What we actually do when we prepare our students for the 4+

People have so many opinions about what we do. 

It’s very misunderstood.

It’s not my job to explain it to them! 

My job is to work with parents who want to support their children to have the best education possible. 

People will look down on me for what I do! 

People judge me everyday for what I do. 

People have a very big misunderstanding of what we do. 

What we do is support our students to have the best education possible so that they can have the best lives possible. 

If you want your child to have the best education for them, book your FREE Assessment Consultation Discovery Call today.

Poor Parent Behaviour when it comes to assessments.

I wanted to write this blog for all of the teachers out there who experience this type of behaviour daily. I wanted to write this blog to help parents to understand that their poor behaviour is completely unacceptable and that they should perhaps reflect on it. If parents demonstrate the poor behaviour that I’m speaking about - I’m sure they won’t reflect on it. Because people who behave poorly are always right. They are entitled. They are never wrong!

I’ve experienced a lot of poor parent behaviour. Working in schools and also in my line of work now as the owner of this incredible business.

I coach myself daily with dealing with these types of behaviours and I’m becoming so much better at having a CEO mindset when it comes to dealing with these problems and not being reactive and emotional about them.

Because I know that these poor parent behaviours have nothing to do with me (although these parents will most likely tell you that this isn’t the case!). It is all to do with them.

A couple of weeks ago one of my clients decided that she didn’t want to pay the £300 per month to work with me anymore. She decided that she would send me a message and tell me that she didn’t understand my Tutoring Agreement and she did not give me her one month notice to stop working with me. She then decided to ignore all of my messages and ghost me. 2 months of hard work and effort (on all of our parts!) just forgotten about. 2 months of meeting each week, 2 months of communicating on the phone, 2 months of planning and preparation just forgotten about.

And I’m exposing it because it’s not ok.

It’s not ok to behave in this way.

I do not care if you are paying for a service. I pay for countless services. I would never behave in that way.

So let’s treat each other with more respect and kindness. You want to stop paying for a service - that’s fine. It’s perfect actually. Believe it or not, I want to work with clients who actually want to work with me!

Respect the terms of the person YOU choose to work with - that is all.

Oh and one more thing. Your children are watching your poor behaviours if you choose to behave in this way so don’t be surprised when they start behaving just like you!

People's Opinions Are Not Facts

Stop seeing people’s opinions as facts. 

We are deeply conditioned to believe opinions as facts. 

People will speak about the  4+ assessments and they will judge you. 

For all the reasons! 

People will judge you. 

When people judge it is their own insecurities that they have. You need to just let their judgements (and insecurities) wash over you. 

Do you know whose opinions matter in this 4+ assessment preparation process? Yours! Your partner’s and your child’s? That is all. Everyone else's opinions are highly irrelevant are they not? 

People will judge you for teaching you young child maths, reading, writing, questioning etc,etc. 

People will judge you for teaching your child online. 

People will judge you for sending your child to a private school. 

People will judge you whatever you do! 

So it’s best you just leave them wasting their time judging others and get on with your own lives!

Book your FREE Assessment Consultation Discovery Call today. 

The main PROBLEM with preparing for the 4+ Assessment at NLCS.

Last year, we prepared a record number of girls for their 4+ assessment at NLCS.

8 to be precise.

6 were offered a place.

Most of these girls will be going to NLCS this year.

We are so proud of all our girls. They all worked so incredibly hard.

Being offered a place at NLCS is definitely not easy. Far from it. With at least 500 applicants and only 40 places on offer, your daughter must be prepared to the highest of standards to truly go in and shine.

If you want to know the main PROBLEM with preparing for the NLCS 4+ assessment this year, read on!

There are many problems with preparing for the 4+ at NLCS but here is the main one.

Parents not truly understanding that this is a competition.

When you don’t understand that this is a competition, you will not go into the process with the drive and ambition that my clients have. Keep in mind that each year, CMT prepares 5-10 girls for the NLCS 4+ Assessment and each year, we have amazing results.

If you don’t have a benchmark for comparison how will you even know that you are preparing your daughter to the correct level academically? How do you know that you are preparing her to the correct level behaviourally? How do you know?

