One of the most common private school interview questions is: “Why are you interested in our school?” Therefore it is a good idea to do some research beforehand (have a look at their website, speak to people who have gone there if you can), so that you can give some indication of why you find this school interesting. This is also your chance to demonstrate that you are a good fit for the school – and in the process maybe even mention some of your ambitions and goals that tie in with the school ethos.

Imagine, a few pages a day will mean no hasty last minute reading all night, when you’re exhausted and have all those other subjects to revise for! You will have to know three texts in good detail and the more times you manage to read these the better. Make these texts your friends!

Make sure you know these so that you can comment authoritatively on them. The earlier you get yourself familiar with these, the better – that way you can spot them as you read, and they will flow when you are writing your paper 1 essays! Examples are: theme, symbolism, motif, irony, imagery, narrative voice, point of view. Themes are the “big” things the story is about – love, death, power, betrayal, revenge – these would all be suitable for Game of Thrones, as an example of a fantastic complex plot with many notable narrative devices! And sticking with that example, the throne symbolises ultimate power. A motif, which is a recurring aspect that means something important – dragons, stand for mystical, magical and maybe uncontrollable! There is a strong “elemental” imagery of fire, ice and other throughout. The point of view constantly switches, which we call “omniscient” point of view! In some novels the point of view is restricted to one character even though it is third person!

First of all -don't panic. This is easier said than done, of course, but at that nerve-wracking moment that you open the dreaded envelope, it is important to just take a deep breath and get things in perspective. Failing your mocks - or not getting the grades you hoped for - really isn't the worst thing that can happen to you, even if it seems so at this point in time!

The tutor who is a Literature specialist will have an astounding breadth and depth of knowledge in terms of texts, text types, techniques, structuring answers and applying writing techniques. However, if they also have excellent A levels in Maths and related subjects (e.g. Physics) and have also studied some Maths as part of their degree subjects, then it is very likely that they will be able to deal highly competently with the Maths and Logic required for 11+ and 13+ Maths.

Most novels fit into a broad category or ‘genre’. These developed in the 19th and 20th centuries and are now used to categorise most modern novels. Make sure you have an understanding of the basic genres of literature; ask your tutor for examples if you’re not sure.  Gothic literature is spooky and mysterious, with haunted houses, graveyards and vampires. Magical realist literature has a realistic narrative with some surreal or dreamlike elements. A Bildungsroman (character novel) traces a character’s development over their formative (often childhood) years Dystopian fiction deals with a world, often set in the future, where things are bleak (the opposite of a utopia). Other popular genres include Modernist, Fantasy, Romance, Historical, Crime and Thriller.

Moving onto the general and critical thinking papers, what do they entail? The Latymer Upper writing paper, while not technically a general paper as such, does involve writing essays on e.g. a personal experience and also an argumentative essay. The general paper has a number of MCQ on a range of thinking and problem solving areas such as verbal reasoning but may also include quantitative and abstract reasoning. Below, I have included some links for the best papers to practise reasoning skills for 16+ verbal reasoning and critical thinking MCQ.

The IA is an important part of your overall Psychology IB grade. It is 25% at SL and 20% at HL. The IA is something that it is good to get to work on as early as possible, otherwise it can end up hanging over you while your exam dates loom ever closer. With some good preparation you can begin laying the groundwork for a fantastic IA early on. Remember, the sooner you start, the sooner you can get useful feedback on it. The key is: a section at a time!

The Eton paper is 1hr and 30 mins long, with (usually) 60 marks for the comprehension section and 40 marks for the creative writing section, though marks have not always split this way and can vary.  Remember, the comprehension section will entail you having to read the passages first. The Harrow paper is 1hr and 30 mins long, with 25 marks for each section. Make sure you look at the recommended allocation of time on each paper, and try to follow it closely!

The new GCSE grading system (9-1) has now almost exclusively replaced the old system (A-F) and will have entirely replaced it by Summer 2020. So this year you will most likely see your grades (or your child’s grades) on the new 1-9 scale.