Do not do this if you are preparing for the 7+ at Westminster.

So you have your heart set on Westminster for the 7+?

I get it, circumstances will be different for everyone so if you are completely unable to do this one thing, that’s fine. I get it. Things happen in life. Family members get sick, we get sick, spouses need to move for work etc, etc. Things change that are completely out of our control and that’s ok.

But if it is in your control and we know with certainty and clarity that you want a school like Westminster for our child at 7+, here is one thing that you must not do.

Start preparing too late for this 7+ assessment.

And by late, I mean anything later than the autumn term of your child’s Reception Year.

I have already personally started preparing several girls and boys for their 11+ at St. Paul’s. They’ve not even started in Reception yet! We have a lot of work to do and guess what? We are busy working hard! People will have something to say about it. We don’t care about what they have to say! We care about the journey that we are embarking on with our students. We are about the results! And we care about supporting each and every single one of them to have the highest possible chances for success.

It’s not walk in the park, ok?

Hope you understand that. Getting into a school like Westminster at 7+ will take hard work, effort and total dedication from everyone involved. That’s you, your child and your teacher!

So find the best teacher possible. Find the best private tutor possible and go all in. You want a top, elite school for your child? Get serious about it then.

Some parents are obsessed with tutors coming into their homes. Here is what they really should be obsessed with.

Getting results.

That should be your one and only obsession when it comes to choosing your private tutor for your child.

We receive calls every single day from parents who are desperate to work with us. They know the results that we achieve and they know what they want for their children. They are crystal clear on that. They know that they want to provide their child with the best opportunities possible. We receive other calls every day from parents who specifically ask me if I provide ‘in person tutors’.

Well, no I do not. And there is a very good reason for that.

It is unnecessary.

You will be paying 1.5 times my personal hourly rate to have someone with my level of experience coming into your home to tutor your child.

The quality of all tutors is not the same. Far from it. I tutored in person for 7 years. My level of experience then is no where near my level of experience now. Yes, I got great results. But no where near the results that I get now for my clients.

So careful with this obsession. Think about it carefully. Why do you really want a tutor coming into your home? Is it because you just want to leave them in a room with your child and have an hour to yourself (I get that!)? Is it because you want to offer them tea and biscuits? If it because you think your child will develop a better relationship with this person?

It’s all simply not true.

All I want is for children all over the world to work with the best teachers possible. All I want is for children all over the world to make the progress that they deserve to be making with their learning. All I want is for children all over the world to have the best possible chances for success in any assessment that they go to.

So think carefully about this in person obsession. It could be costing you your child’s results.

Also, this is not anything against in person tutors. I’m certain you can find great teachers who will come into your home and as I said I was an in person tutor for many years so please don’t get offended by my words if this is you!

How to achieve incredible success in the Falkner House (Boys) 4+ Assessment.

So you have your eyes set on Falkner House Boys’ School for your son?

You’re probably asking yourself questions like these…

‘Will he pass the 4+ assessment?’

‘Do I really need to prepare him?’

‘Is nursery enough?’

Let me answer these questions for you.

‘Will he pass the 4+ assessment?’

Only if you prepare him to the highest of standards to go in and show the teachers at FH exactly what they are looking for in their prospective new boys.

‘Do I really need to prepare him?’

You do.

‘Is nursery enough?’

It is not. I really don’t care if you’re spending 5k per term on a prestigious nursery. That’s good for you and that’s great for your child (if he likes it there!) but it is not enough.

FH Boys are still accepting new applications for 2027 entry. So if you would like to apply, apply soon. Parents will have registered their sons for FH Boys from as early as birth.

FH are looking for potential and attainment. Not just potential.

The assessment is certainly fun and the school is definitely very family focused. But having fun in the assessment doesn’t equate to your son being offered a place at Falkner House.

Their main objective - they write - is for boys to be happy and successful at Falkner House. And this is the feedback that they gave to many parents that were no successful at securing a spot here in the last few years. That their son wouldn’t have been able to thrive in their school environment. Harsh feedback - but feedback that is regularly given.

FH do have a sibling policy but be aware that every year there are siblings that do not pass. Parents often relax because they already have a child there. Do not do this. Prepare your child as though you do not have another child already there. In fact, FH even encourages parents to apply for other schools and not just FH which is very good advice indeed!

Going to the nursery also does not guarantee an offer of a place to study at FH from Reception.

I’ve spoken to many disappointed parents who thought that going to the nursery would be enough to secure their son a place at the school from Reception. It was most certainly not enough in many cases.

