Channing 4 Plus Assessment

The Channing 4 Plus Assessment is one of the main entry points into Channing. The process reflects the ethos of Channing which is that of a nurturing school which creates a supportive environment for young children. Superficially, the assessment resembles that of the other North London academic schools like NLCS or Highgate. There is a two stage assessment and the timings are co-ordinated across similar schools. In actual fact the Channing 4 plus assessment is quite different in tone from the other assessments and, while it is measuring the same areas, the scoring is quite different.

We are experts in the Channing 4 plus

We have worked with year one and year two teachers from across the main North London schools to understand the Channing and other similar schools’ process. We have a forty year success rate of getting children into Channing at 11 plus and three years ago started our 4 plus programme. We developed it with the help of teachers who had previously taught at Channing or were teachers at competitor schools and so had an in depth knowledge of the assessment process.

Our success rate in the Channing 4+ Assessment

We typically get 2-3 children a year into Channing at the 4+ assessment. For the children starting in 2024 we worked with three children and two of them were offered places. We limit our numbers so that we only take ten girls and ten boys for the North London set of schools. Our success rate is usually around 60% for these schools. Channing generally accept around 20% of applicants. It is important to recognise that the Channing 4 plus assessment is quite different from that of other schools and so not all children are suited for it; those that are can find it a very straightforward process and then thrive at the school. Our mock assessments are a good predictor of whether Channing is the right school for your child.

What is on the Channing 4 Plus?

Channing hugely value collaboration, sharing and kindness. They also place a premium on focus and concentration. All schools value and measure these but Channing place a particular emphasis. This means that their 4 plus assessments has considerable differences. It is also important to note that they change the assessment each year so you cannot game it but they are consistently measuring the same attributes. In previous years they have had an entire session devoted to baking a cake. The children baked cupcakes together with the teachers. This allowed them to show how they could work together and follow instructions. They did not eat the cupcakes so do not worry about your child’s cooking skills. All the children were given a pre-cooked cupcake in a Blue Peter “here’s one we prepared earlier” moment” Another year the session was built around a joint craft project. The children had to share and work together in order to build the objects.

Our Channing 4 Plus Preparation and Assessment

We start with an assessment of where your child is, based on our knowledge of what Channing are looking for in successful applicants. We do this through a review of the nursery report; a test conducted in conjunction with Cambridge University by our teachers; and full mock assessment with a 4+ specialist teacher which replicates the Channing approach. The nursery report is particularly important for assessing how ready your child is for Channing.

We will then give you detailed feedback on your child’s performance. We tell you what exercises you should expect and what they are looking for with each exercise. In short, we will give you the inside track on the day. We tell you how your child did and give you some exercises you can do with each exercise to assist her to give of her best on the day. We will be open and honest with you and tell you if we believe your child is on track for a positive assessment.

We then work with you over four different sessions to help prepare your child. Two of these sessions are with just the child and two are with the parents in the room. We see ourselves as helping coach and support parents to help their child pass the 4+. We use a range of experts for this, including teachers, teaching assistants, registrars and play specialists – all the people involved in the assessment. Play specialist involvement is particularly important for Channing.

After this we do another mock assessment. This can be either an individual assessment or a group based assessment as appropriate. For Channing we would strongly recommend the group assessment given the collaborative approach they have in their 4 plus.

Our full Preparation and Assessment Programme is £1500. You can book here.

Mentor Education 4+ Group Assessment Dates

While we do the individual assessment dates on an ad hoc basis around you, we need to create cohorts of children for the group assessment dates. We do these later in the year to give children the time to develop more of these skills. By this stage families have usually been working with us for six to nine months and so their children are well prepared. Given the strong collaboration focus for Channing these assessments are vital and we typically recommend that all Channing candidates attend more than one and preferably three. The Mentor Group Mock Assessment dates for 2024 in the Hampstead area are:

• 22nd June
• 28th September
• 5th October
• 9th November
• 7th December
• 4th January

Contact us for more details about our 4+ Assessments

Firstly, we have a strict rule that we only help ten girls for Channing 4+ entry. If we helped more then there would be no benefit for those we have helped. So please do not delay in booking. If you would like to find out more please call us on 020 8883 2519 or make a booking below.

Booking Form For 4 Plus Preparation and Assessment

Book here for either our full coaching and mock assessment package (£1,500), or just for our double mock assessment with feedback package (£750). If you are unsure yet but want to reserve a slot with us you can just register (£100) and we will make sure you are in our cohort (once we have 10 girls targeting Channing we take no more girls for that school). After you have booked, our courses manager, Hannah, will be in touch to arrange from you the pre-work that we need from you and to book in your first Assessment dates.