Emma’s story

Family aspirations

Emma was in Reception at a good state school in Hampstead.  Emma’s mum and dad were worried that their quiet and well behaved daughter was being over looked in the rough and tumble of her large class.  She seemed to be neither excelling nor struggling but they wondered if she could achieve more in a single sex environment. They were fed up with being told their daughter was ‘exactly where she needs to be’.  They visited some local independent girls’ schools and decided they wanted to mover her as soon as possible. They registered for occasional places, but realistically, 7 Plus was their main opportunity to move her.

Academic diagnosis

Emma was a bright girl and loved learning.  She had made great progress with her phonics and was ahead of her peer group in her reading ability. 

Emma was also good at mathematics but because she was at a state primary school, she had not been taught the curriculum she needed to pass the 7 Plus.  She had also not been taught any Verbal or Non Verbal Reasoning. 

How we helped

Emma attended our 7 Plus programme in Hampstead. We accelerated the Year One and Year Two Maths curriculum, which Emma was able to assimilate remarkably well.  As Emma was shy and slightly reticent, we organised three practice interviews with her to reduce her anxiety and help her feel confident on the assessment day.  We also practiced group tasks with her and other children, helping them collaborate effectively and show their EQ to the assessors.

Emma’s success

Emma worked very hard to learn a whole extra year of Maths with Mentor Education at our weekend school on Sunday mornings when she was in Year One. She was also able to show her excellent behaviours and lovely cooperative nature to the assessors and was delighted to receive offers to join Year Three at North London Collegiate and South Hampstead High School.