So if you want to have incredible success in the 4+ Assessment at Falkner House, the main thing that I would suggest you work on with your son is his communication and language skills. I would laser focus on this. And I would start from as early as possible to work on this with him (around from when he is 17-18 months old). Communication and Language has been the area of learning that has been fed back most to parents of boys who were not successful at this school.

Obviously work on the 6 other areas of learning that will be assessed but laser focus on that one in particular.

And if you’re not sure where to start, work with exceptional teachers who will support you every step of the way. Teachers who will not only teach your son but who will also guide and support you with the whole 4+ assessment process.

Book your Ultimate Emerald Curriculum Sample Week today. The only way currently to work with us for 2027 entry.

For 2028 entry and beyond, join our Waiting List and send me your preferred day/time for weekly tuition and I will send confirmation of start date immediately.

Holland House 4+ Assessment Facts (2026 entry)

Holland House is another very popular school that we prepare our students for at 4+.

Holland House have an Open Morning this Saturday, if you are interested in this school for your child at 4+. Contact the registrar at Holland House to book your place to attend the Open Morning.

This is one of the earliest 4+ assessments. Last year, we prepared 6 children for HH and 6 children passed the 4+ Assessment at HH. 2 of these children will be attending HH from September 2026.

The children we prepared for HH, for the most part had less than 12 months of assessment preparation for HH. Does this mean that it is an ‘easy’ assessment to pass? No.

Does this mean that you shouldn’t thoroughly prepare your child for the Holland House 4+ Assessment? Absolutely not.

With less than 6-7 months left until the Holland House 4+ Assessment, your time to begin preparing your child to truly go in and shine is now. Whether it is your first choice or whether it is your back up choice, it doesn’t matter. Start preparing your child. Don’t assume that ‘everyone passes’. I don’t know who told you that. But it is simply not true. Why would they have a 4+ assessment if everyone would pass? Makes zero sense!

The only way to work with us this year to prepare your child for the Holland House 4+ Assessment is through our Ultimate Emerald Curriculum Programme.

Book you Ultimate Emerald Curriculum Sample Week today.

Toxic and unprofessional behaviour I've experienced as a teacher.

I had a fake comment placed on my Trustpilot account and I was very upset about it for a couple of days. I’m over it now and I have to accept that as CMT continues to grow - which it will, that people will have thoughts about me and the way I live my life. Surprise, surprise - nothing new eh!

But I think it’s important to call out the behaviours that I’ve personally experienced in my life. Undoubtedly this will resonate with many of you. Because if someone has taken the time out of their day to find me on Trustpilot and write that disgusting review, I think it’s important that I take a few moments out of my precious day to tell you my experiences too.

When I worked full time as a teacher at the top of my career (UPS 3), I remember vividly having to keep quiet about many things that I disagreed with. All the way throughout my 15 year career working in Primary schools across London (Private and State), I remember countless meetings where I did not agree with what Senior Leadership were saying and I had to bite my tongue. I was too scared to lose my job. I didn’t want to rock the boat. I wanted to be liked.

Well, I don’t care about any of those things any more. And it’s far more important to me to speak my truth and not accept what other people throw at me. Life is far too short.

Throughout my time as a teacher at school, if you disagreed with leadership, you’d be told that you had a ‘bad attitude’ or that ‘your attitude stinks’, if you made your point, certain members of the leadership team would literally roll their eyes. Some would look at each other and smirk or even laugh. Basically, you had to just be silent. Agree with everything you were told and just do your job!

I now work with the most amazing people ever. And I am delighted every single day to work with my clients and with my amazing students. I have a beautiful team of teachers and we all respect each other and listen to each other. But I do each year have 10% of behaviour which is toxic and unprofessional and so do my teachers.

And if you are on the other end of receiving behaviour that is toxic and unprofessional, I’m here to tell you that you don’t need to tolerate it. Find another job. Move on. Express yourself fully. Life is far too short.

You CANNOT prepare successfully for St. Paul's Girls' School without having a crystal clear benchmark.

St. Paul’s Girls’ School write that ‘There is no typical Paulina’. Completely agree.

The girls who pass the St. Paul’s Girls’ School 11+ assessment are definitely all completely different and unique.

They write that they are looking for ‘intellectually curious students who will enjoy learning in an academically stimulating environment.’ Completely agree with this too.

Girls who pass the SPG 11+ Assessment are 100% intellectually curious girls. And the environment at SPG is obviously academically stimulating.

