'I know my daughter will get into SHHS at 4+!'

How can you be so sure of yourself?

How do you know?

Do you have data?

Do you know how your daughter compares to the other girls applying to this school?

Don’t be so sure of yourself.

Stay humble during this 4+ process.

With only 24 places and at least 300 applicants, this is a tough 4+ assessment.

You have until Friday 9th October 2026 to apply for this 4+ assessment for 2027 entry.

Your daughter will then be invited for her first assessment which will be in early November. You therefore have about 6 months remaining until this 4+ assessment. 4 months if you factor in your holidays, your teacher’s holidays and sickness etc. Not long at all just FYI!

4 months is not enough time to prepare for this 4+ assessment. Let me be crystal clear about that.

If you are late to the game, I suggest you start preparing your daughter immediately and put in some serious work, effort and dedication to ensure that she is as prepared as she possibly can be for the first round - which is NOT a ‘playdate’. Let me be clear.

Our girls who have historically passed this 4+ assessment have gone in being able to read and write. And no I don’t care about what is written on their website. I’m simply telling you some FACTS about our girls who have historically passed.

If your daughter passes the first round, she will be invite back to the second round. I would assume about 144 girls for 24 places. So by this point your daughter will have about a 1:6 chance of passing. Also keep in mind that although they do not have a sibling policy that they will have a tendency to choose siblings. This doesn’t mean that if your daughter has a sibling that she will be guaranteed a place. I did not say that!

With only 24 places, I definitely wouldn’t be going around saying that ‘my child will definitely get into SHHS at 4+’. Your daughter has as much of a chance as all of the other girls who have been prepared to exceptional standards and who know exactly what is expected of them in this incredibly tough 4+ assessment.

Preparing for 2027 entry? Book your Ultimate Emerald Curriculum Sample Week.

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My child is guaranteed entry to Manor Lodge (2027)

Are you sure though?

Who on earth told you that?

Do you even know the sheer number of children who attend this very popular 4+ assessment?

This type of thinking can only lead to one thing… failure.

If you have this thought, get it out of your head. Because it is simply not true.

I can’t even tell you how many calls I received following the 4+ assessment at ML (2026 entry).

Parents who were completely shocked. Confused. ML was their back up! They just assumed their kid would pass. Well their child did not pass.

Many children do not pass this 4+ assessment. I guess people don’t really talk about it do they?

Is it ego?

My child didn’t get in so I will keep that to myself?

I think so.

After all failure is such a bad thing isn’t it?

No it isn’t. But people do not go around shouting from the rooftops that they received a letter telling them that their child failed this assessment.

Well, I’m here to tell you that it happens. It happens all the time. Your child is NOT guaranteed entry to Manor Lodge. Do not choose it as your back up school. It is not a back up school ok?

Book your Ultimate Emerald Curriculum Sample Week today (2027 entry)

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As a society why do 95% of us hate to fail?

Are you terrified of failure? 

Then you will struggle to support your child with the ability to fail. 

Failing is a skill. Failing on purpose is a skill. And it is a skill that we learn. And it is a skill that we must teach our children. 

Are you delighted when you fail? 

Are you delighted when things go wrong and you need to figure it out? 

Do you fail multiple times a day? 

Is not failing a problem to you? 

Why do we hate to fail as a society? 

I believe it’s down to social conditioning. Most of us have been taught that failing is bad. If you don’t get the top grades in your tests, you’ve done badly. We’ve been conditioned (and children still are just FYI) to see other children go up the behaviour chart because of their ability to not fail and those who go down the behaviour chart feel like they’ve done something terribly wrong! 

Probably failure was just unacceptable! 

Most of you hate to fail. 

You need to learn how to love to fail and then support your children to do the same. 

Schedule your FREE Assessment Consultation Discovery Call today. 

The main issue with children not wanting to fail.

How would your 3 year old handle it if they went into an assessment at the likes of Westminster or Haberdashers or NLCS and they were given a question that perhaps was impossible for them to answer? How would your 3 year old handle it if they were asked a question that was pitched at a high level and they were unable to answer it? What if questions are phrased in a difficult way or in a way that you child simply doesn’t understand? What would your child do in those circumstances? 

These questions are asked purposely in 4+ assessments. Everything is done with purpose and everything is done with intention. 

