Piano prep test - ballpark timeframe?

This is a joke yes??

I would expect a child starting about the age of 7 or 8 to be ready for the preptest after maybe a year.

dd started with me when she was 6 but not seriously. She started properly 18 months ago and is doing Grade 1 this term, she skipped the prep test.

2 lessons a week for a 4 year old is a bit extreme. If she is eager then it is fine to begin but she should be playing fun games atthe piano using a child friendly book like 10 fingers. Not working towards the prep test which isn;t an exam anyway, you can;t fail it it just acts as an introduction to the idea of going in and playing to a stranger.

You would be better off enrolling her in a general group music appreciation class and this would help with the aural/musicianship skills you need in the grades as well.

The fact that dd did music aural club at school at lunchtimes has helped her a lot.

Yes why on earth does it matter how long until her first exam?

Whose idea was it for 2 lessons a week?

It is frustrating for teachers that parents can only think about the exam. I'd be a bit if a parent of a 4 year old asked such a question after a few lessons, or was it the first? Surely you want her to become a proficient pianist not an exam factory?

I have got the same kind of feedback from prospective teachers for my 5yo dd (bar the Suzuki teachers).
But there was one teacher who said she did not take view that 5 was too young on the basis of handspan (she said that they would start off playing keys that were very close together anyway) or not being able to read well yet.
Think enthusiasm for the piano and ability to concentrate for at least 20 mins should be enough for a child to benefit.

Ditto the comment about being too young. We wanted to start DS on the piano at at 5.5 but we were told that the finger span of children that age wasn't developed enough for piano. So we stated him on the violin and delayed taking on the piano until he was 9.

Dd1 did it in about 2.5 terms, it's not a pass/fail exam, she could have done it sooner, or later, really wouldn't have minded. Some teachers like them to be getting ready for grade 1, some prefer to do it early.

Wondering why you're giving her two lessons a week, and half an hour? It sounds quite a lot of pressure, even if she's enjoying it at present. Most teachers would start with 20 minutes once a week. She's also young to start, round here most teachers look for the child to be about age 6-7 and a competant reader, as that helps with reading music. Dd1 learnt to read music on the recorder first, which was very helpful.

Roughly, including prep test dd1 did roughly an exam a year, she's working for grade 4 now, but expects to take slightly longer between exams after this.