There are 3 stages to this 11+ Assessment

1. Stage 1 – Cambridge Select Insight assessment
   (formerly known as CEM)

Assesses a child's academic potential and ability. It is a non adaptive test (same questions, same order regardless of ability). The girls will be able to go back and check their answers. 3 main skills are assessed- verbal ability (spag, vocabulary and comprehension), numerical ability (number, measurement, geometry and statistics) and non-verbal ability (visually analysing and solving problems). In order to be successful in this stage of the assessment, your daughter will need to be quick! She will also need to be laser focused and not get distracted. Your daughter will need to trust her instincts and not waste too much time on one question.

2. Stage 2 - Comprehension, English and Maths written assessments.

3. Interview

If you don’t have a crystal clear understanding of the benchmark when it comes to the calibre of girls being assessed this year, how will you ever accurately prepare your daughter to have the highest possible chances of passing this 11+ assessment?

Stage one is in November 2026 so you have about 8 months left to prepare. 6 months really if you factor in holidays and sickness etc. If your daughter passes the first stage, she will be invited to attend stage 2 which is typically in early January. If your daughter passes stage 2, she will be invited to interview. These are typically mid to end of January.

At their current fee rate, you are looking at investing £260,694 to send your daughter to this school from Year 7 - Year 13. Rates will of course rise so it will inevitably be more than this. Invest a very small percentage of this to actually preparing your daughter to have the highest chances of succeeding in her 11+ assessments.

Prepare from Year 3.

Prepare consistently.

Encourage a love for reading and maths.

Encourage a love for a sport or music.

Only work with teachers who actually know how to prepare for this 11+ assessment.

Preparing for the 11+ at SPG for 2027 or 2028 entry? Book your Ultimate Emerald Curriculum Sample Lesson today.

Preparing for the 11+ at SPG for 2029 entry and beyond? Join our Waiting List today.

Manor Lodge 4+ Clarity for parents

Manor Lodge needs focused 12 month preparation.

Manor Lodge is not ‘just a school where your child will go in and play in their Forest garden!’

Manor Lodge is so over subscribed at 4+ that it will blow your mind when you see just how many children will attend the assessment.

Mumsnet does not give accurate information about this assessment so do not even waste your time reading the absolute nonsense on there (some comments are brutally honest on there but you need to know which ones are and which ones are not).

Many children will not pass this 4+ Assessment.

Many children will be Waitlisted following this assessment.

For many parents (not all), Manor Lodge will not be their first choice of school. Their first choice of school will typically by Habs or NLCS. Many of our clients kept Manor Lodge as their back up but ultimately ended up accepting their top schools of choice. The majority of our clients receive offers at their top schools of choice if they have the recommended 12 months of Assessment preparation that I recommend. Success is simply inevitable following our 12 month programme.

The Manor Lodge 4+ Assessment is just like any other 4+ Assessment at top, elite schools. It will be conducted on a 1:1 basis. Your child will need to separate from you happily. And your child will need to go in and demonstrate all of the skills and attributes that Manor Lodge will be assessing and looking for in their potential new students.

Do you even know what these skills and attributes are? Do you even know the level expected of your child?

We do.

And we will support you every step of the way tot ruly understand this 4+ Assessment and have the level of success that you dream of having.

Knowledge is power when it comes to anything in this life. Knowledge is definitely power when it comes to the 4+ Assessments. Empower yourselves with the knowledge and awareness needed in order to have the highest chances of passing the Manor Lodge 4+ assessment.

Book your Ultimate Emerald Curriculum Sample Week today if you are preparing for 2027 entry,

Book your place on the Waiting List for our Signature Programme (The Emerald Curriculum which includes weekly tuition). Once booked, I will be in touch immediately to find out your preferred days and times for weekly tuition. The Waiting List fee forms your Registration fee when you begin so you are also locking in the current Registration Fee price.

9/40 boys starting Habs in Reception in 2026 were prepared by us.

I spoke to a parent yesterday and she seemed like she didn’t believe one of my results.

The Habs’ Boys’ School results (2026 entry into Reception).

Here at CMT, we prepared a huge number of boys for their 4+ assessment at Habs. You see, we actually prepared 10 boys but I didn’t hear back from one of my clients so sadly I cannot count her results! Did he pass or not? I will find out in September 2026!

Whether you wish to believe me or not is up to you. But we did prepare 10 boys for Habs last year. 9 of those incredible boys have passed and will be going to Haberdashers from September 2026.

9/40.

Exceptional!

