The number 1 way to support your child with their pencil grip.

If you are currently preparing your child for their 4+ Assessment for 2026 entry, you will know that pencil grip will be very important in their assessments.

You will know that your child will need to hold their pencil ‘correctly’ and that this will be one of the aspects that will be assessed in their 4+ Assessments.

I’m going to share with you the #1 way to support your child with their pencil grip and if you are not able to use this strategy, I’m going to share with you a bonus tip.

The #1 way to support your child with their pencil grip

Start as early as possible giving your child a pencil to hold and model to them how to hold it.

I don’t remember the exact day and time that I started doing this with my son but I do remember that he was still crawling when I started providing him with a variety of writing tools.

By starting early, you are allowing your child to understand how to hold their pencil.

You might think that this is just a waste of time and you would be very wrong. Just because you don’t see results instantly doesn’t meant that those results aren’t coming.

Once my son would have the pencil in his hand, I would show him how to hold it. Of course, he would mostly just ignore me but there were times where he would have that spark of interest and he would try to copy me. After all, at this very young age, that’t how children are learning. They are observing what we do and copying that.

As time progressed and I continued to do this consistently and daily something magical happened. He was starting to hold the pen/pencil/crayon correctly!

Now at nearly the age of 3, he knows exactly how to hold his pencil. When I say to him, ‘Please hold it correctly, he knows exactly what I mean.’

His natural way to want to hold the pencil is with his hand over the top of the pencil but he knows how to hold the pencil when I ask him to hold it the way I’ve taught him.

He has committed it to his muscle memory. And I am delighted, Because I know how challenging it can be to teach children pencil grip and how much it impacts their writing in their future if it is not taught early on.

If you’ve not started early like we did, it’s okay. There is no better time to start than now, Start with daily 5 minutes dedicated to writing. Sit with your child with a writing tool of your choice and just get writing. Model to them how to hold their pencil and draw with them. Show them how much you enjoy writing. Your love for writing will sink deep into them and they will also grow to love it.

Not a day goes by that my son doesn’t ask me to write something.

Not a day goes by that I don’t provide him with pencil and paper or with a resource to write on.

Join me for my FREE Webinar on Saturday July 5th for The BEST way to prepare your child for their 4+ Assessment for 2026 entry.

Being 'flaky' and the 4+ Assessments.

The summer holidays are fast approaching and believe me when I say that it is not the time to start being ‘flaky’ as you prepare your child for their 4+ Assessments. These next few months are crucial if you truly want to have success in your child’s 4+ Assessments.

This is what I hear from parents sending their child for a 4+ Asseesment for 2026 entry and what really will never lead to anything positive.

‘We will just take a few months off and restart in September!’

‘We are going on holiday and I’m just going to let him/her rest’

‘We have parties every week for the next two months so we will just take a break.’

Listen up, you want to take a ‘break’, that’s up to you. Myself and my teachers will definitely not be taking 3 months off. Myself and my clients who are serious about getting their children into their schools of choice will not be taking 3 months off. These next 3 months are so important to any assessment preparation.

These are the months however, when parents are the most ‘flaky’ with their tuition. They cancel lessons and don’t reschedule them. They go on holiday and don’t want to do lessons whilst they are away.

What message is this sending your children?

It’s saying this.

'You need to take a break from learning.’

And trust me, they don’t need to take a break from learning.

So for those parents who want to be ‘flaky’ and ‘enjoy’ your summer break, we are not the tutoring company for you.

We are not interested in working with stressed out parents from September. We are not interested in our students losing all of the progress that they’ve made so far just because their parents ‘need a break’. We are not interested in parents ‘blaming us’ for their children not passing their 4+ Assessments because they decided to have a much needed summer holiday.

Take a break and commit to 30 minutes of learning every single day anyway. And if you don’t, understand that you will be playing catch up from September and this doesn’t lead to anything positive for you or for your child.

Join me on Saturday 5th of July @6pm for my FREE Webinar - The BEST way to prepare your child for their 4+ Assessment for 2026 entry.

5 ways starting formal learning with my own son at 17 months has benefited us.

My son will turn 3 on July 4th. I actually cannot believe it. 3 years have passed since his birth. Time really does go way too fast.

Like most parents, we’ve always read to our son every single night pretty much since he was born. We’ve always had hundreds and hundreds of books at home. We are very fortunate that Joshy’s grandmother gifts us lots of books each month and I also invest money each month into his books and learning resources.

From the age of 17 months, I personally started formal learning with my son (we did a lot before this too). He had his own customised programme of study that I followed with him each week. It was create solely and exclusively for him. He still does. Now these programmes of study have evolved and that’s how I created our Curriculum programmes - Emerald, Sapphire, Diamond and Amethyst.

Here are 4 ways starting formal learning with my own son at 17 months has benefited him and 1 very important way it has benefited me.

1. He has a broad and vast vocabulary for his age. Although he is nearly a full year younger than some of his peers, his vocabulary is far more advanced than most of theirs. This is 100% because we read to him every single day since birth.

2. His comprehension skills are insane. The way my son answers questions blows me away. He is able to articulate himself so well. This is because of the questioning programme that I’ve had in place for him since he was 17 months old.

3. He always wants to pick up a pen or a pencil and start writing. This is because I encourage him to write daily and provide him with a variety of activities in which he is able to write.

