The Ultimate Guide to 4+ Entrance Exams: What Parents Need to Know
If you have a three or four year old and you are even thinking about a London prep school, this is the guide I wish someone had handed me. Not the panicked Mumsnet version. Not the school marketing version. The honest version, from a teacher who has prepared hundreds of children for 4+ assessments at the most competitive schools in the country.
I am Reena Damani, founder of Academic Success. I have spent over twenty years in classrooms working with this exact age group, including in the kind of schools your child may be applying to. Here is everything you need to know about the 4+, in plain English, in the order you need to know it.
What is the 4+ assessment, really?
The 4+ is the entry assessment used by independent prep schools (and a small number of selective state schools) for Reception year entry. Your child sits it the autumn or spring before they turn four, with a place starting the following September.
It is almost never a written paper. There is no exam hall. Most assessments take place in a small group of four to eight children, run for fifteen to thirty minutes, and look more like a structured nursery session than an exam. Some schools also include a brief one to one with a teacher.
The activities feel ordinary. Building with blocks. Drawing a picture. Sorting shapes. Listening to a short story. Answering simple questions about a picture. Joining in a song. What is not ordinary is the assessor watching closely throughout, looking for specific things.
Which schools use the 4+?
London 4+ schools fall broadly into three groups. The list is not exhaustive but covers the schools most of my families are looking at.
Central London single sex preps
- Wetherby Pre-Prep (Notting Hill, boys)
- Pembridge Hall (Notting Hill, girls)
- Glendower Prep (South Kensington, girls)
- Falkner House (South Kensington, girls)
- Garden House (Sloane Square, girls)
- Hill House (Knightsbridge, co-ed)
- Norland Place (Holland Park, co-ed to 7, then girls)
Co-educational prep schools
- Thomas’s Schools (Battersea, Clapham, Fulham, Kensington)
- Eaton Square Schools (Belgravia, Mayfair, Kensington)
- Notting Hill Prep
- Devonshire House Prep School (Hampstead)
- Bute House (Hammersmith, girls)
- Hampstead Hill School
- The Roche School (Putney)
Junior schools attached to senior schools
- Habs Boys’ Pre-Prep (Elstree)
- Habs Girls’ Pre-Prep (Elstree)
- NLCS First School (Edgware)
- South Hampstead Junior
- St Paul’s Juniors
- City of London Junior
Each school sets its own assessment, dates and criteria. There is no national 4+ exam. What unites them is the developmental stage being looked at, not the format.
The 4+ timeline
Most parents are surprised by how early the 4+ begins. Here is the typical journey.
Two and a half to three years old
Choose schools and visit. Open days, taster sessions, school tours. Many of the most competitive schools open their lists eighteen months before assessment, and some are first come first served. Get on the list early.
Three years old (the year before assessment)
Apply formally. Most schools open registration when your child turns three. Some have a registration cap and close lists when they hit it. By the end of this year, you should have submitted application forms and registration fees for every school on your list.
Three and a half to four years old
Assessments take place. Most schools assess between October and February of the year before the September your child would start Reception. Each school invites children in for a session, sometimes accompanied by an informal parent meeting.
Four years old
Offers and acceptances arrive between January and March, ready for a September start.
What schools are looking for
Schools are not looking for prodigies. They are looking for children who are ready to thrive in their classroom culture. In practice, that means:
- Independence. Can your child separate from you for fifteen minutes without falling apart?
- Focus. Can they sustain attention on a single activity for five to ten minutes?
- Listening. Can they follow a two part instruction (“put the red blocks in the box, then bring me the green pencil”)?
- Communication. Can they speak in full sentences and answer questions clearly?
- Fine motor skill. Can they hold a pencil correctly, draw recognisable shapes, manage cutlery?
- Curiosity. Are they engaged when shown something new, rather than passive or anxious?
- Social ease. Can they play and share with other children they have just met?
Notice what is not on the list. Phonics fluency. Counting to 100. Writing their full name. Schools assume children at this age have a wide range of academic exposure and will catch them up in Reception. What schools cannot easily catch up is a child who cannot listen, focus, or interact.
I have written a deeper guide on what schools really assess on the day, with examples of the kinds of activities and what each one is designed to reveal.
How preparation actually works
Effective 4+ preparation looks nothing like a tutoring session for an older child. It looks like good early years play, structured deliberately.
There are five things I would focus on with any three year old preparing for a 4+ assessment.