Well, you wouldn’t.

This is a competition. 500 applicants. 40 places. Perhaps 20 girls will be waitlisted each year. Perhaps more, perhaps less.

If you don’t have the passion, the drive and the motivation to prepare your daughter to go in and truly shine in this 4+ assessment, forget about her passing. These are my thoughts and my opinion backed by data over the last 20 years.

If you are preparing for NLCS for 2027 entry, you have exactly 8 months remaining to prepare your daughters. Included in those 10 months will be holidays and sickness so 8 months turn into 5 or 6 months most likely. I don’t think 5 or 6 months is enough time to prepare for the 4+ at NLCS but it’s better your start now then keep putting it off.

I have just opened up 5 precious places to join my NLCS Success Programme and I am currently looking for 5 parents who want to commit at least 1 month to go all in to support their daughters to be wildly successful in this incredibly tough 4+ assessment. Join today before we are completely at capacity.

The NLCS 4+ Success Programme

Wanting to do what everyone else is doing may not be the right thing to do.

Do you like to do what others do? 

Do you like to be accepted? 

Do you like to be seen to do what others do? 

I’m the opposite. I want to do the complete opposite to what most people are doing. 

As a society, we like to do what others do. We like it when people like us and we really don’t like it when people do not. 

You will have people who really don’t like what you are doing when you choose to prepare your child for their 4+ assessment and you really need to be okay with that! And if you’re not, then you’re really not ready to embark on this journey and you really should just continue as you are. 

If you want to do what everyone else is doing, that’s fine. Go do that! 

I would prefer that you choose consciously and purposely what you want to do. How do you wish to support your child with their assessment preparation? 

Sometimes following the crowd will not lead you to the results that you desire. Remember that! 

Do not even bother sending your child unprepared into a top, elite school’s 4+ assessment. You will be very disappointed. Prepare your child and prepare them well. I don’t really care how you do it but if you truly want to be successful, you will set your child up for success. 

Book your FREE Assessment Consultation Discovery Call today. 

Negative opinions about online tuition

Oh, people have them. People will have them. People will continue to have them. 

And that’s ok. We can’t please everyone. And we’re not here to please anyone actually. What we are here to do is support our students to be very successful in their assessments and have the best possible education available out there so that they can have doors opened up to them that I could only have dreamed of having opened up for me. All I had as a young woman were doors slammed in my face! And this is exactly why I do what I do. I don’t want anyone to experience what I did!

Of course, my students will experience setbacks especially if they have huge goals and ambitions. But the best education will open so many more doors for them than I ever had opened for me! 

When I moved everything online 5 years ago, many of my clients came along. They didn’t care if I was there physically or behind a screen. What mattered most to my clients was my expertise, my knowledge and my support for them and their children. 

Make sure you question everything. Question every one else’s opinions (including mine!). Question everything. People will give you their opinions as though they are facts and they are not. They are just their thoughts. 

People will tell you that you are wrong for preparing your child. 

People will tell you that you are depriving your child of their childhood. 

People will tell you that you are crazy. 

People will tell you that you shouldn’t even send your child to a 4+ assessment. 

People will tell you that your child is far too young to be having lessons. 

It’s up to you if you listen to them. 

As far as I’m concerned, these people are not paying your bills. These people are not raising your child. Let them worry about their own children and you worry about your own! 

The world we live in is a competitive one. And it’s not a fair one either. You all know this already!

Book your FREE Assessment Consultation Discovery Call today. 

Fear of judgement and the 4+ assessments

Do you fear judgement? 

Do you fear people will judge you for your choice to support your child to prepare for their 4+ assessments?

If you do, you need to do some work on that because it will hold you back. It will make you doubt yourself. It will make you want to believe what this other person is saying to you. 

Here are some of the ways my clients have been judged in the past and are currently being judged today. 

Perhaps my clients will tell their friends that they are planning to send their child to a 4+ assessment at the likes of Westminster, Highgate or Haberdashers for example. Their friends will say something like…

‘You’re preparing your child for a 4+ assessment? What’s wrong with you?’ 

‘Your child is only 1/2/3/4? What do you think you can really teach them at that age?’ 