4. He associates ‘learning time’ to quality time with his mummy. When I ask him, ‘Would you like to do some learning with me?’, most of the time his answer is yes. Obviously sometimes his answer is no and he’d prefer to go out to the park or to watch one of his favourite cartoons!

5. Here is the extra special one! The way it has benefited me is this. I am the one fully in control of my son’s learning. No one else. I know everything about his learning to the smallest detail. So when his nursery teachers tell me something - I already know! It isn’t a surprise.

We adore learning together.

And if a day goes by (rarely does) that we don’t do one form or another of learning together, I feel really depleted. Learning with my son fills me with a joy that I cannot even describe. I love putting his learning first - above everything else. I love having his resources ready most mornings and him finding his learning and him being eager and happy to complete it.

That smile on his face as he comes out of our room and sees his learning, is something that will stay deep in my heart forever.

It's all just a game of numbers.

Always remember this.

Regardless which assessment you are sending your child to - it is all a game of numbers.

Ultimately it will come down to this.

The children with the BEST marks will be the ones that pass.

It has nothing to do with which school your child currently goes to.

Do you honestly believe that a Westminster assessor will be marking assessments and saying something like, ‘Oh look, she scored 56% overall but she goes to Glendower so let’s just offer her a place!’

NO.

Do you honestly believe that a St Paul’s Assessor will be marking assessments and saying something like,’Oh look he goes to Eaton House but he scored 63% - I’m sure he would still be great here.’

NO.

It has nothing to do with which school your child currently goes to.

It also has nothing to do with who you know.

So many times parents will tell me that they know so and so who goes to the school who gave them a glowing recommendation. Listen up, it really doesn’t matter. It’s all just a game of numbers.

Do you honestly believe a Latymer assessor will be marking assessments and saying something like, ‘ Oh look, he scored 61% but he knows so and so, let’s just offer him a place!’

NO!

The children with the BEST marks will be the ones that pass.

It’s all just a game of numbers.

Your child will need to score a minimum percentage of 80-85%. We aim for 85% with our students. If your child is not scoring in that percentile range, guess what? It is up to you to support them to be scoring in that range. It is up to you to take massive action to ensure that when gaps arise that you are filling them. It is up to you to ensure that you are revising concepts that your child finds challenging to ensure that they are able to do them comfortably. It is up to you to ensure that your child can write the best story. It is all just a game of numbers.

Score the highest marks and pass.

That is all.

Prepare your child and prepare them well.

Join our Waiting List today (2027 entry and beyond)

Book your Sample Lesson today (2026 entry)

Prepare like a pro for the Westminster 7+ Assessment

2026 is the first year that girls will be joining Westminster Under School in Year 3.

At the same time, girls will be joining the boys in Year 7 and at Reception.

60 pupils will be entering Year 3 in 2026 (girls and boys).

You can still apply for your son or daughter to sit the 7+ Assessment for Year 3 entry for 2026 entry.

You definitely should visit the school if you are considering sending your son or daughter there from Year 3. The school is holding 30 Open Morning dedicated just to parents sitting their children for the 7+ (2026 entry) and most of these are completely full at the time of writing this blog (13/6/25). The dates remaining should you be interested are 26/6 and most of their September dates.

Westminster Under School that they are looking for this in a pupil:

At the Under School we look for potential in the candidates and for boys and girls who have natural ability and who will, therefore, thrive here. Our challenge is to find that potential, and whose natural ability will grow with the challenges a Westminster education provides. We, therefore, strongly recommend that you do not “cram” your child, or have them specifically tutored. This can detract from the freshness, spontaneity and eagerness to learn, which are some of the qualities we are looking for.

I completely disagree with every single thing that they have written here.

Ability is not something that just falls from the sky. Ability is something that is nurtured and fine tuned. I’ve seen the boys who have passed this 7+ Assessment historically (over 16 years). Believe me they were all ‘specifically tutored’. You can ‘cram’ if you want - if your child is okay with that. Depends what you make the word ‘cram’ mean. If you make it into something negative, it will be. If you make it into something positive- it will be.

Many boys who go to Westminster still receive tutoring in order to keep up with the ‘challenges a Westminster education provides.’

Why would tutoring detract from freshness, spontaneity and eagerness to learn?

Our students are fresh, spontaneous and exceptionally eager to learn!

In order to comfortably pass the first round, your child will have completed the FULL year 2 curriculum (English and maths) and some of the Year 3/4 curriculum.

Verbal and Non Verbal Reasoning will be at a strong age 7/8 level and your child will be confident in answering all types of verbal and non verbal reasoning questions.

Expectations are high.

Understand this.

Prepare well.

Join my Prepare Like a Pro for Westminster Intensive Course. Launching tomorrow and taking place in July 2025. I will be opening 3 precious places.

6 ways to guarantee success in the Forest 4+ Assessment

So you have your heart set on Forest Prep School. It is a school that you have visited and it is one that you love. Now what?

You have about 3 months left until your child’s 4+ Assessment.

If your child truly ready?

With 64 places available to join Forest in Reception, perhaps you are thinking your child will be ‘just fine’ after all 64 is a rather large amount of children being offered places at this school. Not really.

With hundreds upon hundreds of children applying for this sought after school, you want to ensure that your child is ready for this 4+ Assessment.

Forest actually ‘request that you do not prepare your child for their 4+ Assessment'.’