I am so proud of our results. I am so proud of our beautiful boys who worked so hard to be able to go in and truly shine in their 4+ assessments at Haberdashers. I am so proud of my clients who, although at times found it hard, fully persevered and remained dedicated to their sons’ learning and growth. I am so proud of our exceptional teachers - Emily and Helen who worked tirelessly every single day to show up and teach our students. And I am so proud of me.

You think it’s easy to get into Habs Boys at 4+?

Well you are delusional. And you are wrong. It’s not easy at all.

The hours and hours of work we all put in to achieve these results, I guess you will never know. Only we will know.

I look forward to continuing to follow your journeys boys. Many of you, I look forward to continuing to teach.

If you are preparing for Habs for 2028 entry and beyond, join our Waiting List. This will form your Registration fee and as soon as you join, I will personally email you to find out your preferred dates/times for weekly tuition and when exactly we can start. Only in this way can you secure your day/time.

If you are preparing for Habs for 2027 entry and beyond, the only way to work with us currently is through our Ultimate Emerald Curriculum which had exceptional results with our Habs students too.

You need at least 12 months to prepare your children for Habs (boys and Girls).

Don’t delay - get started today!

Doing things completely wrong - Alima’s story

As parents, we struggle to admit when we are doing things completely wrong. We want the best of the best for our precious children. We want to provide them with everything and more. Sometimes we get things right but many times we get things wrong. 

Is this bad? 

Is this a problem?

No, of course not. We are all humans and guess what? We will get things wrong sometimes! And that’s okay. People will pretend that they never get things wrong and that their lives are picture perfect - it’s all an illusion. All of our lives will always be 50//50 - remember that before you compare yourself to little miss perfect down the road!

Getting things wrong is merely data. That’s all. It’s information. We learn and we move on. We try something else. Does it mean that the ‘something else’ that we try will be the right thing? Absolutely not, but we try anyway. 

Alima contacted me in February. She was in tears on the phone. She told me that she had been following me for several years and loved my work. She had learnt so much by just following me on my social media and reading all of my blogs every single day. But when it came to her son’s  4+ assessments, she didn’t listen to me. She didn’t believe me when I said that it would be challenging. She was doubtful of many of the things that I was speaking about. 

That is until her son was unsuccessful to all of her target schools at 4+ (including the likes of Habs’ Boys and UCS). It took me a while to help Alima to calm down. She was hysterical by this point. I told her to take a breath and to stop beating herself up. How was she to know? Why should she trust me - a stranger that she had never met? She had never been through the process until now. 

Once she calmed down, we spoke. Alima is now my client and has been for 12 months. We are preparing her son for his 7+ at the same schools that he was unsuccessful in at 4+. He is thriving. Alima sent her son to a state school and although it’s not what she thought it would be and she struggles with a lot of the dynamics there, she knows that it is just temporary. She knows her son will be wildly successful in his 7+. 

Book your Ultimate Emerald Curriculum Sample Week and see the incredible progress that your child will make with their learning in just one week! 

Avoid wasting money on unnecessary learning resources.

I’m guilty of this too! And I hold up my hands! I do this too! 

Do you spend hundreds of pounds on resources that just sit in the corner of your child’s room completely untouched? Or perhaps you purchase something and you use it once with your child, lose a few pieces and then never touch it again? Sound familiar?

With the millions of resources on offer for our children, it can be really overwhelming to know which resources to choose for our children. 

You definitely do not need to feel overwhelmed. We take the guesswork out choosing which resources you need. We provide them for you! Everything you need in each area of learning, we will tell you exactly which resources to buy and we will provide you with all of the learning to print ahead of time. In this way, your weeks can be fully structured and organised in a way that will support your child with their learning acceleration. 

We all have busy lives. I would love to have this service provided to me! Obviously, I provide it for my own child just as I do for the hundreds of children that we are currently supporting with their accelerated learning or assessment preparations here at CMT. 

You no longer need to worry about which resources to use with your child, which learning you should be doing your child and how to support your child. We take the guesswork out of this. And we are here for our clients every single day (Monday to Friday 9-5) to support them to support their children with their learning acceleration or assessment preparation! 

Our results speak for themselves 

Want to see how it works? Book your Ultimate Emerald Curriculum Sample Week today!

5 Mistakes You’re Making Preparing for the 4+ Assessments

Myself and my team speak to thousands of you each year. We hear many, many things. Many of you do things exceptionally well when it comes to preparing your children for their 4+  assessments and many of you are making at least one - if not more of these mistakes. 

If you realise that you’re making one or more of these mistakes. Please don’t be hard on yourself. We all make mistakes. It’s part of life (and if you’re not making mistakes, there’s a very good reason for that!) 