‘That’s ridiculous!’ 

‘The schools will know who has been tutored and your child will fail!’ 

‘Your child should be out playing not learning how to read/write/count etc etc!’

These comments, first of all make zero sense. Second of all if you believe them, they will stall your progress - and your child’s progress!

In this people pleasing society that we live in, we will want to listen to these friends and we will want to show them that we will stop doing what they are judging us about - which is insanity by the way! 

We will always be judged no matter what we do and no matter what we say. 

Hear the judgements and carry on. 

Make a choice. Be happy about your choice. And go all in. 

Book your FREE Assessment Consultation Discovery Call today. 

Why some of our clients stop after just 1-3 months of Assessment preparation.

Obviously they would never admit this to me but I’m here to tell you my thoughts about why some of our clients stop after just 1-3 months of Assessment preparation.

It is important for you to understand that most of our clients will stay with us for the full 12 months of my programme and most of our clients will continue well after those 12 months have completed. This is because the clients that we wish to work with are the clients who know that learning is lifelong. Learning is not just to prepare for an entrance exam.

Our ideal clients are the clients who are willing to fully dedicate their time, focus and attention to their children’s learning. That’s exactly why even once the assessments are over, most of our clients will continue. We’ve had clients who have worked with us for 6+ years.

But as we work with more and more clients each year, there is a pattern that I’m finding fascinating. Here it is for you…

I will speak with clients who are delighted to work with me. Delighted to work with Creative Minds Tutors. But when they see that their children are not instantly making the progress that they believe that they should be making, they make the decision to simply stop. I hear a multitude of excuses ranging from ‘We don’t have the time any more!’ to ‘We’ve decided to not send them to the assessment anymore!’ to ‘He/she is too young!’ to ‘We don’t have the money to invest into their learning!’. These are just a few. I don’t believe any of these reasons.

Now ultimately, parents can decide to start and stop whatever they like. And that’s the beauty of the world we live in. We are free to make our own choices. But I think this is quite devastating actually. Not for me.

The reason they choose to stop after just 1-3 months of assessment preparation is because their children are not making the progress that they think they should be making.

In their minds they have some glorified idea that their child should just know their phonics after just two weeks of being exposed to them! That their children should just know how to count to 10 and identify numbers to 10 after just 2 weeks of being taught numbers to 10! That their children should just love reading after just 2 weeks of consistently reading to them! That their child should be able to answer complex comprehensions after just 2 weeks of exposure to them. That their child should know how to calculate algebraic equations after being exposed to them two or three times.

That’s not how learning works. Hear me carefully.

Learning is not linear.

And that’s important for you to understand so that you don’t make this mistake. I really don’t see the point in wasting your time, your teacher’s time and your child’s time signing up to something for 1-3 months and then simply walking away.

Fully understand that learning progress will fluctuate. It will go up and down. Children are not robots and they do not learn on demand - much like you by the way!

So if you’re going to invest in something. At least give it a chance. At least give your child a chance to make the progress that you would like to see them making. And by giving it a chance, I do not mean giving it 1-3 months. This is not enough time to see anywhere near the progress you imagine you should be seeing.

And if you think that’s how learning works, you are very, very mistaken.

The 'Dystopian World' of the 4+ assessments.

Here is the meaning of a ‘Dystopian World’ for you:

A dystopian world is a fictional, imagined society characterised by oppressive control, dehumanisation, and widespread misery, functioning as the opposite of a utopia.

I’ve had people comment that the 4+ Assessments are like a ‘Dystopian World’! According to the definition that doesn’t really make sense does it?

But I know what these people are getting at.

There are people out there who think 4+ Assessments are just wrong.

There are people out there who think you shouldn’t teach a child until they are in Reception.

There are people out there who think that if you teach your 1/2/3 year old that there is something wrong with you.

And that’s just their opinion.

There is nothing dystopian about the 4+ assessments.

People will look down at you for a variety of different reasons. Perhaps because they are comparing their child’s progress to your child’s progress (something you must never do just FYI). Perhaps they don’t understand the immense benefits of teaching your child in the early years. Perhaps they are disappointed that they can’t afford a private school education for their own children. Whatever it is, never let people look down on you. Ever.

