Frequently Asked Questions

Competition for grammar school places is fierce, which is why more children than ever are having tuition before sitting the 11 Plus exam. We’ll give your child the best possible chance of securing a place, by taking the time to get to know them and understand the learning techniques that work best for them.

It depends on their current ability and how much support you feel they need. The majority of children start formal preparation for the 11 Plus in Year 5, however we are seeing a large increase in the number of parents that choose for their children to start in Year 4. If you’re not sure when your child should start, please get in touch and we’ll be more than happy to advise.

All of our term-time courses (Year 4 and 5) begin in September to align with the academic year and ensure consistency across every stage of learning.

Our Year 4 course is designed to give students a comprehensive and structured preparation from the start of the academic year. By beginning in September, students have the opportunity to:

• Build strong foundational skills over 32 weeks of tuition, ensuring they’re fully prepared for moving up to Year 5.
• Progress at a steady and manageable pace, reducing stress and promoting confidence throughout the year.
• Take advantage of a well-paced curriculum that supports their learning both in school and during tuition.
• Achieve a smoother transition into more advanced Year 5 preparation, as they’ve already mastered key concepts and skills.

Whilst we recommend starting in September for the full benefit of our comprehensive programme, students are welcome to join at any point during the year if spaces are available. If a course is fully booked, you can join our waiting list to secure a space when one becomes available.

Marie and her team of first-class, fully qualified primary teachers deliver lessons that are interactive and challenging, with an element of fun to keep your child engaged in the right way. We believe strongly that preparing your child mentally for sitting the exam is also a key part of their success – which is why we also work hard to build confidence and exposure to exam conditions.

With extensive experience of preparing children for the 11 Plus and teaching the curriculum in local schools, as well as preparing your child for exam conditions, we offer a winning combination.

Yes. All members of our team are fully qualified primary teachers with extensive experience of 11 Plus preparation.

No. All of our 11 Plus tutors are qualified and experienced primary teachers.

Our 11 Plus Tuition Courses for Year 4 and Year 5 students take place in Amersham, Aylesbury, Beaconsfield, Bushey, Gerrards Cross, High Wycombe, Maidenhead, Milton Keynes, Reading (Winnersh), Stoke Poges,  Windsor and Uxbridge.

Our classes are limited to ten pupils (nearly half the size of most independent school classes). This ensures that our pupils receive valuable one-to-one attention with the teacher.

Discover: the proven benefits of small class sizes.

We incorporate educational games and activities so that children enjoy their lessons and remain engaged throughout.

The following parents emailed us to say how much their children enjoyed our lessons:

• Jon is enjoying his sessions thoroughly and is looking forward to continuing them next year too.  (Year 4 parent, Chesham, 2017)
• I would like to let you know that for Christian out of all his academic activities, tuition is his favourite!  (Year 4 parent, Beaconsfield, 2017)
• Please can you forward our comments to Anne, as our son thinks she is a very good tutor and enjoys her classes. He enjoyed the classes so much, that he invited his friends to join. His friends have now joined and attend the same class as him.  (Year 5 parent, Farnham Common, 2016)
• Naveen really enjoyed her first lesson last week with Anne. Naveen was a little apprehensive going into class to begin with and did actually take me in with her! However, once I left and came to collect her she said she really enjoyed her session and liked Anne. I would also like to mention that Naveen came out of her first class beaming and once home said she loved having a tutor like Anne. And then decided she was very lucky to have a tutor. So a really big thank you from me.  (Year 4 parent, Farnham Common, 2016)
• I wanted to just let you know that Jake really enjoyed his first session last week and seems motivated to complete the homework. (Year 5 parent, Beaconsfield, 2015)
• Rachel enjoyed her class yesterday and also commented on what a lovely teacher she had which is great. (Year 5 parent, Chalfont St Peter, 2015)
• He really enjoyed his first lesson last week and has even enjoyed doing his homework. (Year 5 parent, Gerrards Cross, 2015)
• The girls really enjoyed their first lesson. so all good. (Year 5 parent, Chalfont St Peter, 2015)
• We (the queue of waiting parents on the stairs at 2pm) were all worried that our kids would hate us for making them work on a Saturday, but as far as Harry was concerned, he, and I quote, loved it, it was great fun .. he was bouncing around in the car on the way home. So smiles all round, thank you. (Year 4 parent, Ivinghoe, 2014)
• Many thanks for forwarding Joe’s results. Both Wednesdays he has returned from your sessions full of enthusiasm and has really enjoyed the learning, so thank you very much no mean feat! (Year 5 parent, Princes Risborough, 2014)
• I believe that we have found the right place. Nathan cannot wait until Saturday morning, he absolutely loved your session and he didn’t even realise that he was there for two hours (that is so important to us). (Year 4 parent, Gerrards Cross, 2014)

Visit our testimonials page to see what other parents have to say.

