple really.

If your son doesn’t achieve the threshold percentage for passing the St Paul’s 7+ Assessment, they won’t be able to pass the first round.

Here’s one more thing you should not do.

Not preparing your son for the interview.

We have personally prepared hundreds of boys for both rounds at this school.

We have had tremendous success at St Paul’s.

Join our Waiting List for 2027 entry today or Book your Sample Lesson today.

The Secret to UCS 7+ Assessment Success

UCS is one of our most popular boys’ schools that we prepare our boys for at 7+.

This is an exceptional school and very popular amongst our clients.

It is a tough school to get into.

With the correct preparation however, you will give your son the highest possible chances for success at this school. And at passing their 7+ Assessment at UCS.

In the Autumn term your son will be invited for a Reading Assessment and will do ‘listening and discussion’ exercises. This is just to make sure that your child can read well enough in order to actually be able read the questions asked in the Assessment. Do note that the score from this Assessment will be taken into consideration. 60 boys will pass their 7+ and be admitted into 3 classes in Year 3 at UCS. Keep in mind that about 30 of these boys will be coming up from their own Pre-prep. So really there are only about 30 places available at 7+!

Registration for 2026 is now open. Visit the UCS website to register your son.

A report is requested from your son’s current school and this report will be very important.

In January the boys’ sit their Assessment which consists of:

Maths

English

Social interaction observation

Behaviour observation

The Assessment is long and stamina will be important - It is a 3 hour Assessment (including a short break)

The UCS Assessment in 2025 was as usual a challenging one. The level of questions asked was high in both Maths and English.

The secret to UCS 7+ Assessment is to cover all of the Year 2 curriculum to greater depth. You must also dip into the Year 3 curriculum in both maths and english.

Invest in the highest quality 7+ Assessment preparation available.

Join our Waiting list for 2027 entry today or book your Sample Week.

3 ways to not pass the Highgate 7+ Assessment.

The Highgate 7+ Assessment is a very challenging Assessment.

50 children will have passed their 7+ Assessments (September 2025 entry) to join 60 children who are already in the Pre-prep. Hundreds and hundreds of parents will have received letters earlier this year telling them that their child will not be studying at Highgate from Year 3.

Registration for 2026 entry is open and if you are interested in this school, you can register for the 7+ Assessment here.

So here are 3 ways NOT to pass the Highgate 7+ Assessment. Avoid these at all costs and guarantee the highest chances for success for your child.

Way #1 to NOT pass

Not having a full 12 months of 7+ Assessment preparation tailored specifically to Highgate.

Whether you choose to teach your child yourself or you invest in the support of a specialised teacher, it really doesn’t matter. What matters is that your child has the full 12 months of Assessment prep. Historically (and I have no idea why!), parents leave this assessment to the very last minute. And it’s just not enough time! Their child will most likely not pass without the full 12 months of preparation. Take this Assessment very seriously and if you don’t, do not expect Highgate to take you seriously!

If you are currently preparing for Highgate and would like to ensure that your child is on the right track, book your Sample Lesson and Sample Week today.

Way #2 to NOT pass

Choosing a teacher who does not have real and actual experience with getting children into Highgate at 7+.

Perhaps they choose a teacher based purely on the fact that they live near to them or perhaps they choose a teacher based on the fact that their fees were lower compared to those of others that they were researching. If you work with a teacher who doesn’t have experience with actually supporting students to pass their Assessment at Highgate, how can you expect your child to be taught the curriculum relevant to the Highgate Assessment?

Way #3 to NOT pass

Assume that because your child has passed Round 1 that they will pass Round 2.

Many parents simply stopped their lessons with us when they found out that their child passed their first round! Big mistake. Highgate call back MOST of the students from Round 1. Round 2 needs thorough and careful Assessment preparation (in conjunction with Round 1 prep and not as a standalone service!)

Don’t leave this one to the last minute please.

Preparing for Highgate for 2026 entry or beyond?

Book your Sample Lesson and Week today.

5 life lessons I will teach my son before Maths and English

Growing up, I really had to figure things out mostly on my own.

It wasn’t easy.

Do I have it all figured out now? Absolutely not. But I have figured a few things out and I will be my son’s guide every step of the way.

5 life lessons I will teach my son before Maths and English.

1. Life will always be 50/50

There will be times his life will feel amazing, filled with joy and happiness and there will be times where his life will suck and he will feel pain, sorrow and perhaps even despair. I will teach him that in both these times of pure 50/50 that everything is ok. We can work through the pain together and we can celebrate the wins together too.

2. Always be true to himself

For far too long, I lied about my truth. I lived a life wanted by someone else (someone who didn’t even know what they wanted for themselves let alone for me!) and one that I didn’t love. I pretended to love it and I was really good at pretending! I never ever want my son to do this. I always want him to take the time to learn how to reflect on things and be true to himself. Do the things he loves to do and never ever listen to what society is telling him to do.

3. Be kind and caring.

I will teach my son to be kind and caring. To listen to others- truly listen and not pretend to listen. To hold doors open for others even if they won’t notice or say thank you. To hug someone if they are crying and to truly care about why they are upset. To care for others as much as he cares about himself.