Mistake #1

Overlearning with your child. 

Although a lot of learning does need to take place when preparing for a 4+ assessment, you have to be careful not to do too much. Many parents that we speak to want to do learning when they feel like it. It doesn’t work that way. Nobody cares if you feel like it. What matters is that your child feels like it. There is no right or wrong here. The only way to know if you are doing too much is if you notice resistance in your child. They definitely should not be resistant. They should be open, happy and fully receptive to the learning being provided. 

Mistake #2

Not doing enough learning with your child. 

The polar opposite of mistake #1, we see this one all the time too. Parents will tell us, ‘Oh, I work all day!’ and ‘Well, they’re in nursery/pre-school all day!’ and ‘That’s what I’m paying all that money for isn’t it!’ 

Your child is your responsibility and if you make the decision to apply to a school such as Westminster, NLCS and Habs (boys and girls), you better understand clearly that no nursery or pre-school will fully have the responsibility to prepare your child to be successful. Understand that you must put in the work yourself. 3.5 hours per week to be precise. 

Mistake #3

Panic-mode

Going into panic mode is the default superpower of our brains. Your brain thinks panicking is useful. It is not. We all panic and we all catastrophise. We all think the worst will happen. It’s how we have been raised and conditioned. Well it isn’t helpful in this process. If you feel panic, your child will sense that and they will start to worry too. 

Mistake #4

Compare and despair 

Never compare your child to anyone else. Just don’t do it. I don’t care that so and so down the road is ‘already reading chapter books’ and your child is ‘still’ learning their phonics. Just focus on your child and where they are. 

Mistake #5

Listening to rumours 

99.5% of what you will hear will be pure lies or simply what someone else experienced. Drown out all the noise. And focus. You will lose energy focusing on what so and so told you. 

Avoid these 5 mistakes and if you catch yourself making one of these mistakes, be kind and compassionate with yourself. Brush yourself off and get back to focusing on what is important here which is preparing your child to go in and have the highest possible chances for success in their 4+ assessment. 

Book your Sample lesson and Sample week today. 

How to prepare your child to be very successful with the RGS 7+ Assessment

Each year we prepare several boys for the 7+ at RGS. We will also be preparing girls as they move to co-educational.

This year, the RGS 7+ Assessment will be on Saturday 7th November 2026.

This means that you have only 9 months remaining to prepare your child for this 7+ assessment. 9 months becomes 7 when you factor in holidays and illnesses!

Have you started preparing your child? I do hope so.

My suggestion, based on years and years experience is 2 full years of assessment preparation for RGS. The best results we’ve had have been from our students starting with us from the autumn term of their Reception Year.

If that’s not you, that’s ok. Just get started from this moment! As in today!

Your child will need to be very strong in their reading and in their comprehension. Our students who have passed this assessment at 7+ have been at a year 3/ year 4 level in terms of their reading. They are students who are avid readers and reading chapter books. Creative writing will be very strong. Our students will have written at least 10 stories before going to their 7+ assessment at RGS. Our students who have typically passed have had a very strong understanding about how to write stories to the level expected by the RGS assessors and they have been able to go in and skilfully do just that under timed conditions.

Your child will need to have excellent spelling and have a strong understanding of grammar. Again, our successful students have been those working at a year 3/year 4 level in their SPAG.

Your child will need to cover a broad and vast maths curriculum in order to stand a chance in this assessment (at a year 3 level.)

Your child will also have practised with many past 7+ papers. I’d say that our students who have passed this 7+ assessment will have practised at least 30 past papers and have gone through the answers and have a thorough understanding of where they have gone wrong and how to make improvements.

Prepare your child to be wildly successful by joining our Ultimate Emerald Curriculum Programme. Lock in and be committed. Fully focus and take massive action and see tremendous progress being made in all areas of learning.

On average children 'socialise' for 30-60 minutes a day at school.

I’m referring to KS1 and KS2 here.

If you haven’t worked in a primary school in the UK, you will never know the true realities of what it is like to be in a classroom. If you have worked in a school and you think that children ‘socialise’ for more than this amount of time - you are the exception and I’m delighted for your students if this is truly the case.

If you truly believe that ‘socialising’ happens in Primary schools, I have to tell you that I completely and utterly disagree.

Having worked in hundreds of schools across London for nearly 20 years, I’m going to paint a vivid picture for you about what ‘socialising’ looks like in Primary Schools.

Here is a great meaning of socialising for you.