1. Reading aloud, every single day
Twenty minutes of reading at home, every day, builds vocabulary, attention, and the ability to follow narrative. By far the highest impact single activity at this age.
2. Conversation, not just instruction
Schools want children who can talk, ask questions, describe what they see. Build that through real conversation: “What did you do at nursery? What was the best bit? Why?” Not yes/no questions. Open ones.
3. Fine motor and pencil control
Drawing, threading, scissors, playdough, building. The hand muscles and pincer grip take time to develop. Children who hold a pencil correctly and can draw recognisable shapes have a meaningful advantage on the day.
4. Group play with unfamiliar children
If your child only plays with siblings or familiar nursery friends, the assessment day will be the first time they encounter unfamiliar peers in a structured setting. Build experience: classes, playgroups, small group activities.
5. Familiarity with the format
A child who has practised in similar conditions (a small group activity led by an unfamiliar adult, in an unfamiliar room) is calmer on the day. This is why I run mock assessments. Not to drill, to acclimatise.
The Bright Little Stars partnership
Academic Success is the official 4+ preparation partner for Bright Little Stars Nurseries. If your child is at BLS, you have a real advantage: BLS provides exceptional early years foundations across language, numeracy and social development, and our programme channels those foundations into assessment day performance.
BLS families have priority access to our readiness classes and mock assessments. We recommend at least two, ideally three mock sittings for BLS children to ensure they are confident on the day.
If your child attends Bright Little Stars Nursery, you can access Academic Success 4+ preparation directly through your nursery. Speak to your BLS keyworker about our readiness classes and mocks.
How Academic Success prepares 4+ children
Our 4+ programme runs in three layers, designed to work together.
4+ Readiness Classes
Small group classes (maximum eight children) run by experienced early years teachers. We work on the underlying skills schools assess: listening, focus, fine motor, communication, group play. The format mirrors what your child will encounter on the day, so the day itself feels familiar.
4+ Mock Assessments
Practice assessments in conditions as close to the real thing as possible. New room, new teacher, new peers, structured activities, clear feedback to parents on where your child is strong and where to focus the final weeks. We recommend two to three mocks across autumn term.
4+ Diagnostic Assessment
A one to one assessment session for parents who want a clear picture of their child’s readiness before committing to a full programme. Particularly useful early on, around your child’s third birthday. We tell you honestly where your child is and what would help most.
What I would do if it were my child
Get on the school lists eighteen months early. Read aloud daily. Build conversation. Develop pencil grip. Get them used to group activities led by unfamiliar adults. Sit two to three mock assessments in the months before the real thing.
Do not try to teach phonics. Do not push them to count to 100. Do not buy them a 4+ workbook and sit them down at a desk. Schools see through prepped children and prefer naturally curious ones. The most prepared child in the room is often not the one who gets the place.
If you would like to talk through what good preparation looks like for your specific situation, please book in. We are happy to be honest about whether your child needs us at all.
Ready to plan your child’s 4+ journey? Book a free 15 minute consultation with our team to discuss your school list, timing and what would help most.
Frequently asked questions
When does the 4+ happen?
Most London prep schools assess in the autumn and early spring of the year before your child starts Reception. So if your child is born in autumn 2022, they would sit assessments between roughly October 2025 and February 2026, for a September 2026 start.
How early should we register?
As early as possible. Many of the most competitive central London preps cap their lists at 100 to 200 names and close registration when full. Some lists open at birth. For most popular schools, registering by age two and a half is wise.
Is the 4+ an exam?
Not in the way most parents picture an exam. There is no written paper. It is a structured observation in a small group, lasting fifteen to thirty minutes, with activities that look like normal early years play. Some schools include a short one to one with a teacher.
Can my child fail the 4+?
There is no pass mark, but yes, children can be unsuccessful. Schools are looking for a developmental fit with their classroom culture. A child can be bright and lovely and still not be offered a place at one school while being offered at another. This is why most families apply to four to eight schools.
Do I need a tutor?
Not in the formal sense. What helps at this age is good early years experience, daily reading, and familiarity with the assessment format. A small group readiness class plus two to three mock assessments is what most of my families find genuinely useful.
How much does 4+ preparation cost?
Costs vary widely. Drop in mock assessments tend to be in the £100 to £150 range per sitting. Full term programmes range from a few hundred to several thousand depending on intensity and group size. The most expensive option is rarely the most effective.
