Tuition
13+ English Entrance Examination Preparation
Structured one-to-one online preparation for pupils applying to independent senior schools. I am an English specialist with Qualified Teacher Status (UK) and more than 20 years’ experience.
Entrance English rewards pupils who read closely, think independently and write with control. My preparation develops those habits in the context of the specific paper a pupil will sit, rather than through generic practice.
- For
- pupils applying to independent senior schools
- Entry point
- usually entry into Year 9
- Format
- structured one-to-one online preparation
- Tutor
- Qualified Teacher Status (UK), more than 20 years’ experience
What "13+" actually means
"13+" describes an entry point, usually entry into Year 9, rather than a single examination. Which assessment a child faces depends on the school, so "my child is doing the 13+" is only the beginning of the picture.
The assessments families meet
- ISEB Common Entrance: the best-known route. English consists of a Reading paper and a Writing paper.
- A school’s own paper: many independent schools set their own. Format, timing and standard differ from school to school.
- Scholarship examinations: ISEB CASE, or a school’s own scholarship paper. These are considerably more demanding and are prepared for separately.
Arrangements vary by school and can change, so the target school’s current admissions information is always the starting point.
Core and Foundation Reading
Common Entrance English has two levels for the Reading paper.
Core is the standard route: the extract may be prose, poetry or drama, and it demands developed comprehension, inference and analysis of a writer’s methods.
Foundation is designed for pupils still developing the skills and vocabulary needed for Core, and uses a prose passage.
Every candidate takes the same Writing paper.
The pupil’s current school usually decides which level is appropriate, after discussing it with prospective senior schools, so it should be confirmed before preparation begins.
What entrance English tests
Across these routes, the same skills recur:
- Comprehension and inference from unseen texts
- Vocabulary in context
- Selecting and using precise evidence
- Analysing how language creates effect
- Interpretation, rather than simply identifying techniques
- Sustained original writing: planning, structure, sentence variety and voice
- Technical accuracy in spelling, punctuation and grammar
- Exam technique: timing, command words, checking and editing
Before preparation begins
Before commencing 13+ entrance preparation, I establish the precise requirements of each pupil’s target school. Independent schools use a range of admissions assessments, so preparation is tailored to the relevant examination rather than following a generic "13+" course. Parents are asked to provide the target school(s), entry year, examination date and any current specimen papers or admissions guidance.