These top, elite schools are looking for how children will deal with difficult situations. They are not looking for children who will get everything right and who have memorised a bunch of stuff. Not at all. They are looking for how children will demonstrate skills such as resilience, perseverance, problem solving and maturity. 

So, currently how would your child handle a difficult question? A difficult situation? A difficult problem to solve? 

Will your child say ‘I don’t know?’

Will your child just run off? 

Or will your child pause and think. Will your child ask themselves how they could figure it out? How they could try their best and simply have a go? That is what they are looking for.

Schedule your FREE Assessment Consultation Discovery Call today. 

The top 3 reasons children failed the 4+ at Westminster (2026)

Last year we prepared an extraordinary 14 children for their 4+ assessments at Westminster.

I think because it was such a novelty- parents were rather intrigued.

However, most parents we personally prepared did not take the Westminster 4+ Assessment preparation process very seriously at all.

Out of the 14 children we prepared, 7 of these children’s parents completely vanished after 3 months of assessment prep. No explanation. I guess they decided they were done. 3 months was enough to prepare for Westminster! Mind Boggling.

Obviously I cannot tell you their reasons (or their logic) because I never heard from them again.

Did their children pass their 4+ Assessments?

I will find out in September! Several of the students we personally prepared will actually be going to Westminster to study in Reception from September 2026! It will be very easy to find out won’t it?

Out of the 7 remaining children that we prepared - 4 were offered a place. Absolutely exceptional (and real!) results.

So what were the top 3 reasons children failed the 4+ at Westminster? As in were not offered a firm offer to study there? Here they are for you!

1. Parents not taking the 4+ preparation process seriously.

   They were happy to pay the £300 registration fee. They were happy to send their kid into the first round fully knowing that 500 children would be assessed and only 100 would pass. But they were not fully happy to dedicate the time needed to actually take the process seriously!

2. Parents believing their children were able to do exactly what would be required.

   It often surprised me when parents would tell that their children ‘knew everything’ that needed to be known. This would rarely be the case.

3. Parents not investing a fraction of the price of what Westminster would have cost them each year to prepare their children to even stand a chance of being offered a place. Sending your child to Westminster will currently cost you around 30k per year. Preparing them for the 4+ with us for one year would cost around 4k per year. Read that again.

Out of 500 children assessed in round 1, 100 passed and were asked to attend the second round.

Out of the 100 children assessed in round 2, 32 were offered places and I believe about 30 children were placed on the reserve list.

You may be surprised to know that many of the children who were offered places to study at Westminster actually declined. So having a healthy reserve list was very important for Westminster this year!

Chances of passing round 2 are pretty high.

Chances of passing round 1 are pretty slim.

Prepare and prepare well.

I am opening one precious place in my Signature Programme (The Emerald Curriculum) Tuesdays at 5:30 which is available from immediately. If you’ve been on the fence for a while, now is your time to join!

The main reason girls fail the NLCS 4+ Assessment.

I have been preparing hundreds of girls to be incredibly successful at NLCS in their 4+ assessment for over 2 decades!

I know exactly what it takes for girls to pass this incredibly tough 4+ assessment.

Contrary to popular belief, NLCS are not looking for only the brightest and most intelligent girls to join their school. They are also looking for girls who have a strong ability to fail and be ok about it.

Girls who pass the 4+ assessment at NLCS historically are of course very bright. Are of course girls who have been prepared to exceptional standards. But the most important piece is this. The girls who have passed have had the ability to fail.

Here’s what I mean.

I’ve been analysing my data from the last three years and looking at the girls that we have prepared for NLCS. I’ve also been analysing the data from parents that I’ve spoken to who have called me to tell that their girls have not passed their 4+ assessment at NLCS.

And the reason is so obvious to me.

The girls who have ‘failed’ this assessment - as in have not been offered a place have been the girls who haven’t been strong at failing.

Perhaps they were asked to do something and simply told the assessor - ‘I don’t know!’

Perhaps they were asked to do something and simply told the assessor - ‘I don’t want to do that!’

Perhaps they gave up quickly when they were unable to do something the first time.

NLCS are looking for girls who are resilient, strong minded and have the ability to persevere when something is hard.

Girls who are unable to demonstrate that will not be successful in this assessment.

That is my opinion. If you disagree, feel free to comment and we can discuss further!

