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?

Mulberry house is also strong on 4+ preparation

People who accuse parents of 4+ prep don't understand what 4+ prep is. It's a gentle play-based method of learning certain skills. Some parents can successfully teach this themselves through play/talking to children on variety of topics, while others rely on nurseries. There is also a category of parents who don't have time/ foreign nationals with limited knowledge of the local educational system/poor English etc. they may well resort to using tutors if they can afford it. I dont see a problem with it but at the same time if you can teach some basic skills at home/nursery this would (probably) be enough, as at 4+ there are so many "natural" skills that are more important during the assessment. For example, the child who speaks/ comprehends very well may simply fail because they were too shy to answer any questions or got upset in the absence of a parent. another example is of a child who is academically strong, can play all the games well but can't work in a group/disruptive may fail too. And so many things can cause a momentary disruption in 4 years olds: didn't nap, hungry, wants a wee.. etc. you never know what to expect from them on a day!

My children attended hot house nurseries you have on the list here and also bog standard daycare. Id say some of those hot housy nurseries you have on the list have very keen parents who supplement the teaching so their overall results are better (thanks to parents' involvement rather than nursery teaching).

Thank you everyone for setting up and commenting on this thread.

Just wanted to ask whether anyone on the thread has gone through 11+ / 7+ with older siblings?

I wanted to ask how tough they are as I have no experience of this system.

I want to avoid them instinctively (we are doing 4+ as DC is too young to know they’re tests or what they mean) but increasingly have been thinking about how the right school now might not be the right school at 11.

We have offers from one prep and one all through, with a few second rounds for schools that go up to 18 in January and I am Trying to judge whether saving DC (and myself!) the anxiety of later tests is worth the disruption of a long commute (and play dates / friends far away) or moving house.

any insights / pearls of wisdom gratefully received!

Also interested in how the 7 and 11+ processes compare!

Is anyone doing the Dulwich schools?

Same here .. I am also interested in the 7 plus process now as we are in the Kensington area and no through schools here.

Oh poor poor little mice. I’m 50 and I still remember the trauma of my 4+ assessment (I cried the entire time… still got in tho).

Mine are teens now. We live in NW London. Most neighbours have kids at these schools. Mine have been at local state, which has been excellent. The school least highly rated by Ofsted has been the best educationally. And of the kids we know locally (loads) the highest scorers have all been in non-selection state schools.

these tests are rubbish. If your child ‘fails’ it means nothing. If your child passes it doesn’t mean much (they may be easier to teach as a tot, but that means very little).

Gosh it must have been very different in your day @sittinginacafe to traumatise you like that.

These days they just play in a school for an hour or so. My DD isn’t aware it’s an assessment at all, so just thinks it’s a new kind of playgroup!

Same. We’ve done one assessment and my DC enjoyed the experience. Didn’t know it was an assessment. Came out talking about the toys and activities and said it was like nursery.

yes my DC loved the assesments we have had so far- 2 ( didn't get highgate 1st round ) but she went in and came out so happy and saiid she had fun which was nice to hear.

No it was all play then too…

@Labradoodlie we are trying the Dulwich schools too. They are so competitive so also looking at Rosemead and already had an assessment at St Dunstans though not sure we'd go for it as its a bit of a ways from our home and I'm not as confident in their reputation for the early years? What schools are in your mix?

@Beemum44 We’re looking at Alleynes and Oakfield. We didn’t love the head at Rosemead! And we want mixed so JAGS is out. The state options are ok near us so it’s not the end of the world if it doesn’t work out.

@Labradoodlie we prefer mixed as well, but are also looking at 1 single sex in the area as who knows where our DC will be offered a place! Fair enough on Rosemead. We might take anither look at Oakfield depending on the January results. I feel less pressure at the preps as it didn't seem like all the classes were even full and I got the sense they aren't actually selective and just say that to weed out the really poorly behaved kids or parents!

Any idea on how many applied to Alleyns? Odds in previous years did not look so good...

Do you know their sibling policy?

@tiktokontheclock they don’t have one . We have friends who haven’t been able to get all their children in. Some get nlcs and not habs or vice versa. Some get neither and go to prep. We have a few children in her class whose siblings did not get in (including a twin)

I assume she's in rainbow? Just wondering how many siblings didn't get in given they'd all have to be twins to not enter in the same year

Are you moving to n London? Because if not the journey to there from Kensington is quite long no?

I mean siblings in general. the twin example wasn’t relative to our year group it’s just from what we have seen over the years. My youngest is doing 4+

@tiktokontheclock hi we have a place in North West London .. about 15 min car journey to Habs , but would only move there if DD would get into an all through school otherwise staying put in london

Hi I m going through 11 plus at the moment with my middle dd and did it 3 years ago with my eldest. I didn’t enjoy it at all, I find it awful so with the 3rd we are trying 4 plus but only for 2 schools. I would avoid it if possible.

@GNW3mum aww good luck with your DD ... What school did your eldest go to for 11 + , I also applied to only 2 through schools Highgate and Habs rest are prep schools in central London ( Glendower , ken prep ).

Thank you! For you too! Oldest at SHHS, middle one who knows??? So stressful and hoping for SHHS or St Christopher’s for the youngest as both close by.

I live in NW London and my DC has play dates (assessments...) coming up so feel everyone's anxiety! Going for two schools, one of them has been mentioned a lot on this thread. I went to two open mornings at one of the schools and the message was loud and clear on both occasions - please don't tutor your kids.

Of course it's a personal choice and I'm not judging anyone's approach, just relaying what I heard. The head of pre-prep explained that it's very easy to spot a tutored child, and that it doesn't impress them at all. She went on to say that tutored children often find it really difficult to 'work' on their own as they're so used to having someone sit next to them and guide them at every turn. Often the way that a child has been taught by a tutor is different to the school's approach so they end up having to 'unteach' them and it causes confusion for the child and makes the teachers job harder. She implored parents to give their DC life experiences, show them the world and make the most of the pre school years, they go so quickly and you'll never have this time again. She spoke of kids who could read (often with no intonation due to the way they've been taught), could name all the planets yet didn't know what a baby sheep was called. Apparently the kids aren't asked to read / write or count during the play sessions, they're genuinely not interested in that at this age.

Ultimately schools are looking for happy, inquisitive children who show resilience and have had a childhood where they're celebrated for who they are. The school will do the rest, that's what they're there for.

I'm trusting that the schools will know if my DC will be happy in their environment and make their decision accordingly.

Good luck to everyone x

Haven’t read the whole point, but the point about private schools ‘not equating to better teaching and often being the opposite’ simply isn’t the case for the majority of London schools unfortunately.

It’s not an absolute given but the majority of London privates can afford to pay their staff generously -you’re therefore more likely to have more dedicated subject teachers. Combine this with better facilities, often a smaller number of disruptive kids, and environments where learning potential is maximised - it is usually (not always, but usually) ‘better’.

It’s not fair, and again it’s not an absolute - but compare GCSE results. At my local N London private, over 90 percent of kids got 7-9 grades at GCSE. This drops drastically at the decent state school down the road from it.

The whole ‘thread’, not the whole point 😂