Preparing for Assessment

Parents are sent exemplar papers in Maths and English following registration. These are intended to give parents an indication of the standard required.

It is difficult for parents to conceal their own anxieties about assessment day, particularly as their child may be sitting a number of assessments at various schools. The sheer logistics, never mind the intrinsic stress of the whole process, can be extremely wearing so please be kind to yourselves. Your child is likely to sense some of your anxiety but - and we feel this is important - any preparation you do for the assessments should be low key. Your child's routine should be kept as normal as possible; it is more helpful to their well-being if they continue with those activities they love and enjoy throughout the preparation process. It is all about the balance. 

One of the concerns that you may have is that your child is 'not ready' for the assessment. You obviously need to draw on your own understanding of your child about this. Our experience is that children respond positively to the assessment process. In particular, you may feel that sitting your child for 7+ entry is early. You may be reassured that, drawing on the years of experience we have in working with this age-group, it is unusual for a child to have a negative response to the time spent here at the school.

Please note that particular arrangements are made on Assessment Day for children with diagnosed special educational needs. Any access provision will have been made known to the school during the registration process, before the assessment day.

Our aim, as mentioned earlier, is to keep the day as relaxed and pleasant as possible. Some exam conventions are followed – the children have to sit at desks and we discourage talking during the assessment – but we are sensitive to the age and understanding of the children, and are encouraging and reassuring throughout the morning. For example, when we notice that a child has stalled at a question and is finding it difficult to move on, we will gently encourage them to do so. We also check thoroughly that the children have finished the papers and not, accidentally, left any pages out.

Children do not need to bring pencil cases; pencils, rulers and rubbers will be provided. There will be several breaks throughout the morning. Please send your child in with a named water bottle; we will provide a snack to eat. If your child has any food allergies/restrictions, do send them in with their own snack.

Please note that entry to Latymer Prep School on Assessment Day is via Latymer Upper School on King Street. If you are delayed, do not worry but let us know that you are held up in traffic. Similarly, if your child happens to be ill on the day, let us know as soon as possible. 

Interviews 

After the written assessment, those who have performed particularly well are invited back to school for an interview the week after Assessment Day. We are interested in observing children's social maturity and their attitude to learning and we will also take the opportunity to talk with each child about their interests and aspirations. Offers will be made approximately a week later, towards the end of January and acceptances should be with us by a set date in early February. Families are asked to respond as soon as possible to an offer so that those on the waiting list can be approached, if necessary.

In the normal course of events, children are expected to progress to Latymer Upper School at 11+. However, if it is felt that a child would find the academic pace of the Upper School challenging, then we would feel that is our professional responsibility to advise parents of this so that plans can be made for a child’s secondary education to be continued elsewhere.