Preparing for the 4+ at NLCS for 2027 entry? Join our Ultimate Emerald Curriculum for the highest quality support available.

Preparing for the 4+ at NLCS for 2028 entry and beyond? Join our Waiting List today. As soon as you’ve joined, I will personally be in touch immediately to arrange our start date and time.

To prepare or not to prepare?

The when to start dilemma? 

So you have your heart set on 2 or 3 elite schools. The creme de la creme when it comes to schools. The best of the best. Schools like Westminster, Habs, South Hampstead and NLCS to name a few popular schools that we are currently preparing many of our students for right this very moment. Daily parents ask us this same question:

When should we start preparing for their assessment? 

You can start when you like. However, I have very precise timing that I recommend to all of out clients and that I suggest to parents who call us to ask us for our advice. 

3+ 

One year before 

4+ 

One year before (slightly more if your child is summer born) 

7+ 

Two years before (To be precise, the autumn term of your child’s Reception Year). 

Occasional places 

As soon as you know that you are even just considering applying for an occasional place and definitely not when you’ve applied for an occasional place or even worse - once you have the date of said assessment. 

11+ 

3-4 years before (or longer if preparing for schools like St. Paul’s) 

These are my personal opinions and you will most certainly have your own. However, my opinions are based on facts and not feelings. Yours are most likely based on feelings. ANd making decisions based on feelings is usually not the best idea!

When children have the length of times given above to work with exceptional teachers like us, success is inevitable. 

You’re never ‘too early’ to start. 

You most certainly will be ‘too late’ if you start too late. 

If you’re truly serious about supporting your child to get a place at your dream schools, take the process seriously. Otherwise there really is no point.

Preparing for 2027 entry? Book your Ultimate Emerald Curriculum Sample Week today?

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Preparing for Habs and don't know where to start?

You’d love your child to be offered a place at Habs but you don’t even know where to start?

I hear from parents and potential new clients every single week who had their hearts set on Habs (boys and girls) but their children were not successful in the assessments (this could be 4+, occasional places or 7+). I’ve never personally heard of a child not being successful at 11+ (not ones we’ve prepared anyway!) Parents don’t typically contact us after the 11+ . They typically contact us way before the 11+ if they know my principles! 

Last year, we prepared a record number of children for Haberdashers (boys and girls) 17 to be precise. 9 boys and 8 girls. All of the boys that we personally prepared were offered a place at Habs - Amazing! And 5 of our girls were offered a place at Habs - Exceptional! 

We have a bespoke, tailored curriculum for each individual student and we know exactly how to prepare for this school. We know exactly what is expected. We know exactly the calibre of students who have been successful at being offered a place at this school.

Do you? 

Do you know why boys and girls were unsuccessful at being offered a place at this school? 

Well, we do. And we support our clients every step of the way to ensure that their children are as ready as they possibly can be to go in and truly shine in their 4+, 7 + and 11+ assessment at this school. 

Last year, we prepared 5 children for their 7+ at Haberdashers. 4 boys and 1 girl. Out of the 4 boys, 2 were offered a place and my girl student was also successful. Again, exceptional results seeing as they offer such few places at 7+! 

If you don’t know where to start and are preparing for Haberdashers for your son or your daughter for 2027 entry book your Ultimate Emerald Curriculum Sample Week today. 

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Is it important to support our children to choose their A level subjects?

Yes I do.

Others will disagree with me vehemently.

That’s great.

Disagree with me all you want. It’s what I strongly believe.

Although my son will only be 4 in July this year, I already have this on the forefront of my mind.

People will tell me to ‘Stop it!’ and ‘He’s still so little!’ but if someone had thought so carefully about my A level subjects as I’m already thinking about his perhaps I wouldn’t have had to struggle so much between my 20’s and my 30’s!

I’ve been speaking a lot about this with my clients and on my social media and there are very mixed views.

I have parents telling me how important it is to support our children to choose their A level subjects and other parents telling me that children should follow their passions and only choose A levels that they are ‘enthusiastic about’.

Sure, you need to love what you study. But ultimately if the A levels you choose are not going to support you to get into the University that you will ultimately want to go to and study what you ultimately wish to study then is there even any point?

