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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

City of London Freemen’s 7+ entrance exams

18 replies

NAAAL · 28/04/2021 23:43

Hello, DD will be sitting 7+ exam for CLFS later this year. They do not have any past papers online and say to not prepare much. Does anyone have experience with the examinations and what to expect? I know they have a maths, English, non verbal reasoning paper and interview but any tips for preparation (especially English) would be appreciated!

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Epwell · 06/05/2021 22:29

Ha ha ha ha. You must prepare - most children have a lot of coaching (on the quiet, all kept top secret by the children and the parents) to get in. The staff there will coach, but that is not made public and you have to know someone there to find that out and who will do it. The staff who mark the exams do the coaching too...... The Bond nonverbal reasoning books are useful preparation. They interview the children too so you will need to practise that - things like "if you had a room full of money what would you buy?" It's really not a very nice school. Lots of bullying, uninspired and lacklustre teaching, deeply sexist environment where boys get much better sporting provision than the girls, vindictive staff, poor pastoral care, I'd look somewhere else if I was you. Sending my DD there was the single worst decision I have ever made in my life and is a source of continuing regret and sadness.

TiredTeacher05 · 14/10/2021 09:54

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Ep124 · 26/10/2021 19:45

Can I ask which school you suggest in the area as applying for year 3 this year but not hearing nice things.

Epwell · 27/10/2021 22:48

Downsend or Caterham. Both fabulous.

Motherofkitteys · 03/12/2021 18:38

Yes to Downsend, don’t know about Caterham though but definitely avoid CLFS. Nothing good to say about that school I am afraid.

Tripplea · 20/01/2022 18:56

@Epwell is a very sad and negative person. Please be kind as your own bad experience with a school doesn’t mean it would be bad for others. It just means that was not the right place for your child. Please try and turn that negative energy to good for the sake of helping your child grow stronger and overcome the pain and stress from their bad experience. If you keep perpetuating is negative energy you will be spreading it just like a pandemic. Please stop. It’s not a good example for your child to emulate.

Motherofkitteys · 21/01/2022 22:17

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Epwell · 27/01/2022 20:56

If you were to meet me Tripplea I think you would find it difficult to distinguish between me and a ray of sunshine.
I am intrigued by this idea that somehow the school being not the right place for my DC justifies or excuses the school's disgraceful failings. With all due respect, the idea is a load of nonsense. Every child deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, regardless of whether a school is right for them or not. And any child being bullied should be protected and kept safe.

Original poster

NAAAL · 27/01/2022 22:05

Thank you all for your views. Indeed there seems to be a mixture of opinions about CFLS. My DD did get in and did not find the exam too difficult and interview she seemed to have enjoyed.

OP posts:

May09Bump · 29/01/2022 09:22

Glad your Daughter was successful NAAAL - I'd be interested in more feedback once your Daughter has started, as you say reviews are mixed.

amelia120 · 02/02/2022 18:00

May I know if there are opinions sharing from other parents of CLFS? It'd be very useful for those who are considering the school with mixed and objective comments. Honestly I don't believe a reputable school with good academic can be so bad in every aspect. Thanks much!

5329871e · 02/02/2022 20:41

Full disclosure - I’m not a parent at CLFS. But we did attend an in-person open day. I’d strongly recommend doing so. We got a strong sense of what the school is like. Obviously many children are very happy there, but we decided not to apply.

Epwell · 03/02/2022 07:30

I honestly didn't believe that a reputable school with a good academic record could be so bad, but it truly was! I didn't believe that it would discriminate so blatantly between the girls and boys in terms of sport, I didn't believe it would do nothing to tackle bullying, I didn't believe it would lose paperwork or life saving medication, I didn't believe it would have such disregard for the safety of the younger children, but it did all these and plenty plenty more. I can't list them all out here - it would reveal who I am and it would be an extremely long post.

Motherofkitteys · 03/02/2022 08:55

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Epwell · 03/02/2022 21:09

Well, I suppose "less then exemplary" is one way to describe it!

Motherofkitteys · 04/02/2022 09:54

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samyu · 07/04/2022 06:05

Hi there, mai I kindly ask that did your DD prepare a lot for the entry assessment? Thank you.

samyu · 07/04/2022 06:07

@NAAAL

Thank you all for your views. Indeed there seems to be a mixture of opinions about CFLS. My DD did get in and did not find the exam too difficult and interview she seemed to have enjoyed.

Hi there, may I kindly ask that did your DD prepare a lot for the entry assessment? Thank you.

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