Independent school selection at 4+; What do they test/need to know?

[onesock]

DS has his entrance assessment on Tuesday for the school we'd love him to attend in September.

I've deliberately not posted this until now because I don't want to go down the route of prepping/tutoring a 4yr old. I'd just now like to know the sort of things they'll ask of him or expect him to do. We've had his name down for over a year though I only realised he'd be having this just before Christmas when they wrote with the date.

Any ideas on what the format of the day will be would be much appreciated.

BTW, he's a happy, bright 4yr old who's also quite shy. He's doesn't appear to struggle at nursery though he's by no means brilliant!

Reading with interest... ds (2.9) has 'interview' later this week . Have decided to drop swimming beforehand as want him to be able to concentrate, but he's being rather bouncy at the moment, so I hope that new surroundings will calm him down somewhat (just being full of energy 2+yo boy)

Thanks everyone. Not much longer to wait. My biggest worry is that he'll be so shy, he will appear uncommunicative when in actual fact he never shuts up at home. There isn't an option to stay in the room so I'm just hoping he'll come out of himself.

I'll let you all know how it went tomorrow!

It will be play, perhaps the old chestnut of how drawing a person and how much detail.

I would see it as much as you interviewing the school, do they have staff and surroundings that make your son feel at ease?

Good luck.

Please don't worry about your DS being too shy - a decent teacher will be able to cope with that.

During my DD test she went a bit quiet so the teacher changed tactics a little and instead of asking DD a direct question, she stated something that was untrue.

Ie , instead of what colour is that cow, she said is that cow pink? and my DD was happier to answer and say no, it is brown etc.

My sister's children (6) told her they didn't speak in theirs (last week) and the other said he wrote so little the teacher had to come over and help him and they still got in (huge family relief all round). When mine did 4+ tests it was as people have said above. Do they go round kicking everyone. Can they talk? In one they picked out their names but I doubt that was definitive. In fact my child who read at 3 didn't get in to her sister's school. The sister got in and she didn't really read until she was 5 or 6 so I don't think those types of things help.

Also they often want a mix of children in a class, loud and quiet so not necessarily bad if you are one or the other.

Also in one they had to kick a ball - perhaps to shoe hand and eye co-ordination or something.

Fwiw sometimes a bit of "toddlerness" doesn't harm either - when ds2 was being assessed they were asked to wear name stickers so the staff knew who was who(this was still in libary befor ethey went off to reception classrooms, and my ds2 and another little boy shared the same first name - ds2 said to the head " well if he has a sticker on, and I don't then you'll be able to tell who i am"
(mother cringing in the background), but still accepted.

Ah but that was clever toddlerness for sure- well it would have impressed me anyway!

Just wanted to let you all know that we received the letter yesterday to confirm that DS got his place.
I'm so happy because I know it's going to be good for him.

Thanks to everyone for their advice. For reference, (based on what he told me)he had to find the letters to make his name, say what colours different things were, say whether people were happy or sad in some photos and sit on the carpet to listen toa story. He also said they played a game were he had to put things in different places and find things using clues.

Thanks again!

sorry saw this a bit late to be of use to the OP (glad for her boy!) but maybe for others?

For what it's worth, when DS1 went to one of these, at this time of year and him not 4 until April, he did jigsaws, and liked it so much that I had to go back in afterwards and see the play stuff too. He cried when we left....

Meanwhile a girl refused to put her name sticker on, refused to take her coat off, and by all accounts sat and sulked in a corner during the group assessment.

They both got in