If you know you want to study medicine then you know you will need to be studying Chemistry, Biology, Maths and most likely Physics. If you know you want to study Law then you will need to be studying English Lit, History, perhaps languages and perhaps sciences.

If you know that to even be in with a chance to study at top universities you will need AAA then where you choose to send your child to school to study will be very important won’t it?

To me it is very important to support my son to choose his A level results and to steer him in the direction of ‘being passionate’ about the subjects that he will eventually need to study and support him to the best of my ability to achieve the grades that he will need to achieve.

This life is a competition. Most often not a fair one! We all know this already.

2027 4+ entry to Guildford High?

So you have your heart set on Guildford High?

Perhaps you’ve even moved house to make this a possibility!

Perhaps you plan to move house to make this a possibility?

Perhaps you’ve started preparing your daughter? Perhaps you have? I do hope it’s the latter!

I know exactly what GHS write on their website so you don’t need to tell me! Our girls who have historically passed this 4+ assessment have gone in being able to read and to write. By reading I mean reading cvc words with confidence and some digraph words and by writing I mean being able to write their name perfectly and write numbers 1-10 (at a minimum).

GHS have 2 45 minutes assessments at 4+. GHS say that they assess ‘readiness for learning’. Sure. Amongst hundreds of other things that they will be assessing.

At the point of writing this blog GHS haven’t yet updated their admissions guide for 2027 entry.

The 4+ assessments are super early for GHS (October 2026). So you have 6 months left to prepare. Factoring holidays and sickness (you, your child and your teacher), you have about 4 months left to prepare!

Starting now preparing for GHS for the 4+ is really not something I would ever advise you to do. But it’s better to start now if you haven’t yet started! Even better would be to start with 12 months of assessment preparation time for this school.

My opinion based on facts (ie. girls who have passed this assessment histrically).

Also, just because ‘assessments are reflective of the girls’ ages’ doesn’t mean that the assessment will be ‘easier’ for your summer born girls so do get that thought out of your heads!

Key take aways

• Prepare as early as possible (at least 12 months before).

• If you haven’t already started preparing, start now.

• Don’t listen to people telling you this is an ‘easy’ assessment to pass. Why would it be east? This is an exceptional school with exceptional results.

• Don’t listen to people who WILL tell you that their daughter just went in and ‘played’ and was offered a place.

  Join our Waiting List for 2028 entry and beyond.

  Book your Ultimate Emerald Curriculum Sample week for support with 2027 entry.

The pre- prep is 1% important. The level of prep is 99% important when it comes to the 4+.

Yet what do most of you do?

You fixate on choosing the ‘best’ nursery or pre-prep for your child.

It doesn’t exist.

You spend a small fortune sending your children to a ‘top pre- prep’ in the hope that they will do the job of preparing your child for their 4+ assessments at top, elite schools. Why should they?

Most of my clients are dissatisfied with the pre- preps or the nurseries they choose. Often they are deeply frustrated and often they don’t see their children making the progress that they believe they should be making.

Is this a fault of the nurseries or pre-preps?

No. Absolutely not!

And hear me carefully, I am not speaking negatively about these establishments. They just cannot provide the 1:1 attention that children need to have in order to truly be successful in their 4+ assessments at top, elite schools.

And if your child went to one of these ultra pricey nurseries or pre-schools and you did nothing with them at home and your child passed at the likes of Westminster, Notting Hill and Ealing, Habs or NLCS then you are the exception and not the rule. And I personally wouldn’t go around shouting about this either!

I personally worked at a ‘top pre-school’ for 3 years. They currently charge nearly 10k per term for the ‘privilege’ of sending your child there. The teachers are exhausted there. I would get to work at 7am and I wouldn’t leave until 7pm every single day. It was the lowest paid teaching job that I have ever had. To expect those teachers to be responsible for the success of each individual child is simply ludicrous.

Children who were successful from that school were the ones who had 1:1 support from home. And I know this as a fact. We are currently preparing 5 children who attend this particular pre-prep.

Do as you please. If you have 10k a term to spend - great! Do it! But be delighted with the pre-school or nursery you choose!

And invest in quality tuition and support alongside the thousands you’re spending on pre-school or nursery fees.

And don’t be so shocked, frustrated or annoyed if your child is not offered a place at the school or schools you desire. Remember that this is a competition. And it certainly is not a fair one!

Book your FREE Assessment Consultation Discovery Call today.

