7+ tutoring, honestly explained
The 7+ is the most competitive entry point in London independent education, and the one parents get the least straight talk about. Here is what the assessment actually involves, how early it is reasonable to start, and a frank word about what tutoring can and cannot do for a six-year-old.
Tutorwise is a new platform and we are still building our tutor base — so browse before you commit to anything, and please read the honest note below before you book anyone, here or elsewhere.
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What 7+ entry actually is
7+ is entry into Year 3 of an independent prep school at age seven. The confusing part is the timing: your child is assessed during Year 2, typically in January, and starts the following September. So the exam year is Year 2, not Year 3.
It exists because many London preps take a second, larger intake at seven, on top of their 4+ reception intake. For a family who did not apply at four, or who moved into London later, the 7+ is often the main way in — which is precisely why it is so oversubscribed.
The assessment
What your child is actually assessed on
Every school sets its own, so treat this as the shape rather than the specification — and read each school's admissions page for the current year.
English
Reading comprehension, a piece of creative writing, spelling, and — often overlooked — handwriting. At six, the physical stamina to write neatly for twenty minutes is a real assessed skill, and one of the easiest to improve.
Maths
Number fluency, arithmetic and word problems, usually with a mental-maths element. Schools are looking for a child who is quick and secure with number, not one who has been drilled through the Year 3 curriculum early.
Reasoning (sometimes)
Some schools add verbal or non-verbal reasoning. Others deliberately do not, on the view that it is the most coachable part of the exam and tells them least about a six-year-old.
Interview or group session
Most 7+ schools also observe the children — a short chat, a group activity, sometimes a taster lesson. This is where they look for curiosity, listening and how a child behaves with other children. It is not a formality, and it cannot be crammed.
The schools
The London schools parents ask about
The names that come up again and again are Westminster Under School, St Paul's Juniors, Latymer Prep and Bute House — with King's College School Wimbledon, Dulwich College, Highgate and UCS not far behind. They sit mostly across west and south-west London, which is why the 7+ conversation is so concentrated in those postcodes.
These are among the most oversubscribed schools in the country. That is the honest framing: strong, well-prepared, entirely capable children are turned away every year, not because anything is wrong with them but because there are far more of them than there are places. Plan your list on that basis. A sensible 7+ list has schools on it you would be genuinely happy with, not one dream school and nothing else.
Formats, registration windows and assessment dates differ by school and change from year to year. Do not take a forum post as read — including this one. Check each school's own admissions page, and diarise the registration deadline separately for each, because missing it makes the preparation irrelevant.
The timeline
How early to start
Families who prepare deliberately tend to start in Year 1 or the first term of Year 2 — roughly six to twelve months out.
Year 1 — none of this looks like exam prep
Reading together every day, talking about what you read, playing with number, and building the physical stamina to write. This is the highest-return work at this age by a distance, and it costs nothing.
Autumn of Year 2 — registration and format
Registration for most schools falls in the autumn term. This is also the point at which a little familiarity with the format helps — knowing what a comprehension looks like, and what it feels like to write to a prompt.
January of Year 2 — the assessment
Assessments are typically sat in January, with offers usually following within a few weeks. Then a September start in Year 3. Confirm every date with the school — these move.
The honest note
About tutoring a six-year-old
We are not going to pretend this is uncontroversial, because you already know it is not. Heavy tutoring at 7+ is genuinely contested, and you deserve both sides rather than a sales pitch.
The case parents make: in these catchments, tutoring at 7+ is simply normal. Parents on forums will tell you that nearly every child who gets into the most competitive schools at seven had some help, and they are not wrong about how common it is. If most of the cohort has seen the format and yours has not, your child is at a disadvantage that has nothing to do with ability. That is a real, rational concern and we are not going to dismiss it.
The case against: schools are not naive. They assess at seven precisely because they are trying to see potential rather than polish, and admissions staff who see hundreds of children a year are good at spotting the over-coached one — the child who produces a memorised opening paragraph but goes flat in conversation, or who can complete the paper but cannot explain any of it. Coaching that outruns a child's actual understanding tends to show up exactly where it costs most.
The bit nobody says out loud: a child coached into a cohort running well ahead of them does not stop needing the coaching in September. They arrive as the child who is behind, in a fast room, at seven. Getting in is not the same as getting on.
Where that leaves a reasonable parent. Light, short, age-appropriate preparation is defensible and often genuinely useful: removing the shock of the format, getting comfortable writing to a prompt, and making number work quick and confident. A programme that has a six-year-old doing hours of papers a week is a different thing, and the evidence that it works is much thinner than the people selling it suggest. If you can only afford a little, spend it on the format and the confidence — the rest of it you can do yourself, by reading with them.
Choosing a tutor
What to ask before you book
At this age, how a tutor works with young children matters as much as what they know.
Ask which schools they know
7+ papers are set by individual schools and differ markedly. A tutor who has prepared children for the specific schools on your list knows what those schools ask for and how they mark it.
Ask how they work with young children
Teaching a six-year-old is a different craft from teaching a ten-year-old. Ask what a session actually looks like. If the answer is an hour of past papers, that is the wrong tutor for this age.
Check DBS and references
Ask for a current DBS certificate and speak to a parent they have taught. Tutoring is unregulated in the UK, so these checks are yours to make — and at this age they matter more, not less.
On hours: short sessions, once a week, is the sensible ceiling at this age — a six-year-old has very little concentration left after a full school day, and a tired child learns nothing. Ten or fifteen minutes of reading and number work most days will do more than a long weekend session ever will.
Find a 7+ tutor on Tutorwise
Straight with you: Tutorwise is new and we are still building our base of verified, DBS-checked tutors. So browse and judge for yourself, or post what you need — the schools you are considering and your timescale — and let tutors come to you. No fee to look, and no pressure to book.
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