WHEN SHOULD YOU START PREPARING FOR INDEPENDENT-SCHOOL ENTRANCE ASSESSMENTS?

I think a lot of entrance-exam tutoring begins in the wrong place.

A parent knows that a child will eventually sit an assessment, so the obvious response is to start practising the assessment. Papers are printed, timings begin and the child starts learning the peculiarities of the test.

Sometimes that is exactly what is needed.

Often it is too early.

If an entrance assessment is a year away and a pupil has weak fractions, uncertain comprehension or limited vocabulary, repeatedly rehearsing exam papers does not solve the underlying problem. It merely gives the problem a score.

I prefer to separate entrance preparation into three stages.

FIRST: BUILD THE KNOWLEDGE

Well before the examination, the priority should usually be the underlying knowledge and skills.

In Mathematics that may mean number fluency, fractions, proportional reasoning, algebraic thinking, and the ability to tackle unfamiliar problems.

In English it may mean reading widely, vocabulary, comprehension, grammar, and learning to write clearly.

The precise balance depends on the assessment and the pupil. The principle is simple: strengthen what the exam is trying to measure before spending months rehearsing its format.

SECOND: LEARN THE ASSESSMENT

Closer to the test, format becomes important.

A capable pupil can lose marks because the question style is unfamiliar, because time has been allocated badly, or because he or she has never encountered a particular reasoning format.

This is where targeted practice becomes useful.

I would want the pupil to understand the structure of the assessment, common question types, timing, and what to do when stuck.

That is different from grinding through paper after paper.

THIRD: REHEARSE UNDER REAL CONDITIONS

Full timed practice belongs nearer the examination.

At this stage papers can reveal whether knowledge survives under pressure. They also allow us to practice judgement: when to move on, when to check, how much working to show and how to recover after a difficult question.

The aim is that the real assessment feels familiar without the child having spent a year living inside mock exams.

HOW EARLY IS TOO EARLY?

There is no universal answer.

A pupil with strong foundations may need relatively little specialist preparation. A pupil with substantial gaps may benefit from beginning earlier, but that early work should look more like good education than exam coaching.

The school and entry point matter too. Assessment formats differ and should be checked against current admissions information rather than assumed from another school or a previous year.

WHAT I WOULD DIAGNOSE FIRST

Before deciding on a programme, I would want to know:

• What can the pupil already do securely?
• Where are the genuine gaps?
• How does the pupil respond to unfamiliar questions?
• Is speed a problem, or understanding?
• How strong is independent reading?
• How does written work compare with oral understanding?
• Is anxiety affecting performance?
• What exactly does the target school assess?

Those answers tell you far more than “we have twelve months left”.

INTERVIEW PREPARATION

The same principle applies to interviews.

A child should not be taught a collection of polished answers that sound as though an adult wrote them. Good preparation is more about helping the pupil think aloud, discuss interests, respond when unsure, and become comfortable talking to an unfamiliar adult.

If a child loves a book, subject, sport or hobby, I would rather help him or her talk intelligently about it than supply an impressive-sounding substitute.

THE PURPOSE OF PREPARATION

Entrance preparation should leave a child better educated at the end of it, whether or not the application succeeds.

That is a useful test of the programme.

If twelve months of preparation has produced stronger Mathematics, better reading, clearer writing, and greater confidence with difficult problems, the work has value beyond one exam.

If it has produced only familiarity with one test format, I would be less satisfied.