90% of parents will follow this request. Most of these parents will not be successful in being offered a place at this school.

I know this for a fact. This is not just my opinion.

You do as you wish.

Here are 6 ways to guarantee success in the Forest 4+ Assessment.

1. Ensure your child is able to hold their pencil ‘correctly’. Make sure that they are excellent at drawing pictures (detailed and precise and follow the instruction given) and make sure that your child is able to write their name with accuracy and precision and with the correct letter formation.

2. Ensure that your child is able to identify all colours and shapes. Make sure your child is able to complete a pattern.

3. Ensure that your child knows all of their phase 2 and 3 phonics (doesn’t matter which phonics programme your use). Your child should be decoding by the time of the assessment and read simple cvc words. Your child should know rhyming words and how to identify them within a series of other words. Eg. Which word rhymes with cat?

4. Ensure that your child is able to count (at least to 10). Make sure that your child is able to identify numbers and that your child can do simple addition and subtraction.

5. Ensure that your child is able to interact with other children and adults. Make sure that they know how to share and take turns. Social and emotional questioning is very important at this school. If you don’t know what this is, book your Additional Consultation with me today and I will support you with this.

6. Ensure that your child is able to settle quickly when you drop them off to this assessment. We have hundreds of strategies to support our students to be able to do this!

We are looking for at least 75% as an overall percentage to pass this 4+ Assessment.

Very high expectations indeed.

Last year ALL of our students that we prepared were offered a place at Forest!

Need further support, book your Sample lesson and Sample Week today.

With Company Director (Curriculum Only)

With a Senior teacher (weekly and curriculum only options)

More POWER to your GLENDOWER 4+ Assessment prep.

We are currently preparing 4 girls for their 4+ Assessment at Glendower this year (2026 entry). We are all working very hard to ensure that our girls are ready and able to go into their Glendower 4+ Assessment at SHINE.

Last week, one of my clients said to me, “It’s like a show isn’t it? They have to go in and perform!”

Obviously she was talking about the 4+ Assessments! And she was absolutely spot on.

If your child will be sitting the Glendower 4+ Assessment is January 2026 for September 2026 entry, she’d better be ready to go in and give the performance of a lifetime! She’d better be ready to go in with energy, enthusiasm and focus. And it is my hope that you will be preparing her very well to be able to go in and do this.

In order to pass the Glendower 4+ Assessment, your daughter will demonstrate the following:

1. Social Maturity

This just means that she will go in calmly, follow the instructions perfectly, give eye contact to the several examiners observing her, not cry when you drop her off or at any point during the assessment and listen beautifully. Not much expected! :)

2. Readiness to learn in a group situation

As your daughter will be 1/6 girls being assessed, it is obvious that she will be expected to work well as part of a group. This means listening well to others as they talk and responding accordingly, sharing, taking turns, being polite, showing authority but also letting others have a voice.

3. Cooperation

Your daughter will cooperate well as in she will listen to wha is asked and do it. Simple.

4. Flexibility

In your daughter’s Glendower 4+ Assessment, she will be asked to move from one activity to another and it will be expected that she does this without resistance and without getting upset about it.

5. A ‘can do’ approach

Your daughter will show that she wants to do everything that she is asked to do. There will be no resistance shown.

6. Communication

Your daughter will show that she is able to communicate well with the examiners in the room and with the other children in the room. She will answer all of the questions being asked to a very high standard. She will give a full sentence and extend her ideas. She doesn’t need to be overly loud or extroverted. Quiet and introverted children can also demonstrate superb communication.

7. Numeracy skills

Your daughter will have excellent numeracy skills and will have covered a broad and vast maths curriculum before setting foot in the Glendower 4+ Assessment.

8. Letter recongnition

Your daughter will know all of her single sounds and will be blending before her Glendower 4+ Assessment. She may also identify certain digraphs. Your daughter will be able to write all the letters of the alphabet correctly with correct letter formation and approporiate sizing.

9. Ability to follow instructions

Your daughter will follow instructions perfectly - basically she will do everything that she is asked to do straight away!

Remember that there are only 40 places available at Glendower!

Remember that your daughter will be 1 of hundreds and hundreds of girls whose parent desperately want them to attend this school.

Many of my clients are interested in this school because of their 11+ Results and thinking ahead to where they’d like their daughters to go at 11+.

If you are preparing your daughter for her 4+ at Glendower for 2026 entry, here is your personal invite to attend our Summer Massive Action Month. Work together with 9 other parents to build the habit of taking consistent, 4+ Assessment preparation Action by doing something every day with your child for at least 1 hour. This challenge is not about being perfect. It's about showing up more than you don't and building real momentum in your 4+ Assessment preparation. We have only 5 places remaining so sign up soon. They will all fill up!

3 insights from my meeting with a top London Nursery chain

Last week I was invited to meet with the CEO of a top London Nursery chain and the head of teaching.

Having worked at several top nurseries for many years myself, I know exactly what goes on in a nursery setting.

Many of you do not.

I personally speak to hundreds of parents every single month and many of you have the belief that sending your child to a ‘great’ nursery or pre-prep is enough to have the success you wish to have at your target schools for your child’s 4+ Assessments.

You can hold onto this belief if you’d like. After all, you are spending thousands of your pounds to send your child to these top London nurseries or pre-preps. But it is important to understand the truth.

