95% of nursery practitioners would agree with me on this!

If you’ve never worked in a nursery, don’t come at me.

If you have ever worked in a nursery in any capacity, I know that you know what I’m talking about here.

Most of my clients have never worked in a nursery. I would say 98% of my clients have no clue what actually goes on in a nursery. They have the picture perfect view in their minds of what goes on in a nursery but more often than not, the view that they have in their mind is simply an illusion.

I started off working in a nursery when I was 18 years old. I worked in a little creche at the Nuffield gym that I was working at. We looked after children from the age of 6 weeks old all the way to 5 years of age. After gaining a lot of experience working with very young children at this creche, I went on to work at several different nurseries - all sorts of nurseries. Private nurseries mostly. I saw exactly what happens in a nursery!

So lately as I am speaking to more and more of you and with 4 plus assessments looming, I am fascinated to hear that so many of you are just not interested in investing just 30 minutes a week on tuition to prepare your children for their 4+ Assessments plus 30 minutes a day of doing formal learning yourselves with your children because your children go to ‘top Montessori nurseries’ from 8-6 every day.

Many of you want to purely rely on your children’s nurseries to do all of the heavy lifting. I find this fascinating.

This means that you think that so much learning goes on in a nursery setting.

Does it though?

Question this.

Your child is one of many! 1:8 is the ratio usually. It can be 1:13 however if your child is over the age of 3!

How much quality learning do you truly believe can be done with a 1:8 ratio?

I’m not taking away from what nursery practitioners do at all so hear me carefully. I value what my son’s nursery do for him but I would never, ever assume that they would be preparing him for a 4+ Assessment. Most of you do.

A nursery alone cannot prepare your child for a 4+ Assessment.

There are those days where several children are unwell and the teachers have to deal with that. There are those days where one or two children have bitten little Timmy on the arm and they need to deal with that. There are those days where noro-virus has contaminated the nursery and the teachers have to deal with that. There are those days when two teachers have called in sick and they need to mix pre-school children with the toddlers. There are those days when there are so many children running around screaming and shouting that the teachers need to deal with that.

So please give them a break and stop putting all the pressure on them. Put the pressure on yourselves. After all if your child passes their 4+ Assessment or not that is down to you and it is definitely not down to your child’s nursery.

3 ways NOT to pass the Highgate 7+ Assessment.

The Highgate 7+ Assessment is a very challenging Assessment.

50 children will have passed their 7+ Assessments in 2025 to join 60 children who are already in the Pre-prep. Hundreds of parents were very disappointed that their son or daughter did not pass their 7+ at Highgate. I spoke to many of them personally. They were disappointed because they simply didn’t understand the assessment well enough. They didn’t understand the expectations and they didn’t prepare their child to be able to go in a be able to pass.

Registration is now open for 2026 entry. Applications close at noon on 5/11/25.

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!

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. 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? This is not just about completing tonnes and tonnes of worksheets. This is about preparing for what has come up historically.

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 and beyond?

Join our Waiting List today. Once joined, you will be contacted immediately by our Company Director to choose your ideal time for weekly tuition from January/February 2026.

Can my summer born son do as well as an autumn born child in a 4+ Assessment?

100% yes. If not better!

Oh there is so much RUBBISH out there about ‘summer born’ children.

Why do we have to label children anyway?

My son is not a label. He is a human being.

Stop labelling children unnecessarily!

My ‘summer born’ baby (oh and by the way your child is considered summer born if they are born between April-August), can and would do as well (if not better) than any autumn born child in his 4+ Assessments.

How do I know this? I know this because he is excelling in all 7 areas of the EYFS curriculum currently.

I am fully well aware that all children develop at different rates and I never ever compare children anyway. It is not useful.

So when I receive calls from parents who tell me that their child is not where ‘they need to be’ for a 4+ Assessment and they blame it on the ‘fact that they are summer babies’. They are just so wrong.

It has nothing to do with that.

If your child ‘is not ready’ for their 4+ Assessment, it’s because you’ve chosen to not prepare them to be ready for it. Sorry if that stings but it is my opinion.

Enough with these ridiculous excuses.

My son is definitely developing slower with his phonics than some of my students but that’s not because he is ‘summer born’, it’s because it took me longer to get him really and truly interested in learning sounds. That’s on me. I was rather lazy when it came to his phonics. I could have found more interesting ways to engage him but I didn’t. He didn’t enjoy learning phonics so I took a step back. Then I realised that this was really not a good idea if I want him to be reading in the next 12 months (which I do by the way!). Now, he is making tremendous progress and he WILL know his phase 2 phonics (single sounds) by the end of this month.

Summer born and autumn born will not be assessed differently and expectations will not be different so please do get that out of your heads.

Prepare your child and prepare them well for their 4+ Assessments.

That is all.

What are NLCS even looking for in the 4+ Assessment?

If you truly want your daughter to go to NLCS from Reception, you need to know exactly what NLCS will be looking for in the 4+ Assessment. If you don’t know this, how will you ever prepare her to go in and pass?

Your daughter will need thorough and bespoke tuition for NLCS. You absolutely must only work with a teacher who has real and actual experience with this school.

NLCS is one of the hardest schools to get into at 4+ (and 7+!) but today I am talking about the 4+.

Don’t ever underestimate how hard it will be to get into this school.

This school is so overly subscribed each year. Hundreds of parents want their daughter to go to North London Collegiate School. At least 500 girls will be applying to do their 4+ Assessment for 2026 entry. There are 40 places on offer!

Having visited it several times myself and even having lunch there once with the teachers, I have seen exactly what it is like to be at this school. Their facilities are exceptional and the grounds are just divine. I get it!

I have prepared hundreds of girls for the 4+ Assessment at NLCS over the last 15 years and what I’ve learnt is this. Passing the first round is very challenging. As in, it’s very hard to pass!

If your daughter does pass, passing the second round is also challenging but not as challenging as the first round (if you have the right support in place!)

If your daughter makes it to the second round, it’s because NLCS have seen that she is the right fit for their school. They have seen through assessing her that she will be able to thrive at their school. In the second round, they will be assessing her further, deeper and more thoroughly (way smaller groups than the first round).

NLCS have a very specific Assessment criteria in the sense of what they are looking for. Of course, I’m not going to give that away here!

We have supported girls to be very successful at gaining entry to NLCS for over 15 years. In fact, I supported one of my oldest students with her Spanish GCSE last year! She worked with me when she was 6 and I prepared her for her 7+ at NLCS!

Preparing for 2026 entry? Join our Waiting List today. Once joined, I will be personally in touch to choose your preferred days and times to begin from January/February 2026. The Waiting List fee will make up your registration fee once you start your package.

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 mustn’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.