We welcome all levels of abilities – because we believe every child should have the same opportunities and can benefit from 11 Plus tuition.

All children complete an assessment when they first join one of our courses to give us an understanding of their current ability and the appropriate level of challenge they need. We then assess them twice each term – at half term and at the end of term. This means that we can check they’ve achieved their individual targets and devise a Tuition Plan that suits their needs and challenges.

We will create a Tuition Plan based on the outcome of your child’s assessment. This sets their individual targets for verbal, non-verbal and numerical reasoning (key topics of the test). All lessons throughout the course are then designed to develop these areas.

We continually monitor their progress and reassess at half term and at the end of term. You are also welcome to get in touch with us at any time during your child’s tuition, to gain feedback on their development.

Our courses have proven to help children achieve their potential in the 11 Plus. Every year since 2012, a large proportion of our pupils have passed the exam and secured a place at a grammar school.

As reading comprehension and vocabulary are such important parts of the exams, we recommend that you encourage your child to read as wide a range of fiction and non-fiction books as possible.

Ensure that your child completes the homework provided to them at the end of their lesson – we review it in the following session, which gives them an opportunity to go through areas they may have struggled with.

During your child’s first term-time course lesson, they will receive a Bag of Knowledge®, carefully curated to support their learning journey. This exclusive collection includes Marie Redmond’s Superbrain® resources and a selection of books from leading publishers—ensuring they have everything they need to excel.

Each student receives their materials in a premium Marie Redmond Tuition® rucksack, designed to reflect the exceptional quality of our tuition and resources. Inside, they’ll find an electronic thesaurus, a tin of Marie Redmond’s Superbrain® vocabulary flashcards and a dry erase whiteboard.

Students also receive notebooks dedicated to spellings, vocabulary and maths, as well as a plain notebook for additional notes. Completing the set is a pencil case stocked with essential stationery including HB pencils, an eraser, sharpener and a dry erase pen.

Best of all, the cost of the Bag of Knowledge® and all resources for the course is fully covered within the monthly course fees.

If you have more than one child attending our courses during the same term, you are eligible for a 5% sibling discount on our term-time courses.

For classroom-based courses, we accept payment of fees by Direct Debit, Debit/Credit Card, Childcare Vouchers, Tax-Free Childcare or the Childcare Grant Payment Service (CGPS). We’ll send you specific payment details when your child enrols.

For virtual courses (term-time, book club, creative writing and creative thinking), the government does not permit you to use Childcare Vouchers, Tax-Free Childcare or CGPS to pay for lessons, therefore we accept only payment by Direct Debit or Debit/Credit Card for our virtual courses. For a full explanation, please see this article on why we cannot accept Childcare Vouchers and Tax-Free Childcare for virtual courses.

For all classroom-based courses, you can use Childcare Vouchers, Tax-Free Childcare or the Childcare Grant Payment Service to pay your fees. To simplify our processes, we no longer accept deposit payments using these schemes. However, since the remaining fees constitute the majority of the course cost, using these schemes will still allow you to save on most of the fees.

The Government closed the Childcare Vouchers scheme to new entrants on 4th October 2018. If you joined the scheme on or before 4th October 2018 and are still eligible for Childcare Vouchers, you can continue to use them – like many thousands of parents across the UK. You remain eligible for Childcare Vouchers if you stay with the same employer, they continue to run the scheme and you do not take an unpaid career break of longer than a year. You can find out more on the Government website. If you did not join the Childcare Voucher scheme, or are no longer eligible, you can use the new scheme, which is called Tax-Free Childcare.

If your child can’t make their usual lesson, we will offer them a virtual catch-up lesson, or offer them an alternative day or location, provided there is space. If your child is unable to attend the alternative lessons, we will email you with the written catch-up work so that they can complete the work at home.

Refunds are unfortunately not available if your child misses a class and can’t attend an alternative. However, in the unlikely event that your child’s class is cancelled, you will receive a full refund for the lesson.