A nursery alone cannot prepare your child to be successful in their 4+ Assessments.

Perhaps their ‘amazing’ results will have you believe otherwise. Just remember that behind each nursery or pre-prep result is a team of teachers and parents working very hard behind the scene to ensure that the child who has been successful was able to have that success.

Please do not just assume that those results are just the nurseries. They most likely are not. And don’t assume that these nurseries have some sort of magical connection to the schools that you are applying to. They do not.

I am still to hear back from this nursery regarding our possible new working arrangement but in the meantime let me share with you 3 insights from this meeting.

1. They are not 4+ Assessment experts.

   Neither do they market themselves to be. So why do so many parents believe that just sending their child here will be enough to have them perfectly ready for their 4+ Assessments?

2. They do not have the capacity to prepare individual children for their 4+ Assessments.

   The CEO said it himself - his staff have so much going on.

3. They haven’t had the results they would like.

   The whole point of the meeting was to have support from someone who has had incredible results.

Ultimately, for your child to be truly ready for their 4+ Assessments, they WILL need individual support. Either from yourself or from a teacher who is an expert in the 4+ Assessments.

Sure, you can send them to one of these ‘top nurseries’ but it really won’t make any difference if you are not doing the work needed every single day to support your child to pass their 4+ Assessments at these top schools.

Join my FREE Webinar ‘The Best Way to Prepare your Child for their 4+ Assessment for 2026 Entry’ on July 5th @6pm to learn more about making sure that you are doing everything that you could possibly be doing to support your child to have the incredible success that you would like them to have.

3 ways the CMT Summer Massive Action Month will transform your 4+ Assessment prep.

If you want to build true momentum that will last far beyond the summer months, this challenge is for you!

If you want to build the habit of taking focused, consistent massive action daily (or as close to daily as possible!) as you can, this challenge is for you!

If you are struggling with certain aspects of your chid’s learning as you prepare them for their 4+ Assessments and don’t know how to move forwards, this challenge is for you!

This challenge is for you if you are ready to take full ownership of your child’s 4+ Assessment success. It is for you if you are ready to stop relying on others to help you to prepare your child. As I keep saying, no one really cares about the success of your child as much as you do. That’s obvious isn’t it?

This challenge is not for you if you ‘just want to chill’ over the summer and ‘relax’.

This challenge is not for you if you think ‘it’s not fair that your child has to do learning whilst other children are out enjoying their summer break.’ You can do both you know!

This challenge is not for you if you think it’s down to your child’s nursery or pre-prep to prepare them for their 4+ Assessment, after all you are paying them a lot of money!

Please don’t be one of those parents who takes 3 months off in the summer and then comes to me in September all stressed out. We don’t work with those sorts of energies and frequencies. Don’t be one of those parents who realised that they have only 2 months left to prepare their child for their 4+ assessments and panics that their child doesn’t know how to cut or hold a pencil. We don’t work with those sorts of energies and frequencies. 4+ Assessment preparation should never be rushed or forced! Ever!

3 ways the CMT Summer Massive Action Month will transform your 4+ Assessment prep.

1. You will have a clear and defined goal and you will be laser focused on that goal every single day. Your goals can of course change as your child achieves the goals that you set for them. By focusing on mini goals every day (or as many days as you choose) will give you the opportunity to truly succeed! They will become the forefront of your attention.

2. You will track your results using our Results Tracker page. By having something visual to support you along the way, you will be able to see clearly how much progress your child is making during their Massive Action Month.

3. You will have your very own ‘Massive Action Made Easy’ guide which will have ready-to-use lessons so you can get more done with your child in less time every single day.

The CMT Massive Action Month will transform your 4+ Assessment preparations. See your child make progress in those areas that you’ve been struggling with for months and do it in the company of other parents also preparing their children for their 4+ Assessments.

We have only 6 places remaining.

Join today!

The TRUTH that could change everything your think you know about the 4+ Assessments.

The truth is that I’m speaking to far too many chilled out parents.

The assessments are in 3-6 months.

Some will be in September, some in October, November, December and some in January.

If your child is attending a 4+ Assessment in September this means you have about 3 months left to prepare your child!

The TRUTH is that it really does not matter which nursery or pre-prep you send your child to. Your child STILL needs to pass all of the criteria needed to be passed in order to be offered a place at the school you are applying to.

The TRUTH is that it really doesn’t matter the connections that you think you have. Your child STILL needs to pass all of the criteria needed to be passed in order to be offered a place at the school you are applying to.

The TRUTH is that if your child doesn’t meet the very high standards set by the school in that 4+ Assessment, they will not be offered a place.

Do you think my current clients are chilled out at the moment? No, they are not.

They are not stressed out either. Do you know why?

They are not stressed out because most of them have been working with us consistently and with dedication since January this year (many since before this!)

They are not telling me things like ‘Oh my child is just 3, they will just go in and play!’ or ‘My child goes to a top pre - prep, I will leave it up to them.’

No, my clients do not say these things. We don’t work with parents who are not willing to take full ownership of their children’s’ 4+ Assessment Assessment Success. They just do not match out energy and vibration.

You see, no one else will every be as invested in your child’s success as YOU.

Remember that.

Join our Summer Massive Action Month from July 7th and accelerate your child’s progress 10X.