We are all equal as far as I’m concerned.

And people who look down on us and what we do are clearly lacking something in their own lives which is certainly none of my business.

If you are preparing your child for their 4+ assessments, be proud of your decision. Be delighted that you are supporting your child to make incredible progress. And know that the learning doesn’t end just because the 4+ assessments have ended. 80% of our clients continue with us long after the assessments have completed.

Are you scared of what people will think of you?

I’m not.

I used to be.

For years I worried about what others thought about me and I obsessed over it. Now, I really couldn’t care less.

The only opinion I care about is my own.

And if you truly are scared of what other people will think of you, it is so important that you understand why that is. Because it will hold you back in so many ways that you are probably completely unaware of.

People will always judge you no matter what you do. So you might as well choose to do something that you love doing. People will always judge you for how you raise your child so you might as well raise your child how you wish to raise your child.

When I was a little girl, I remember my mother being obsessed about other people’s opinions and I never understood it. I still don’t. She’s definitely got better of this through many conversations with me about it. But I remember as a little girl, my mother saying things to me like, ‘What will so and so think about you doing that?’ And ‘Oh you shouldn’t do that/say that so and so won’t like it!’.

She was always putting other people’s thoughts and opinions first and I always thought that it was very odd. It was always about appearances rather than reality.

Now I am fully true to myself. True to my family and true to what matters most to me.

I’m not scared about what people will think about me. They can think what they want. They can think negatively about me or they can thin positively about me. Either way - it doesn’t matter to me. I was not put on this earth to please anyone but myself!

It’s so freeing, it’s so liberating.

Yet, I work with so many of you who are absolutely petrified about what others will think of what you do. Many of you even hide it from others. You hide the fact that you are teaching your child because you are terrified of what others will think about you?

Do what is true to you.

Don’t care about what others think.

Not everyone will like you and that’s okay.

Always put your child’s well being about anyone else’s. Always. Your child comes first. No one else matters - really do they?

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

Preparing for the assessments for 2028 entry and beyond? Join our Waiting List today. This will form your Registration fee once we get started. I will email you immediately to find out your preferred days/times for weekly tuition and I will confirm our start date immediately.

3 common reasons boys 'failed' the 4+ at Habs' Boys' School.

This year 9 of our boys passed their 4+ assessment at Habs. We actually prepared an impressive number of boys last year for the Habs’ Boys’ 4+ assessment. 10 boys last year. In my results, you will see that I’ve mentioned 9 boys. This is because the 10th client that we prepared did not reply to my messages and did not let me know if her son passed or not. I will assume he did not but as she did not let me know, he will not be counted.

Perhaps you’re asking yourself - ‘Well how on earth does she know the common traits of the children who ‘failed’ the 4+ at Habs’ Boys’ School if all of the boys that her and her team prepared passed?’

It’s simple. We have spoken to at least 20 parents whose boys did not pass this assessment. Many of these parents are now our clients and we are preparing their boys for the 7+ at Habs (amongst other schools of course).

Here are 3 common reasons children were not offered a place to study at Habs’ Boys’ at 4+.

1. They were not at the intellectual level of their peers who were offered a place.

I do not mean this in a negative way at all so please do not read it in that way. What I mean is simply this.

They were not able to do many of the things that the assessors asked them to do in the two assessments at Habs boys whereas the boys who passed were able to do these things.

2. They were not prepared to the standard expected at Habs boys.

Surprisingly, many of these boys were actually prepared by other Tutoring agencies or private teachers. So why were they not prepared to the standard? Simple. The teachers they were working with were unaware of the standards as they had never prepared boys for Habs. How on earth would they know?

3. They were not able to demonstrate the behavioural traits Habs’ Boys’ School expects to see in their boys at the 4+ assessments.

Simple things like following instructions, exceptional listening and being polite, kind and caring at all times.

If these boys were not told the behavioural expectations expected of them, how would you expect them to go in and demonstrate them?

If you are preparing for Habs’ Boys’ School simply sending them to a ‘feeder nursery’ is not enough. I don’t believe this is even a thing for this school to be completely blunt with you.

