Practical guidance from the Leading Tuition team
Book a Free ConsultationMarch 2021 arrived later than usual for many families. After a year of cancelled mock exams, online teaching and uncertain exam timelines, the 11+ results that had been delayed or reformatted finally arrived. For the children we had worked with throughout lockdown — many of them sitting papers in formats that had never existed before — this was the moment everything either came together or it did not. This post reflects on what we saw: the outcomes, what made the difference, and what we carried into the years that followed.
In the 2021 admissions cycle, we worked with 32 students sitting selective school entrance examinations at 11+ and 13+. Of those, 30 received at least one offer from a selective or independent school — a success rate of 93.8%.
We define success as receiving at least one offer from a school the family had genuinely targeted. We do not count offers from schools added as late safety options if the family's first-choice school did not make an offer.
The 2020-21 academic year was unlike any before it. Schools had moved online, children had missed months of classroom learning, and the 11+ examinations themselves were subject to last-minute format changes. Several schools delayed their sittings into early 2021 or moved to remote assessment formats. Against this backdrop, our tutors adapted their preparation programmes — more flexibility, more focus on building genuine subject understanding rather than paper drilling, and more careful attention to each child's wellbeing alongside their academic progress.
What we noticed in 2021 was that children who had maintained a consistent rhythm of learning during lockdown — even imperfect, even reduced — were better prepared than those who stopped and tried to resume at pace in September. The children who came through best had tutors who checked in regularly and kept the work grounded in subjects the child cared about.
We asked several families if they would share a brief reflection.
Writing to us after results day, a parent whose son gained a place at Latymer Upper School wrote: "The whole process felt very uncertain that year — nobody really knew what the exams would look like until quite late. What helped us most was having a tutor who stayed calm, kept the preparation structured, and adapted as soon as the format changes were announced. Our son went in feeling prepared for whatever they put in front of him."
Writing to us after results day, a parent whose daughter gained places at James Allen's and City of London School for Girls wrote: "We had our daughter working with Leading Tuition from the autumn of Year 5. When lockdown hit in Year 6 we were worried everything would fall apart. The tutors moved online without any disruption — if anything, the 1-to-1 sessions kept her more focused than classroom teaching had. The results in March were the best possible end to an incredibly stressful year."
If your child is in Year 4, Year 5 or Year 6, and you are beginning to think about selective school entry, the most important first step is understanding which schools and which exams are relevant to your child — and what realistic preparation looks like for each one. You can find school-specific guides on our 11+ school preparation pages, or book a free consultation to talk through your child's specific situation.
How do you measure your success rate?
We count the proportion of students who received at least one genuine offer from a school the family had identified as a target school before the admissions cycle began. We do not include offers from schools added as late backup options.
Do you only work with high-achieving children?
No. We work with a wide range of students, including children who need to build foundational skills before beginning focused exam preparation. Our tutors assess each child individually and build a programme around where they are, not where they need to be.
How early should preparation start?
It depends on the target school. For the most selective grammar schools — QE Boys, Henrietta Barnett, Tiffin — most of our successful students began working with us in Year 4 or early Year 5. For boarding school 13+ entry, the ISEB Common Pre-Test is taken in Year 6, so preparation typically begins in Year 5.
What does 1-to-1 tuition offer that group tuition or online courses don't?
A specialist tutor can identify exactly where a specific child is losing marks and address that precisely. Group courses and online platforms can build general exposure to exam content, but they cannot adapt in real time to an individual child's misconceptions, gaps, or exam technique weaknesses.
Book a free consultation and we’ll help you find the right support for your child.
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