Prepared by someone who has taught the syllabus.
Every examination below is prepared by a teacher who has taught it in a classroom, not read about it in a guide. We work to the specification, on the timetable your child is actually sitting.
11 Plus preparation
Selective entry is as much about exam technique and stamina as it is about ability. Both can be taught.
The 11 Plus is a competitive examination, which makes it different from school assessment in a way many families underestimate. A child can be comfortably above average at school and still be unprepared for it, because the paper rewards speed, unfamiliar question formats and the confidence to move on from a question that is not working. We prepare for all three.
What we cover
- English
- Comprehension under time pressure, vocabulary breadth, and writing to a tight brief.
- Mathematics
- Rapid recall, multi-step problems, and the topics that appear far more often than their syllabus weight suggests.
- Verbal and non-verbal reasoning
- Pattern recognition question types that most children have never met before.
- Exam technique
- Timing, question triage, and what to do when a question is not coming.
How we prepare
We start with a diagnostic to establish the real baseline, then work through past papers under timed conditions, marked to the standard the actual examiners apply. Sessions are one-to-one on Google Meet, and you receive a monthly written report showing progress against the target.
Cambridge Checkpoint preparation
A staging assessment that tells you — and the school — exactly where a student stands before the run-up to IGCSE.
Cambridge Checkpoint is diagnostic rather than selective, which is precisely why it is worth preparing for properly. The report it produces shapes setting decisions and subject choices further up the school, and a weak result driven by exam unfamiliarity rather than ability can follow a student for years.
What we cover
- English
- Reading comprehension and directed writing to the Cambridge mark scheme.
- Mathematics
- Number, algebra, geometry and handling data, at Checkpoint standard.
- Science
- Biology, chemistry and physics content, plus the scientific enquiry questions students routinely lose marks on.
- Paper technique
- Reading the command words correctly — the single most common avoidable error.
How we prepare
We teach to the Cambridge scheme of work rather than to a general syllabus, using past papers and the published mark schemes so students learn what the examiner is actually looking for. One-to-one, on Google Meet, with monthly written reports.
GCSE preparation
Two years of content, examined in a few hours. Preparation is about retrieval and technique, not re-teaching everything.
By GCSE the problem is rarely that a student has never met the material. It is that they met it eighteen months ago, cannot retrieve it under pressure, and lose marks to question technique rather than to knowledge. Our preparation is built around that reality: diagnose the genuine gaps, drill retrieval, and teach the mark scheme.
What we cover
- English Language & Literature
- Set texts, unseen extracts, and essay structure that answers the question asked.
- Mathematics
- Foundation and Higher content, with emphasis on the multi-mark problem-solving questions.
- Biology, Chemistry, Physics
- Content recall, required practicals, and the extended-response questions that separate grades.
- Examination technique
- Command words, mark allocation, and timing across the full paper.
How we prepare
We begin with a diagnostic across the specification to find where marks are actually being lost, then work forward with timed past-paper practice marked to the real standard. Lessons run one-to-one on Google Meet, Monday to Saturday, with a monthly written report to parents.
SAT preparation
A score target agreed before we start, and a plan built backwards from your test date.
The SAT is a coachable examination. It tests a relatively narrow band of content in a highly predictable format, which means familiarity is worth a great deal — and unfamiliarity is expensive. We work from a full-length diagnostic, identify where the marks are actually going, and target those sections rather than revising evenly across everything.
What we cover
- Reading & Writing
- Evidence-based reading, rhetorical analysis, and the grammar and usage rules the paper tests repeatedly.
- Mathematics
- Algebra, advanced maths, problem-solving and data analysis, with and without the calculator.
- Timed practice
- Full-length mock sittings under real conditions, because pacing is where most points are lost.
- Test strategy
- Question triage, educated elimination, and managing the clock section by section.
How we prepare
First a full diagnostic to establish the baseline and the realistic target. Then a schedule built backwards from your test date, with periodic timed mocks so the score is tracked rather than assumed. One-to-one on Google Meet, with monthly written progress reports.
French — DELF, TEF and TCF
Two distinct programmes: certification for school-age students, and immigration-focused preparation for adults.
French proficiency examinations serve two very different people. For a student, DELF is a certification that travels with them internationally. For an adult applying to immigrate to Canada, a TEF or TCF score is worth points in a system where a single band can decide the outcome. We run these as separate programmes because they need different teaching.
What we cover
- DELF A1 to C2
- The full certification pathway for school-age students, from beginner through mastery.
- TEF Canada
- All four competencies — reading, listening, speaking and writing — for Express Entry candidates.
- TCF
- Both the academic and general versions, depending on which your application requires.
- Speaking and listening
- The two papers candidates most often underestimate, and where preparation makes the largest difference.
How we prepare
For adults, we build the schedule backwards from the examination date and the score band you need, with regular mock assessments so progress is measurable rather than hopeful. For students, we work through the DELF levels in sequence. Both run one-to-one on Google Meet.
Start with an honest read on where they are.
Thirty minutes with Irene, at no cost and no obligation.