I have only 6 places remaining. Once filled, this will close. Do not miss out - it’s going to be exceptional and of extreme value.

3 reasons why the Summer Massive Action Month will accelerate your child's progress 10X

The 2025 Massive Action Month is nearly here and I am delighted to share further details with you. We launched yesterday and have already filled 2/10 spaces available. That’s right! I’ve only opened up 10 spaces. This is because of the amount of work that it will take from me to provide for my clients who sign up to this incredible Massive Action Month.

The 4+ Summer Massive Action Month is here to help you build the habit of taking consistent, 4+ Assessment preparation Action by doing something every day with your child for at least 1 hour. This challenge is not about being perfect. It's about showing up more than you don't and building real momentum in your 4+ Assessment preparation.

Here are the 3 reasons why the Summer Massive Action Month will accelerate your child's progress 10X in preparation for their 4+ Assessment.

1. You will have your very own Massive Action Checklist created only for you based on your 4+ Target schools. Your Massive Action Checklist will cover all 7 areas of the EYFS Curriculum and will be tailored specifically for the schools that you are applying to. Laser focusing on all of the 7 areas of learning for 1 hour every single day during the month (or however many days per week you can do) will be a game changer to your child’s 4+ Assessment success!

2. You will have your very own Massive Action Progress Tracker. This is where you track exactly what your child has achieved during your Massive Action Hours. You will never feel more in control of your child’s 4+ Assessment preparation than you will during this Massive Action Month. You will take notes, observe and just be laser focused on your child’s progress and development throughout the whole month.

3. You will have your very own private WhatsApp group for support, guidance and to get feedback either about your child’s learning or to ask any specific questions that you have about the schools that you are applying to.

During the Massive Action month, each Massive Action hour you will set your goal and commit to doing your Massive Action Hours (however many you can do).

You will then commit to showing up and taking action in preparing your child for their 4 + Assessments. You will then make a note of what exactly your child has learnt and accomplished.

You will be blown away by how much progress your child will make during this Massive Action Month!

If you want your child to have the highest chance for success in their 4+ Assessments, join this challenge! The value that I will provide you will go far beyond what you are paying for it!

What your autumn/winter born child should be able to do by now if they are sitting their 4+ (2026 entry)

I have just as high of an expectation for my summer born students as I do for my autumn/winter born students but it is obvious (and logical) to understand that your autumn born child should be able to do certain things by now (June 2025) if you are preparing them for their 4+ Assessments (for 2026 entry).

When I speak about autumn born children, I am speaking about children born September - February.

If you don’t know the expectations in these 4+ Assessments, how will you ever prepare your child to go in and pass?

You see, many parents don’t even scratch the surface when it comes to preparing their child for their 4+ Assessments and yet they are surprised, shocked, devastated and heart broken when their child is not offered a place at any of their target schools.

Listen up! Your child is up against hundreds and hundreds of other children all competing for the few places that the schools have available!

If your child doesn’t pass their 4+ Assessments it’s because of two reasons…

1. They were not ready.

2. They did something in the Assessment that the Assessors did not like.

I’m going to take each area of the EYFS Curriculum and tell you briefly what exactly your child should be able to do by now if they are autumn born and sitting a 4+ Assessment in the next few months.

Communication and Language - Your child will answer questions to a very high standard and quality. They will be able to answer ‘why’ questions and ‘how’ questions very well. Your child will be able to predict what will happen next and have a vast a broad vocabulary (compared to peers of the same age).

Personal, Social and Emotional Development - Your child will know how to sit calmly and focus for long periods of time (remember that the assessments are 40-90 minutes long!) Your child will demonstrate maturity, give eye contact and always be polite and kind.

Personal Development - Your child will be strong physically and have strong gross and fine motor skills. Your child will be able to cut to a very high quality by this point, make play doh sculptures which are accurate and precise and be exceptional with their lego (eg. making a structure). Your child will most likely already have an interest in a particular sport.

Literacy - Your child will at the very minimum know all of their phase 2 and phase 3 single sounds. By this point they will be moving onto blending and learning their digraphs. Your child will hold their pencil ‘correctly’ and will be able to write numbers 1-10 correctly and will have started to learn how to write the letters of the alphabet.

Maths - Your child will have covered a broad mathematical curriculum and be strong with place value, addition, shape, length, capacity, weight and position and direction.

Understanding of the World - Your child will be curious about the world and want to know more and more.

Art and Design - Your child will be drawing with accuracy, they will be colouring in with precision and they will have started to make things (junk modelling).

If this feels overwhelming to you, our Sumer Massive Action Challenge month is just for you. Join us in July and August for one full month of Massive Action. Launching tomorrow.

Take your Habs Boys 7+ Assessment preparation to the NEXT LEVEL.

With only 20 places available this year at Habs Boys for entry into Year 3, you will want to have a serious plan of action for supporting your son to be very successful in his 7+ Assessment.

The first round will be papers in reasoning, maths and english.

The second round will be an English and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) assessment. Your son will be assessed in relation to how he works with a group and how he works independently. Parents are also ‘interviewed’ as part of the Round 2 process!

I promise you that the Habs Boys 7+ Assessment is not ‘straightforward’ and it requires thorough preparation. The school recommends ‘against tutoring’, which is rather odd considering that I’ve prepared at least 20 boys in the last 16 years who are currently studying there!

