4+ assessments 2023

[Agirlcanhope2023]

Thought I’d set up a thread for those of us sitting our DS/DD for the 4+ in 2023 (for September 2024 start date). Anyone had any assessment day(s) yet?

We did the St Paul’s Cathedral assessment, and also haven’t heard yet, expecting to next week.

It’s tricky with the deadlines isn’t it. I think on reflection if we do get an offer we may turn it down as holding out for others! And we have been told we are as good as certain to get a place at one.

How is everyone else coping with the staggered deadlines? I’m assuming deposits are required upon acceptance and there’s no chance of a refund if you opt for a later offer from another school?

Different skill sets are tested in the assessment's first/second stage. Schools tend to have larger groups in the first stage of assessment. The second stage assumes children work in smaller groups and more one-to-one time is allowed where children's academic/intellectual/social/behavioral abilities can be assessed more closely. in a nutshell, the second stage is more rigorous/harder to pass.

Hey is anyone applying to central London schools like ken prep , Glendower ? This year .

Have you checked the acceptance deadline for St Pauls Cathedral School? The super selective schools tend to have acceptance deadlines around the same time (February if I recall correctly), so people can have all the results out there and then make an informed choice. However, some less selective schools (like St Pauls Cathedral) may have results and acceptance deadlines earlier in the hope that some people will choose them over more selective schools since they are already financially liable.

Does anyone know a good 4+ tutor in NW London?

St Paul's Cathedral will communicate results next week. I don't see the acceptance deadlines on their website and I can't recall whether they've mentioned it when I visited. But I'm sure they will want a commitment well before end of January when the NW schools announce results.
And St Paul's Cathedral has a huge financial commitment at acceptance, a non-refundable deposit almost as high as the full fee for the first term (redeemable against the first term's fee). So they must be targeting parents who want the certainty of a good school early or don't have confidence they'll get in somewhere else, and lock them in early with the large deposit.

In my son's case, we have two more assessments in January, he's smart but unpredictable in his behaviour, I can't be sure he'll behave at the other ones. I won't tutor, he can do tasks easily, he's just not always willing to.
For now, we'll wait to see the outcome from St Paul's Cathedral and take it from there.

We’re having the dilemma of second choice schools doing offers earlier in S London. Ideally we want Alleynes but that’s so competitive I don’t think it’s worth waiting for!

You're really going to tutor a 3 year old?! I have no problem with 4+ but think tutoring for it is crazy

I am not defending tutoring for 4+ but such responses are not helpful and very judgmental. You know nothing about the child or parent’s circumstances and no one has really asked you for your opinion.

We had one for a W London prep today. Impossible to get anything out of DD that might help others though!

Straight afterwards she told me they played with a toy shop, but then she totally denied that to DP 😂. They asked her to identify her own name on the way in, but I have no idea what happened after that.

She seemed to enjoy it though, at least.

Welcome to musmset :) doesn't change the fact it's crazy that parents feel the need to resort to it. We've felt the same!

Hi, it’s my family and my money. If you don’t have an answer to my question, I frankly don’t need your opinion. I am openly asking, unlike the many NW parents that tutor but are very careful for their secret not to get away 🤣🤣 Which of course it always does.

As I recall there was another thread you started where you said there was no way you will tutored your child at age 2 when you asked for advice for preschools so it is funny that your opinion has changed even though your child hasn’t even started preschool yet.

Tutor or not it’s your child so you can do whatever you wish like you said. Many kids from my daughter’s school get into NW schools without any tutoring as the nursery preps them already. We know some girls that are being tutored and they openly admit it - yet their daughters didn’t get any 4+ placements. So it depends on the child. People just get all FOMO about tutoring so waste money doing this but don’t think about whether it’s really necessary.

However if they require tutoring to get in then it’s not their true ability and they will just struggle to keep up unless they are naturally bright and suited to the environment. I know a couple of girls at various schools who got in at 4+ due to tutoring and couldn’t keep up and got asked to leave as tutoring only does so much.

anyway the topic about tutoring should be moved offline as this thread is about 4+ 2023, not tutoring.

Yes, people are allowed to change their opinions, especially when contradicted with facts, though that might occur as a surprise to many.

So my opinion on tutoring is that it all depends on what your nursery is doing. Some nurseries prepare more extremely than others and some extra support, call it tutoring if you must can help to put kids on a level playing field. At the end of day if child is bright they will thrive whatever and wherever they are learning. Sending your kids to a ‘hot house’ nursery is basically the same as tutoring since they literally eat and breathe academics. So if someone wants to help their children get into a school and show what they are made of ! It’s ok!!!!

Pls do not judge as if you are sending your kids to an overly academic nursery it’s not the same as having extra support at home because your child is mainly in a playgroup over the week !

@mumoftwo86 well said I agree hothouse nurseries on nw London is similar to tutoring .
Anyone can guide on how to prepare first round for DD , we did t get Highgate so the only through school left is Habs now. We are in a nursery in Kensington/Chelsea area at the moment ... IV heard Habs expects blending words and writing ( she can write her name in uppercase ... Threading activities ? She's v good with her fine motor skills /Use of scissors, Lego puzzles and counting etc . But I don't feel the nursery although v posh is cut out for the ruthlessness of nw London schools. Any advice is appreciated.

@MatchaMama i have a girl at habs. It was the only assessment she came out of where she didn’t give me any answers on what they had asked her. My daughter is a talker. Very extensive language. Was not reading or writing sentences (started at stage one when she got to the school). That is not in my view what they are looking for. She could sound out words phonetically, copy words, add and subtract using visuals, cutting , write her name and draw. I think they are looking for an ability to learn, listen and follow simple instructions. Also things like manners. She will probably surprise you don’t put too much pressure on the reading and writing. But name writing is probably important. Does she know her date of birth? Seasons ? Materials ? Do you have access to twinkl? Also depending on her month of birth, assessments are different.

@teoma as a starting point if possible put your child in a nursery where she is being lightly prepared. Where they learn rather than just play. It will make your life easier.

@mumoftwo86 thank you for this info yes she can write her name in uppercase ,her birthday , very chatty and generally a very happy child , she can draw like a person or her family , house .. one of the schools asked to draw a castle and a princess a fish (SHH) which I don't think she can draw .. she said she drew herself when asked to draw a princess haha.

Her nursery is teaching her phonics which I'm going to keep encouraging at home as well with flash cards according to the method at nursery .

Which do you consider very academic nw nurseries at that age? The only I consider such is broadhurst where they do phonics right from the beginning. Hampstead Hill don't really get super academic until after early years and then I heard it gets quite hothousy indeed and appeared so when I visited though things might have changed.

There are three in Mill Hill, Golders green and Hampstead. At every assessment we ever do, the kids are mainly concentrated from these three.

Dayum, this thread is getting quite heated! I think it’s important that we all remain supportive mums to one another. In the end we all have the same goal which is to get our child into the best possible school, however we get there is completely dependent on our beliefs and our means. This should not be judged! There is no one right way to get in and there are so many factors which are out of control in getting our child into these schools!

Interesting. I imagine in Hampstead you mean Broadhurst, Golders Green you mean Clowns. Which one are you referring to from Mill Hill? Purely just curious!

@preppingforlife @mumoftwo86 I'm assuming it's whizz kids