Socialising for children is the developmental process of learning to interact, communicate, and build relationships with others, starting from infancy and extending into community integration. It involves developing empathy, understanding social cues, sharing, managing emotions, and learning to navigate diverse social situations.

Do you really think all of that can happen in a school environment?

In a typical classroom (KS1 and KS2), my students would come in between 8:30-9am and they would go to their desks. Depending on the behavioural issues in my classroom, I would set the noise level that I expected. Between 8:30 - 9 would be a golden time for my students to work on gaps and areas to develop further so usually they would come in, say hi to me, say hi to a couple of their classmates, sit down and get on with the learning usually in silence or at least quietly.

Between 9-10:30 we would have a lesson (maths or english). At 10:30 my students would go out to play for 15 minutes. By the time most of my students would have completed their tasks to the standard acceptable by the school, they would have already missed a few minutes of play. At play time, this would be their window for socialising, In my opinion morning break would be too rushed - for the teachers too!

11-12:30 would be another lesson (maths or English) and then reading typically. Most schools that I taught at, management would expect noise levels to be at silence whilst the children would do their learning and there is a very good reason for this! With noise comes lack of focus which equals to not the best quality learning!

12:30 - 1:30 would be lunch time. By the time my students had queued for their lunch, sat down to eat etc 20 minutes would at least have passed. Here I would be able to observe some lovely socialising whilst eating their lunch. After lunch they would go to play and here too, they could have the opportunity to socialise. Most playtimes however, teachers would be called to deal with behavioural issues.

1:30 -3:30 - more lessons and more learning. No socialising.

3:30 Home time.

So does socialising really happen in schools?

'My wife/husband/partner doesn't agree with online schooling.'

One of the hardest parts about having a child…

Coming to mutual agreements about what both parents want for their children.

Sometimes these visions are aligned and that’s a beautiful thing. But when these visions are not aligned and both parent have different visions of how they would like to raise their child, this is where difficulties arise.

When my son was a baby, myself and my partner had different ideas about how to support his health and well being. When my son would have a fever, my partner would want to immediately take him to the hospital. I experienced a huge trauma with hospitals when my son was born and I think very differently to him when it comes to hospitals. It would cause a lot of unnecessary arguments. Ultimately, we are just two human beings who want the ultimate best for our son. But those misaligned visions of how to support our son’s health and wellbeing really did create an unnecessary strain on our relationship in the early years of his life.

When it comes to my son’s education, we have mixed views. But for the most part we have come to a mutual understanding of the vision that we have for our son and his education (in his primary years anyway).

I have a few clients who are currently struggling with deciding the best course of action for their children. It’s a tough one and only they can decide of course. But ultimately it’s about doing what you feel is best for your child. It really is about drowning out what other people will tell you. Although they mean well, it’s truly none of their business.

Just be super careful with what you make sentences mean. Just because one partner doesn’t ‘agree’ with something doesn’t mean that they are right. Online schooling works beautifully. Online schooling gives you freedom. Online schooling can open up doors for your child that you most probably don’t even imagine. So a sentence like this really means nothing. It’s merely a thought. I don’t agree with a school dictating my life- telling me the time my child needs to wake up in the morning and telling me when I can go on holiday. These are just my thoughts, It doesn’t mean that I am right. I might change my mind after a few years! And guess what? That’s ok!

There is no right. There is no wrong. There is simply making a choice and being as happy about it as possible. Just choose. And then be ready to make changes if needed. Because that is the beauty of this life and remember this always. You can make changes at any time.

3 ways to support your child with early writing.

Teaching writing is hard. 

Teaching writing in the early years is even harder. 

Does that mean it has to be seen as negative? Absolutely not. Writing is hard and we do hard things! 

Parents will say to me, ‘Just wait until he’s 5/6/7/8 etc!’ Listen up - I’ve worked with thousands and thousands of children. Starting late with teaching writing is really not helpful for anyone. 

1. First of all, you want writing to be fun. You don’t want to be all negative about it. When you give your child something to write with (a pencil/crayon/felt tip) you want to be super excited about it. You want them to be excited about it. 

2. You must manage your expectations. So many of you want to give your child a pencil and expect them to write quicker that is even possible! It’s a process. First of all, your child needs to simply practise holding the pencil correctly. Then your child needs to spend many hours simply mark- making. 

3. Consistency over perfection. Even just 5 minutes of writing every single day will make the world of difference in supporting your child to be able to write. 

Remember that for most of these 4+ assessments, your child will be asked to write letters and to write numbers. So teach them! 

Book your Sample lesson and Sample week today. 