Whether you ‘tutor’ or not, prepare your son thoroughly for this 7+ Assessment. And if you don’t, please don’t be surprised or confused when he is not offered a place to study at Habs Boys.

You need to know exactly what to expect in each round and your child has to be at the correct level to go in and be able to demonstrate everything that needs to be demonstrated in this Assessment. Hundreds and hundreds of boys will be applying for 20 places - remember that!

What will make your son stand out?

What will make your son have the slight edge over the other boys?

How can you support him to be very successful in this incredibly complex 7+ Assessment?

Preparing for Habs Boys for 2027 entry? Join our Waiting List today.

Preparing for Habs Boys for 2026 entry? Book your Sample Lesson and Sample Week today.

Take your Highgate 7+ Assessment preparations to the NEXT LEVEL.

We’ve prepared hundreds of children over the last 16 years to have tremendous success in this incredibly challenging 7+ Assessment.

You see, the only way to take your Highgate 7+ Assessment preparations to the next level is by fully understanding that process, knowing the level your child should be at and then putting in a lot of effort to prepare your child . 2 years of Highgate 7+ Assessment preparation is the sweet spot but if you’re just finding me now, just get started.

You want to try as much as possible to start preparing for this 7+ Assessment by the time your child begins Reception. Give them a chance to get settled in if need be and then get started.

There is too much of a curriculum to cover and you do not want to rush 7+ Assessment preparation.

There will be 3 separate exam papers:

English

Maths

Non Verbal (The english paper WILL include Verbal reasoning)

Your child will have 50 minutes per paper and SPEED and STAMINA are key. Highgate like to provide A LOT of questions in a short period of time. Verbal and non verbal instructions (written)will be given. Assistance will not be provided. The English paper will be 2 comprehensions and story writing (extended creative response question). As the creative writing is an extension of one of the comprehensions, your child will need to have fully understood the comprehension in order to be able to write a creative piece about it. Spelling and punctuation will be important. Vocabulary will be of vital importance. Without a very strong vocabulary, there is no way your child will ever stand a chance in this English paper. The only way to have a strong vocabulary is to read avidly. Your teacher will help you to choose the best set of books to get started with. Reading needs to be consistent and daily not sporadic and when your child ‘feels like it’. In the maths paper, the expectation is that the children will have covered all of the Year 2 maths curriculum at depth.

As well as academic excellence, Highgate are also very interested in children who know how to be independent and are able to demonstrate this in their 7+ Assessment (first and second round). They are also looking for exceptional behaviour and attitudes towards learning. Another important aspect of behaviour is being able to work well as part of a team, to be able to share and to collaborate with others (students and teachers).

Children who generally tend to not pass this 7+ Assessment are as follows:

• Children who have not been exposed to as much of the curriculum needed to be exposed to.

• Children who are not strong with story writing.

• Children who do not have strong vocabulary.

• Children who have not been able to demonstrate the attitudes for learning that Highgate are looking for.

We provide the best support to all of our students preparing for their Highgate 7+ Assessment. We know exactly what is needed for them to be in with any chance of passing both rounds. We provide 24/7 support to our clients and we work closely together to achieve the best results possible for our students.

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Parents preparing for the 7+ don't like it when I tell them this...

Your child is not ready for their 7+ Assessments.

Oh, sorry would you rather I lie to you?

Would you rather that I tell you that your child will be fine?

You see, here is thing. I am currently personally preparing 10 children for their 7+ Assessments. Mostly boys and few girls. We are preparing for the likes of Habs Boys and Habs Girls, Highgate, UCS, Latymer, Westminster and St Paul’s. I know the level that your child should be at. I know the curriculum that they should have covered by now. I know the level of story writing that they should be writing by now. You get my point.

But when I do a Sample Lesson so late in the year for children preparing for their 7+ Assessments for 2026 entry it really surprises me every single time.

These parents contact us because they want support with their children’s 7+ Assessments. They come to us. We would assume that by June of the Year that their child will be sitting their 7+ Assessments, that they will themselves somehow have already covered a robust and vast curriculum with their children. This is rarely the case.

I feel like some parents would like to exert the least amount of effort preparing their child for their 7+ and have the best possible results.

It

doesn’t

work

that

way.

I did a Sample Lesson last week for a child preparing for top schools like Westminster and Highgate. I provided him with a comprehension that I had been doing that week with my students also sitting for Westminster and Highgate. He was unable to read the first two sentences. I had to switch to a phase 3 phonics comprehension. You can’t be reading at a phase 3 phonics level and expect to go into a Westminster 7+ Assessment and be ready to pass. There were many red flags with this lesson. Spelling, writing, maths and verbal reasoning were all an issue.

‘Can you help him get into WM and HG?’ was the question asked to me by his mother.

Sure, if she’s willing to see me every single day for the next 4 months (I don’t have the capacity to do this anyway!). But my point is this. If she’s not willing to put in the work every single day for the next 4 months - he will stand no chance of passing.

Parents don’t like to hear this.

Perhaps these types of parents need to go and work with teachers who will lie to them or who will tell them that everything will be fine. That’s not the type of teachers we are here. We are here to support our students to have tremendous success. Not just in their assessments but in building a love for learning that will last forever. This can’t be achieved with rushed assessment preparation.