If you are preparing for Habs’ Boys’ working with a teacher who has no experience with this assessment is not enough. Don’t just work with someone because they will save you money. Invest in proper tuition for your child and the highest quality tuition available.

I know that we are the best out there to prepare for Habs’ Boys’ School and I know that we will continue to get exceptional results.

Preparing for 2027 entry? Join our Ultimate Emerald Curriculum Programme.

Preparing for 2028 entry and beyond? Join our Waiting List today. As soon as you book, our Company Director will be in touch within 24 hours to ask your for your preferred day/time for weekly tuition (online) and she will let you know your start date.

Why did so many children children 'fail' the 4+ at Highgate?

Many failed at 7+ too but that’s not what I’m speaking about today. 

Today, we are speaking about the 4+ at Highgate. 

When you look at our 2025 results, you will see that we prepared 8 children for Highgate. You will also see that only 3 were offered a place. 

Perhaps parents stumbling upon my results will think that those results are really not that great. Well, let me tell you something…

My results are real and honest. And they are exceptional. 

I’ve seen other tutors’ results who claim that they prepared 10 students and all 10 passed. Well, first of all they are lying to your faces. And second of all if you believe them, you are delusional. 

Unless all 10 of those children had siblings at Highgate, there is no way all 10 passed. 

I would run in the opposite direction from people spouting such nonsense and lies.

For 2026 entry to Highgate and for the first year in a very long time, Highgate did not hold their famous ballot for the 4+. They claimed that they had fewer applicants than usual. Perhaps. However they still assessed close to 500 children for 60 places. 

Many of our students who did not pass the Highgate 4+ assessment, passed at the likes of Westminster, Haberdashers, Glendower and Falkner House to name a few. Therefore they clearly did not pass because they weren’t intelligent enough! Trust me- they are! 

So why did so many children fail to be offered a place at Highgate this year at 4+?

I believe Highgate clearly over offered to siblings first of all. Second of all I believe in the assessments, they already had their eyes on who they wanted to come to their school and focused mostly on those children compared to the others. 

Was it a fair assessment? 

Is anything fair in this world that we live in?

Prepare your child and prepare them well for this 4+ assessment. 

Do not only apply to Highgate and make sure that you have a variety of schools that you are applying to. 

And if Highgate is the only school that you want for your child, understand this. You are taking a huge risk. You risk not having a school for your child. And no one wants to be in this stressful position do they? 

If you are confused, worried and anxious about what to do, book your FREE Assessment Consultation Discovery Call today and speak to an expert who can support and guide you to make the best possible decisions for your child. 

Preparing for the 4+ and don’t know who to turn to?

Decide that you will be sending your child into a 4+ assessment and be delighted with your decision. Decide that you want to apply to a top school at 4+ and be delighted with your decision. 

Decide. 

Choose. 

It is your choice. No one else’s. This is your child. No one else’. People are free to make their own decisions about their own children. That’s up to them to decide! It’s their child. 

No one else’s opinion matters but yours. Not even mine! 

Stay in your lane. Don’t deviate. Just know and be okay with the fact that people will come at you with their thoughts, with their opinions, with their negativity. Oh trust me when I tell you that there will be so much negativity towards what you have chosen to do for your child - insane I know but I’m just pre-warning you so that you are laser sharp aware about this!

People will tell you that you are doing it all wrong. You’re not doing anything wrong. 

Just remember this. You want the best of your child. If the best of these is sending your child to an exceptional school then stay in your lane. Keep going. 

Focus.Drown out all of the negative noise and opinions of others. They are not the ones paying your bills. They are not the ones responsible for raising your children. 

Book your FREE Assessment Consultation Discovery call today and speak to an expert who can support you with the 4+ assessments and with understanding exactly what will be involved and what to expect. We’ve been doing this for over 2 decades!

'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.

Preparing for 2028 entry and beyond? Join our Waiting List. This will form your Registration fee. I will personally email you immediately to arrange a day/time for weekly lessons.

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)

Join our Waiting List for 2028 entry and beyond.

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!

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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?

Preparing for 2028 entry and beyond? Join our Waiting list (our Emerald Curriculum with 1:1 weekly tuition)