11+ and GCSE Tutoring in London
Latymer and Queen Elizabeth's Barnet are the two hardest rooms in the country
Super selective, heavily oversubscribed, and unforgiving of children who know the content but cannot work at speed. Students from here have gone into both.
What super selective actually means
A normal grammar school takes children who pass. A super selective takes the highest scores until the places run out, which is a different thing entirely.
Queen Elizabeth's Barnet and The Latymer School both operate at that end. Passing is not the target. Ranking is. A child can answer every question correctly and still miss if they answered fewer of them than the child ranked above.
Which is why preparation for these two looks different from ordinary 11+ work. Content coverage is table stakes and almost every serious applicant has it. What separates them is how many marks per minute a child can actually put on paper, and whether they can tell within five seconds which method a question wants.
That is trainable. It is also boring to train, which is why plenty of preparation quietly skips it in favour of teaching more topics.
The independent route, Merchant Taylors' and John Lyon among them, sets its own assessments and weights written English more heavily. Different paper, different preparation, often the same child applying to both.
London schools this preparation is aimed at
The Latymer School, Edmonton. Selective state grammar, own entrance assessment, extremely oversubscribed.
Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet. Super selective boys' grammar. Ranked entry rather than a pass mark.
Merchant Taylors', Northwood. Independent, own assessment, with later entry points as well as 11+.
John Lyon, Harrow. Independent, own assessment.
Outside London the same preparation covers St George's Weybridge, St Margaret's, St Aubyn's and Thorpe House. Families usually apply to a mix of state selective and independent, and running both preparations side by side is normal.
What we actually do
11+ entrance preparation
Aimed at London's super selective grammars and the independent entrance assessments, where the difference between an offer and a near miss is usually pace rather than knowledge.
GCSE Maths, English and Science
Weekly one to one or small group sessions built round the topics costing your child marks, not a march through the whole specification.
Self guided Maths Mastery Lessons
Interactive topic lessons that teach the method first, then test it. Answers are built in so you can check work quickly. Some lessons regenerate their questions so the same topic can be practised again.
Mock exam marking
Papers marked by an experienced teacher, returned with written feedback showing where the marks went and why.
Not sure where your child actually stands? A diagnostic assessment finds the gaps before you spend anything on lessons, and free past papers are on the exam resources page if you want to test that yourself first.
GCSE results these methods have produced
Real students, real timeframes. These are GCSE grade movements, including students already inside grammar and independent schools, where getting in was the easy half.
Groundwork started in Year 9 or Year 10 produces those numbers far more often than a panic started in Year 11. Nothing here is a promise attached to a booking.
On the entrance exam side, which is a separate job entirely, three students have won scholarship places at grammar or independent schools.
What it costs
One to one tuition starts from £40 per session, priced on level and exam focus.
Tutoring with Friends is the group option. Bring one or two friends and the price starts at £20 per student per session. Same lesson, same teacher, split cost.
Mock exam marking starts at £39.99 per paper, rising to £69.99 and £99.99 for faster turnaround and a one to one review. Bulk rates for schools on 20 papers or more.
Self guided lessons are the cheapest route in, priced per topic with no subscription.
If you are not sure which of those fits, a free consultation sorts it in fifteen minutes. Booking one does not commit you to anything.
How the online sessions run
Every session is live and one to one, or live with the friends your child brings. Nothing is pre recorded.
Sessions run with a shared interactive whiteboard, so your child works through questions while the teaching happens rather than watching someone else write. Work is saved and sent over afterwards, along with short targeted practice for the week.
Parents get progress updates rather than having to ask. If something is not landing, you hear it from me first.
Common questions
Are you London based?
No, and it is worth being straight about that. Teaching is live online from West Yorkshire. What London families come here for is the entrance exam work and the results, not a tutor who can sit at the kitchen table.
When should preparation start for a super selective?
Year 4. The paper is sat in Year 6, which means Year 6 is the exam year rather than the preparation year. For Queen Elizabeth's Barnet and Latymer specifically, two full years is what the ranked entry realistically needs, and I would rather say that before you book than after.
Do you cover the English and reasoning papers or only maths?
Maths and reasoning are the core. English is covered too, and for the independent assessments that weight written work heavily it needs to be.
What are the odds, realistically?
Depends entirely on the child and the school. Three students have gone in on scholarships, which is the top of the range rather than the middle of it. A consultation is where you get an honest read rather than a sales answer.
Start with a conversation, not a contract
Tell me your child's year group, the school or exam you are aiming at, and where they are getting stuck. If I am not the right fit for London I will say so and point you somewhere better.