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The devastating truth about starting too late preparing for the 7+

We’ve had several Sample lessons this week with 5 year old children (currently in Year 1) who are preparing for the 7+. They are preparing for the likes of Highgate, UCS, St. Paul’s, Westminster, Habs and Latymer. When students start this late in the year, it is my assumption that they have however been working towards their 7+ for the last year at least. This is rarely what we observe in our Sample Lessons.

There are many, many problems with this. Too many to write about in this blog. But here are a few for you.

1. Children who are not at the level of reading and writing that they need to be by this point in the year will not pass their 7+ Assessments. No matter how intensively you prepare your child for their 7+, you cannot teach reading to the level expected in the 7+ Assessments in just under 5-6 months. Why would you want to anyway? It’s just pure stress for everyone involved.

2. The level of stress that you will feel starting late is something that I do not wish upon any parents.

3. 5 year old children are laser sharp aware of exactly what is going on. If you are forcing learning upon them, they will not like it. I don’t like it either. We want to build a love for learning and not a deep hate for it. If you’re asking your child to do Bond Books 2x a day, I promise you, they will not build a love for learning. In fact they might come to resent it.

The devastating truth about starting too late preparing for the 7+ is this…

Your child will simply not pass.

I had a Sample Lesson last week, and my client asked me this question…

“Out of these 4 schools, which one will be the easiest to pass?”

She listed 4 top schools including St. Paul’s and Highgate.

I told her that none of the schools she listed were ‘easy’ to pass. Clearly, she just hadn’t understood the 7+ Assessment process.

She asked me, “Tell me honestly, how much work do we have to do?”

My answer was that she had a lot of work to do and that without dedication, determination, grit, perseverance and a lot of effort from everyone involved, there was no chance that her son would pass his 7+ at her Target Schools.

The 7+ needs two years of Assessment preparation (from the Autumn term of your child’s Reception year). If you child is summer born (April- August) I would suggest you start 4 months before this.

Going to the best school possible and having the best learning experience possible is far too important to not be taken seriously. Take the process seriously otherwise the process will not take YOU seriously. Simple.

I had to say no to someone who wanted their son to attend my 7+ Bootcamp this week. She told me that she hadn’t done any 7+ Assessment prep yet. There is no way her son would have been able to keep up with the level expected in my 7+ Bootcamp.

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Three 4+ Assessment Failures

When I follow someone new something that has always really irritated me is when they only post success stories. And then I realised that I do the same!

It is very important that you understand that life will always be 50/50. We will always have successes but we will also have failures. And if you’re not having any failures in your life- it’s because you are not challenging yourself to go further. In this incredible business, we have success- but we of course have failures. We try not to have too many but inevitably we do.

So I’ve decided that after 4 years of sharing mostly all of our successes, that I will be sharing all of our failures as well. It is important that you hear about the failures too. You see, many of you seem to think that passing the 4+ Assessments will be easy and it just won’t be. The failures I share here were experienced both from some of our clients and from parents that I’ve spoken to in initial consultations and additional consultation.

I’ve obviously changed the names of parents and students.

Failure #1

The Late Starter

Jane approached me in September of 2024. Her daughter was a summer baby and she had her Manor Lodge 4+ Assessment. After answering a few of my questions about her daughter’s academic ability, I told her that her daughter would not be ready for Manor Lodge and would most likely not pass. Jane was not happy with me and she began tuition for her daughter anyway. I tried my very best to support her daughter but she did not pass the Manor Lodge 4+ Assessment. Her mother’s next school of choice was NLCS. Jane went all in preparing her daughter and she was very committed. Her daughter, however became a little stressed in our lessons. She was picking up her mother’s stress and anxiety about the process. We did a Mock Assessment together and Jane’s daughter did very well. But reading and writing were still a problem. You see, you cannot rush or force reading or writing. She now attends a private school in Northwood - this was the school she did pass.

Failure #2

The neighbour listener

I spoke to Magda is February 2025. She contacted me because her son was unsuccessful to all of the schools that he applied to for his 4+ Assessments. He had applied to Habs, Highgate and UCS amongst some other top boys’ schools. Magda was very confused saying things like…

‘I just don’t get it so and so told me that I didn’t have to do any preparations?’

‘What went wrong? So and so told me that she just sent her son in and he passed?’

‘What do I do now? Where do I send my son?’

Magda was heartbroken. She did not have a back up school for her son.

We met to have a Sample Lesson and I could immediately sense her emotions. She was irritable and snappy with her son. Clearly she was incredible pi**** off. She did not continue with me after the Sample Lesson. I think she still needs some time to calm down after the experience that she had.

Failure #3

The Unbeliever

John contacted me in August 2024. He had his heart set on Habs Boys at 4+. He himself was alumni at Habs. He told me that his son would most likely get in because he himself attended the school. I told him that this was not the case. He didn’t believe me.

He told me that the 4+ assessment at Habs boys would be ‘easy’, after all ‘What would they expect from a three year old anyway?’ I told him the Habs boys 4+ Assessment is most certainly not easy. He didn’t believe me. I told him that they have very high expectations of their 3 year old students who come to their 4+ Assessments. He didn’t believe me.

He told me that he was making donations to the school and that the school would therefore favour him. I told him this was absolutely not the case. He didn’t believe me.

He did not begin The Emerald Curriculum with CMT and his son was not successful at passing his 4+ Assessment at Habs boys. He didn’t really want to talk to me much after having received this news!