Prepare like a pro for the Manor Lodge 4+ Assessment (2027 entry)

So you have your heart set on Manor Lodge for 2027 entry? Or perhaps you see it as a ‘back up’ school just in case your child doesn’t get offers at your target school/s. Regardless, you will want to prepare for Manor Lodge like a pro.

Last year (this happens every year!), I had several heart broken parents who were unexpectedly told that their child did not get an offer for Manor Lodge. It’s a shame because this assessment happens very early (far earlier than some of the other 4+ assessments) and it can really put a damper on things! After all, most parents are working so hard to support their child to go into the 4+ Assessment and then they receive that dreaded letter. ‘We regret to inform you that we will not be offering your child a place at Manor Lodge’. Some students were also waitlisted.

Obviously, no one can guarantee that your child will pass this 4+ assessment at this very popular school but here is what I can guarantee. I can guarantee that if you prepare like a pro, your child will have a far higher chance of passing than if you do not!

Manor Lodge will be looking for:

Communication

Confidence

Collaboration

Curiosity

Creativity.

We prepare your child to be a pro in all of these areas! Do you even know where to begin to support your child to go in and show all 5 of these?

The sheer volume of people at this assessment generally overwhelms most parents (and the children!) so just be laser sharp aware that there will be a lot of children, a lot of teachers and a lot of parents! Speak to your child about this - please!

Manor Lodge school groups children by nursery groups which I personally completely disagree with!

‘Your child’s age will be taken into account’ does not mean that your child will be given some sort of pass just because they are born in the summer! It’s just information that Manor Lodge is providing you with. Do not take it to mean anything. It most likely will not mean what you think it means!

Prepare like a pro for Manor Lodge by starting 12 months before. So October of the year before! If you have a summer born baby, I would advise your to start earlier than that! At the time of writing this blog, you have about 7 months to prepare your child for this assessment. If you factor in holidays and sickness - you have about 5 months! Prepare like a pro for Manor Lodge by ensuring that your child is strong in all 7 areas of the EYFS curriculum (not just one or two of them!). Prepare like a pro for Manor Lodge by understanding that this is not an ‘easy’ assessment to pass and fully preparing your child to be able to go in and truly shine.

Book your Ultimate Emerald Curriculum Sample Week today and let’s get started!

Prepare for the 4+ Assessments at Westminster with Confidence and Clarity.

If Westminster is the school you truly desire for your son or daughter from Reception, go all in and ensure that your child will have the highest possible chances for success!

Do not go into this blindly. After all, you’re paying £300 for your registration fee. I’m sure you want to ensure that your child is as well prepared as they can possible be.

Yes, Westminster are most certainly looking for potential in their new boys and girls. And your son or daughter will 100% need to demonstrate this potential in their 4+ assessments! But how is potential shown? Is it just something one child has and something another child doesn’t have? Absolutely not! Potential is 100% taught. Potential is practised daily. Potential is nurtured daily.

Yes, Westminster are looking for ‘natural ability’. But again. Is a child simply born with natural ability? Absolutely not. Even though parents will try to make you believe that their child is just ‘naturally clever’! Sure.

They write that in round one, they create an informal and welcoming environment. If you prepared for round 1 last year, I’ll let you comment on this one if you’d like to. It’s not my place to comment here!

Remember that 500 children will be assessed in Round 1. Out of those 500, 100 will be called for Round 2. So 400 children will be unsuccessful. Just important information for you to be aware of.

Westminster give nothing away about Round 2 on their Website. We know exactly what went down in Round 2! Nothing very different to your usual top 4+ Assessment schools. Very similar. With a few harder elements of learning added.

Your child will 100% need to be highly academic. Your child will 100% need to demonstrate exceptional behaviour. Your child will 100% need to demonstrate beautiful listening.

These are just 3 out of 100 other things that your child will need to demonstrate!

If you want to prepare your child for their 4+ Assessment at Westminster (2027 entry and beyond) with confidence and clarity, join our Ultimate Emerald Curriculum Sample Week and have our expert support every single step of the way.

4 of our students were offered a place this year to study at Westminster! Have the success you deserve to have! Prepare for Westminster with Confidence and Clarity!

Don't make these THREE mistakes when preparing for the 4+ at South Hampstead.

We prepared a total of 7 girls for their 4+ Assessments at South Hampstead (2026 entry). 5 have passed.

South Hampstead is a very misunderstood school at 4+. Parents typically will start preparing for the 4+ at South Hampstead very late. 12 months of Assessment preparation is needed to be in with even the slightest of chances of being successful at this school. And if people tell you otherwise, nod and carry on!