Over supporting your child will not give you the results you imagine.

I’ve taught at schools before where you would open children’s books and see the most immaculate, pristine learning. No mistakes just flawless. Senior Leadership would be delighted. I would not.

When I would ask the teachers if the work was independent or guided, they would tell me guided. Yet this was not written anywhere on the pages of pristine, immaculate learning.

When Senior Leaders would open my books, they would see a mixture of learning. Immaculate and pristine and raw. The raw learning was the learning where I would just leave my students to do their thing. This was the best type of learning in my eyes and it still is. This is the learning where I can truly see what my students can do and what they cannot do. This is the learning where I can make plans for how to support them better. But to them, this learning was ‘messy and unacceptable!’

One of the many reasons I left teaching!

In our lessons, we see this over supporting all the time. And it’s something we nip in the bud pretty quickly. I get it. But it’s not helpful. When I teach my students, I am only interested in their answers. Only theirs. We all want to support our children with their learning and we can. But we need to find the most effective way to do it.

Giving your child the answer is not helpful.

Telling them that they are ‘wrong’ is not helpful.

Telling them off when they get something ‘wrong’ is not helpful.

Getting frustrated and visibly showing them this frustration is not helpful.

Here is what you can do that will be incredibly helpful and will lead you to the results that you desire.

1. Let them be ‘wrong’. Say things like, ‘That’s ok, you tried your best now let’s try again. What else could the answer be?’

2. When your child gets something wrong, do not tell them that they are wrong. Let them figure it out for themselves.

3. See ‘failure’ as you see ‘success’. If my student doesn’t ‘fail’ multiple times in my lessons, my lessons are pitched incorrectly.

4. If your child gets upset or frustrated at getting something wrong, let them. Speak to them about it. Be curious about it. Do not tell them to stop it.

I want my students to be as delighted when they get something wrong as they are when they get something right.

A child getting something correct all the time could mean a multitude of things. Such as the lesson is simply far too easy for them or that the teacher is helping them far too much. Keep an eye on this.

We need to stop seeing failure as a negative. Without failure, none of us reading this blog would have had the success that we have had!

And keep in mind that many teachers out there see failure as a negative thing. I would stay as far away from these people as possible.

Support your child but do not over support your child. There is a subtle difference that will make a world of difference to your child’s future results.

Beware of fake Tutoring Agency Results.

I’m not here to talk badly about other Tutoring Companies at all. And obviously it’s up to you who you choose to work with. But let me tell you something. I do this because I actually want all children to be successful. Whatever that will eventually mean to them as individuals. Whatever it means to their families. No one knows what ‘success’ means for each individual parent. The meaning will be different for everyone.

And when I see families sabotaging their chances for success because they choose a Tutoring Company who charges less than me but that seemingly has ‘better’ results than me, it makes my blood boil.

Not because I’m not the one getting paid.

But because of the fact that they are lowering significantly the chances for their children to have the success that they deserve to have in their futures.

Going to the best schools possible is very important to my clients. They want the best of the best for their children. They know that having the best education possible will open doors for their children that perhaps they themselves didn’t have opened for them.

I know that’s exactly how I feel.

Amazing grades don’t define you as a human, sure.

Where you go to school will not define you as a human, sure.

But your grades and where you go to school will inevitably open doors for you that most likely would be held tightly closed if you were to have a different reality. Those are my thoughts.

So when I see lists of schools that certain Tutoring Agencies disclose that they have prepared for, I roll my eyes whilst some of you stand in awe. Those lists have been copied and pasted (in the exact order) from google. It’s very easy - just google ‘4+ list of schools in London’ and ‘7+ list of schools in London’. It’s the same list they used!

And when I read that you claim to have prepared 10 children for the 4+ at Westminster and all 10 got in, it literally makes my blood boil. You are lying. You are being dishonest. You are deceiving parents. Again, obviously it’s up to parents to see through these lies. But most parents are new to this. How would they know? So out of 36 students, 10 who passed were prepared by you? Total and utter BS.

And when I read that you claim to have prepared 10 children for NLCS and all 10 got in, I mean who on earth would believe you?

But people do.

Careful.

See past fake results.

Do your research on who to work with.

Sample 4-5 agencies/teachers before making your decision.

This decision is far too important.

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.