I’m not sure where his son will be going in September 2025.

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The 3 BIGGEST problems with 4+ Assessment preparation.

1. A huge lack of understanding about the 4+ Assessment process.

If you don’t understand something well, it will be very difficult to have tremendous success in that thing. Not understanding the 4+ Assessment process well look like this…

‘I just sent him in and told him to play.’

‘She didn’t pass any of her 4+ Assessments and I do not understand why?’

‘He’s only 3, what could they really be asking him!’

If you don’t understand the 4+ Assessment process, I invite you to at the very least become very knowledgeable about the process. Understand exactly what is expected from your child and then prepare them to be able to at least go in and have a chance at passing. And if you don’t have the time to do this then work with someone who does and who can support you and your child.

Otherwise what really is the point of sending your child to one of these top schools to be assessed?

2. Starting late preparing for the 4+ Assessments.

You need 12 months of 4+ Assessment preparation to have any chance of passing most of these 4+ Assessments at these top schools. Many of our students have 18-24 months of 4+ Assessment preparation.

Are children successful with less that this amount of time?

Sure.

But is it far more stressful?

Yes.

The purpose in what we do with our clients is to build a love for learning that goes far beyond any 4+ Assessment. The intention of what we do is obviously for our students to be given a firm offer of a place at their target schools but it goes far beyond this.

3. Not covering a robust curriculum.

4+ Assessment preparation must cover all 7 areas of the 4+ Curriculum and it must be covered at depth. Your child will be expected to read and write at all of these 4+ Assessments (regardless of what you are told). You child will be expected to count with accuracy to and from 10 (at least!). Your child will be expected to know a broad and vast mathematical curriculum. Your child will be expected to answer questions to a very high standard. Your child will be expected to go in calmly and leave your side in a mature and confident manner.

Expectations are high. The 4+ curriculum is robust.

These are the 3 BIGGEST problems that I see.

They are by far not the only problems that I see.

Preparing for the 4+ for 2027 entry and beyond? Join our Waiting List Today. You will simply be charges your registration fee. Once you’ve joined, I will personally be in touch immediately to choose the days/time that you prefer for weekly tuition.

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If your child doesn't have a strong stamina for writing, they will not pass their 7+ at Highgate.

The three papers are short (40 minutes each) but the children will be expected to demonstrate a very strong stamina for writing. What I mean is that in the English paper there have been times that two comprehensions have come up + the story writing. The comprehensions have been lengthy with a 8-10 questions each. If your child does not have a strong stamina for writing by the time that they have to sit their Highgate 7+ Assessment, they will not stand a chance.

The same goes for the maths and the Non Verbal Reasoning papers that they will need to complete. The children must keep up with the pace of this incredibly challenging 7+ Assessment. Not only must they answer the questions to the best of their ability and be able meet the threshold for passing the Assessments but they must also be able to complete the Assessments.

It is my belief that Highgate invite most children back to their second round assessment so if your child does pass, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they have scored as highly as they needed to. The result will then be a combination of the first and second round results.

Stamina is key in this 7+ Assessment.

We prepare our students to go into their Highgate 7+ Assessments and have the highest chances for success. We support them with developing their stamina in every single lesson. We do this by ensuring that they are exposed to hundreds of comprehension texts before they go into their Assessments. We do this by ensuring that they have a vast and broad vocabulary. We expose them to all of the genres of writing. We ensure that they know exactly how to write a story with a clear beginning, middle and ending and that will have the elements to it that will enable them to score as highly as possible. We cover all of the Year 2 maths curriculum at greater depth. We ensure that our students are very strong with their Non-Verbal Reasoning.

This is everything that is needed to ensure that our students have the best possible chances for success in their Highgate 7+ Assessment.

Preparing for 2027 entry? Join our Waiting List today. Once joined, email me your preferred days/times for weekly tuition. As soon as one of these times becomes available, we can begin.

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

Are you sabotaging your chances for 4+ Assessment success?

Do you really think that preparing your child for their 4+ Assessments just means ensuring that your child know their phonics, their maths curriculum and can answer a few questions?

It absolutely does not mean this.

The 4+ Assessments are a highly complex process that need to be taken very seriously.

Even though these top schools will have you believe otherwise, I’m here to tell you the absolute truth.

If you want your child to get into the likes of NLCS, Habs, Highgate, The Hall or South Hampstead you really need to stop sabotaging your chances for success.

These last 2 weeks, I’ve had a lot of sample lessons. In fact, I’ve had a record number of sample lessons. In the last 2 weeks, I’ve personally completed 10 sample lessons! And what I see is a lot of confusion.

I see children who are 100% not ready for their 4+ Assessments at their target schools and I see parents who seem to think that their children will be just fine. I hear excuses like ‘Summer is approaching and we will be going away so we will be in touch in the Autumn…’ or ‘He’s just really busy in the next few months…’ or ‘We just can’t commit to weekly lessons right now…’

These are all sabotages.

I really have no time to work with parents who do not want to go all in to prepare their children for their 4+ Assessments. These parents will not have the results that they want to have. And I know this to be a fact. I really don’t care what your friends best friend told you about how her son passed his Habs 4+ Assessment with zero preparation (lies!)

So if you are ready to stop sabotaging your chances for 4+ Assessment success, book your Sample Lesson today or join our waiting list (2027 entry).