4. Know that other people’s attacks are not personal.

I’ve always taken other people’s attacks to mean there is something wrong with me. There is nothing wrong with me! I will teach my son that other people will have their own problems and issues and there will be times that they will take things out on him. I will teach him to not attach their feelings to his. I will teach him that their attacks are not personal and I will teach him how to deal with such issues.

5. Never do something that he really doesn’t want to do.

I did so many things (often for years and years) that I didn’t truly want to do. Life is far too short. And I do regret many of these things. I will teach him to work hard and to always have an end goal in mind but I will teach him that there are many ways of achieving what we want without having to do things that we truly (deep down) do not want to do.

What are 5 life lessons that you will teach your child?

Bute House Confusion

I wanted to call this blog something else but it didn’t seem appropriate.

Having prepared several girls for this assessment, I’m very well aware of what is involved. I’m very well aware of the standards expected by Bute House and I’m very well aware of the calibre of girl who is offered a place to study at Bute House.

My client sent me a mumsnet post the other day and I found it fascinating and also utterly destructive to other parents reading her experience and most likely believing what she is writing.

Obviously, you are free to believe whatever you want to believe!

This mother writes that her daughter was offered a place at Bute House (7+) and she writes about how proud she is that she ‘didn’t tutor her daughter’.

Listen up, she 100% did tutor her daughter. She taught her herself (supposedly!). So she tutored her. Why is tutoring such a dirty word? Tutoring just means teaching. They are the exactly same, identical thing. So if you are teaching your child yourself, you are tutoring them. Understand that. All this nonsense I hear from parents who tell me ‘I didn’t tutor my child.’

Yes you 100% did.

After going on about her daughter not being tutored she then goes on to speak about all of the learning her daughter did each week at home in preparation for her Bute House 7+ Assessment. So she was tutored!

She goes on to tell her readers that Bute House doesn’t do ‘formal written assessments’ and instead invite girls to a ‘day at school’. Complete and utter nonsense and very misleading to parents who will believe what she is writing! Yes, it’s a day at school. But your daughter will complete ‘formal written assessments’. Specifically a maths paper, a reading paper and a writing paper. Bute House also write that they ‘do not follow a traditional paper based format’ - not sure what they mean by this. They can masquerade it how they want. Your daughter will be completing papers in one way or another.

So yes, it will be a lovely day at school for your daughter but really no body is interested in the fact that your daughter had a ‘lovely time’. If her daughter passed, it’s because she passed each aspect of this rigorous 7+ Assessment. It’s because she met the high academic threshold, it’s because she was able to demonstrate confidence and exceptional capabilities in her 7+ Assessment.

Bute House also say not to have your daughter tutored because she will then not be able to keep up with the academic standards of the school further down the line. I think tutoring has been completely misunderstood by some. Tutored girls are the ones who will pass their 7+ Assessment at Bute House. Those who are not, will not stand a chance. At the end of the day, your daughter needs to meet a percentage point in order to pass.

Simple.

Oh and by the way, don’t let anyone tell you not to have your daughter tutored. Even if your daughter is successful at Bute House, having tuition is just a beautiful complement to that.

Preparing for Bute House for 2027 entry and beyond?

Join our Waiting List today or Book your Sample lesson and sample week.

'The UCS 4+ Assessment will not be academic' is laughable and insulting.

I had a meeting yesterday with two of my clients. I prepared their daughter for South Hampstead a year and a half ago and she was very successful in all of the schools she attended for her 4+ Assessments. My clients are now preparing their son for top schools for his 4+ Assessments.

They told me their list of schools and we had a bit of a discussion about them.

Next, they told me about UCS. And the fact that they were told that ‘The UCS 4+ Assessment will not be academic.’

They asked me for my opinion about it and here was my exact answer.

‘It is pure nonsense.’

Funny, the boys who I’ve prepared historically for over 16 years now never once mentioned that they just went into this Assessment to ‘play’.

Funny and also incredibly insulting.

And here’s why.

My clients who have been very successful at supporting their sons to pass the UCS 4+ Assessment have been the ones who have shown up every day for their sons. The ones who have put in the effort. The ones who have persevered even when things got challenging for them. The ones who taught their sons to read and write and the ones who knew exactly what UCS were looking for and were able to go all in to ensure success in their son’s 4+ Assessments.

And guess who were the clients who did not have this ultimate success?

It was the ones who believed that ridiculous sentence. Are the ones who told their sons to ‘just go in and play’. After all that’s exactly what they were told would happen!

Well, their sons didn’t pass their 4+ Assessments at UCS.

Hundreds and hundreds of boys will apply to attend their UCS 4+ Assessment (500+). With only 32 places available who do you think will be offered a place?

Do you think it will be the boy who knows how to write his name beautifully or the boy who can’t hold his pencil?

Do you think it will be the boy who can follow instructions perfectly or the boy who runs off to do the activity that he wants to do?

Do you think it will be the boy who knows his phonics or the boy who doesn’t?

I could go on…

Let’s be honest here.

It is not a play date.

It will be academic.

Prepare your son and prepare him well for the UCS 4+ Assessment.

Book your Sample Lesson today.