We are currently only preparing 3 girls for their 4+ at South Hampstead which I have to say is very strange. Obviously you can do what you like but starting late will not help your daughter to be in with the highest possible chances of being offered a place at this school. Round 1 is in November. Round 2 is in January. So you have about 7 months to prepare for this school (if we factor in holidays and sickness etc).

South Hampstead call it an' ‘enjoyable visit’, and whilst it was ‘enjoyed’ by most of our girls, it definitely was not deemed to be ‘enjoyable’ by all of the girls.

It should not be ‘considered a play date’ so please do not even mention this word to your daughter.

Mistake #1

Starting late.

Yes, I know the school says that ‘no special preparation is necessary’ and ‘no formal knowledge is expected’. And if you wish to listen to this - great! You do that! We have been preparing for this assessment for many, many years and we know exactly what will be assessed and we know exactly what they are expecting! Prepare your daughter thoroughly for her 4+ at South Hampstead.

Mistake #2

Telling your daughter that she is going on a ‘play date’!

Mistake #3

Not teaching phonics and maths to the level expected in the South Hampstead 4+ assessment.

Preparing for the 4+ at South Hampstead (2027 entry), book your Ultimate Emerald Curriculum Sample Week today and we will support you every step of the way to support your daughter to have the highest possible chances for success in her 4+ at South Hampstead.

Your mood will influence your child’s learning success.

It’s obvious to me but it’s not so obvious to many of you. 

How we feel when it comes to sitting down and learning with our children will influence how well the learning will go. 

If you’re feeling stressed out about the learning, do you think it will be a positive experience for your child? Of course not!

If you’re feeling annoyed at your child because they are not behaving in the picture perfect way that you imagine they should behave, do you think it will be a positive experience for your child? Of course not! 

I’m by no means perfect at this. I have my great days and I have my not so great days (just like all of you!) There are days I have a million things going on in my mind and I really don’t have the time nor the energy to sit with my son to do learning with him. He picks up on my moods instantly - just as your children will pick up on yours. 

You’re trying to teach your child, you have a great plan, you have all of your resources ready and you are good to go. But the minute you present the learning to your child, they show no interest. They refuse to do it. They would rather do anything else but what you’ve prepared for them. You feel frustrated, irritated and angry. What was the point? Why do I bother? I can just wait until he is 5/6/7/8 etc. You get into an argument with your child. You tell them that they ‘should want to do it!’. 

You are so wrong on all levels. 

The problem that you are trying to solve is that your child doesn’t want to do the learning that you’ve prepared for them. However - this is only a problem if you make it a problem. I don’t see it as a problem. I see it as data. It’s just information. My son doesn’t want to learn right now and that’s ok. I’ll try again later or tomorrow. I can just as easily go with his flow and do something that he feels like doing in that moment. 

We support our clients every step of the way when they encounter these sorts of problems - and believe me - they do! 

You don’t need to navigate the 4+ assessment process alone. We are there for our clients every step of the way. 

Book your Sample Lesson and Sample Week Today.

Don't do THIS if you are applying for an Occasional Place.

Occasional places at top, elite schools do come up. Especially with the way our world is right now, they will most likely come up even more than ever before. Children will leave top schools for a variety of reasons. And when children leave, it is up to the schools to fill their spaces.

This is when an Occasional Place will open up.

The problem with Occasional Places is this. The schools will give you very short notice. You see, whilst most parents will give the full term’s notice needed in order to leave a school, some will not. Some will need to leave immediately. So what happens then? Yes, you’ve guessed it. The schools will give very short notice to the parents.

Typically (in my experience) they will give parents one month notice of when the assessment will take place but they can give as little as one week of notice time.

Here at CMT, we are currently preparing several girls for an Occasional Place Assessment at a top girls’ school which will take place next week. Parents were given about a week of notice time.

If you know that you will be applying for an Occasional Place at a top school, you must start preparing your child straight away. The minute you submit that application, you must start preparing.

People will say to me…

‘But they might not even be called for an assessment?’

‘That would be a waste of time preparing them if the assessment doesn’t even happen?’

Wrong attitude completely.

If you want to apply for an Occasional Place, great! Then get to work taking the massive action needed in order to support your child to be in with a chance of at least showing their best learning in the assessment.

Passing an Occasional Place is hard. Do not leave it down to ‘luck’. Do not leave it down to, ‘Let’s see how he/she does on the day!’

If you are truly serious about securing a spot at your dream school, book your Sample Week today.