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As we start the new year, one thing will be on the mind of many parents: Entrance Examinations.
We are busy preparing for our exam at LHS next week and, thinking back over all the Entrance Exams I have overseen, here are five key tips to think about when preparing your child for an upcoming admissions exam:
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Keep Calm: this applies to both children and parents! Sitting an Entrance Examination can feel daunting, especially for children who may not have sat formal examinations before. However, any good school will be looking for potential as well as correct answers. Schools are also keenly aware that education has been disrupted for our young people during the pandemic and that not everybody will have covered the same topics.
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Practice: example papers for the LHS Entrance Examination can be found online [add link here] and we recommend that you look at these with your child to help them to understand the structure of the papers and the type of questions that might be asked. This can also help to reassure them about what will happen on the day.
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Logistics: find out about the logistics for the examinations - what time you need to arrive and what your child needs to bring. Although the School will be very happy to help if your child forgets their pencil case on the morning, it can be a worry for children to have to ask for something they are missing. It can also be stressful for parents to get lost on the way or not leave enough time for traffic.
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Remember you are choosing the School as much as they are choosing you: You will hopefully have attended an Open Morning and possibly also a Taster Day before your Entrance Examination, but this is another chance to get a feel for the ethos of the school. How organised are they? How do they reassure your child on arrival and during the exam? This can give you a further sense of the school’s ethos and whether it is the right place for your child.
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Try and enjoy it: This may sound like an impossible task! However, moving to secondary school is an exciting point in your family's journey and one which you will one day be able to look back on fondly.
Wishing all our candidates good luck for next week!