We are enormously proud of our record of academic success in preparing boys for senior school. Our boys move on to a strong and varied selection of senior schools, with the school carefully chosen to enable them to fulfil their potential.
Knowing every boy well, partnered with a deep knowledge of the senior school landscape, means our process is centred around your child and what’s best for him. We are proud that we are not a feeder to any school in particular but offer individual and thoughtful support.
Our Year 6-8 Senior School Preparation Programme is exceptional. We take great pride in the quality of the guidance we offer.
Your son will benefit from:
- Extensive exam and interview practice
- Visits to and from leading senior schools
- Tailored scholarship coaching
- Preparation for senior school entry tests (if required)
- Access to our annual Senior Schools’ Preparation Evening, giving Lockers Park pupils and parents the opportunity to meet a selection of leading senior schools
- Tailored advice from our Headmaster, Director of Studies and senior staff.
Research and Preparation
So what should you do to prepare at each stage of your son’s journey at Lockers Park?
- Reception upwards: Attend our annual Senior Schools Presentation Evenings. We invite schools on a rolling four to five year programme to enable you to meet a wide range during your son’s time at Lockers Park.
- Year 4: Start shortlisting schools and visit potential options.
- Year 5: Establish a ‘Back up’, ‘Realistic’ and ‘Aspirational’ school.
- Years 6 & 7: Sit pre-tests and early tests.
- Year 8: In an ideal world, you should only be holding one school; this is the school we will prepare your son for.
ISEB Pre-tests and Entrance Exams
There is a two-stage selection process for most senior schools:
- Year 6: ISEB (Independent Schools Examinations Board) pre-test consisting of Maths English, Non-Verbal and Verbal reasoning. This is taken online at Lockers Park, often in November.
- Year 7 & 8 assessments e.g. Harrow and Bedford tests. Typically English, Maths, Reasoning and an interview.
In addition, all boys at Lockers Park will take either a Scholarship exam or Common Entrance exam at the end of Year 8.
The ISEB Pre-test
Most senior schools use the ISEB pre-test as an initial gauge as to whether a candidate is suitable for their school. This is an online test that consists of English, Maths, Non–Verbal and Verbal reasoning assessments.
Usually schools ask us to administer the test in November of Year 6, although there is some flexibility with timings, and some schools may ask us to do it in Year 7 (such as Bedford School and Berkhamsted Boys’ School).
The test is taken at Lockers Park and a pupil can only take the test once in an academic year. Once the pupil has taken the test, all the senior schools that he has registered for can access the result. Boys can only do the pre-test if they have registered for a school and it is the senior school’s responsibility to register your son for the pre-test. At Lockers Park, we will do some preparation for the pre-test in Critical Thinking lessons in Year 5 and in workshops at Saturday School.
Senior School Entrance Tests
For many schools the ISEB pre-test represents the first round. If your son has met the standard then in many cases the senior school will run their own entrance test in Year 7 or early in Year 8. This will consist of English, Maths and Reasoning, and on occasions include Science and French. Preparation for these tests will happen in lessons, although for those that might benefit from some extra support, we will run workshops at Saturday School.
The Common Entrance Exam
All of our Year 8 pupils, with the exception of scholarship candidates, are expected to take the Common Entrance exam at the end of Year 8 in June. This exam is organised by ISEB. Candidates are tested in the three core subjects with the addition of French, Latin, History and Geography. It helps senior schools with setting and provides a good focus for the boys to work towards in their final year. Again, content will be covered in lessons with some extra support available at Saturday School.
Scholarship Exams
Boys who have shown either academic ability or talent in Music, Sport, Drama, Art or Technology may be put forward by us for a scholarship attempt. Not all schools offer scholarships for everything and the assessments vary in nature, depending on the senior school. For most senior schools these assessments will happen in the spring term of Year 8. Academic scholars will not normally be expected to do Common Entrance.
Managing Exam Pressure
We understand that both students and parents may feel under pressure with these assessments; expectations can sometimes feel overwhelming. We believe it’s essential to focus not only on academic preparation but also stress management. This includes:
- Recognising exam pressure
- Developing practical strategies
- Working with family to ensure the right support
Interviews
With interviews, it’s important to remember that the interviewer is only trying to get to know the student. They don’t really want to catch him out. Here are some useful things to remember:
- First impressions count. Think about appearance, smile, be polite and make eye contact.
- Consider good body language – hold a good posture and don’t fiddle.
- It’s a conversation. Don’t regurgitate learnt information; it should be a two-way process.
- Some questions can be prepared for (see below).
- Don’t undersell yourself – try to remember all the elements of your life at Lockers Pak. What positions of responsibility have you had? What are your passions? What prizes have you won?
- For the more challenging questions, remember that all they are looking for is a smile and a response. There is no correct answer, so think and talk it through. “That’s a difficult question, let me think,” can relax you and get you into gear.
- If you don’t understand a question don’t be afraid to ask for clarification.
As a general rule, senior school interviews tend to cover two areas, fact-finding questions and those questions needing some ‘out-of-the-box’ answers.
Examples of Fact Finding Questions
- What is your favourite subject?
- Do you have any hobbies?
- Music/drama/sport achievements
- What books have you enjoyed?
- Why do you want to come to this school?
Questions Requiring Out-of-the-box Thinking
- If you could go back in time which era would you go to?
- If you could change one law, what would it be?
- What news stories interest you?
- How would you describe yourself in five words?
Your son might also be asked to discuss a picture or piece of writing.
Most importantly, smile, relax and try to enjoy it. At Lockers Park, you will be well prepared!
