Most popular Good Schools Guide articles

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• Secondary school: understanding the 11+

  The 11+ is the entrance exam procedure for getting your brightish little button into a fee-paying or state grammar school. Much of the country abolished the 11+ several decades ago for state schools, but a few local authorities, such as Bucks and Kent, retained a large number of grammar schools and run county-wide entrance tests. In some other areas, such as Barnet and Kingston, a few grammar schools exist in tandem with the comprehensive system found in most of the country. These grammar schools set their own entrance exams. Sixth Form

• Capital Tuition overview

  Review snapshot: Getting your child better grades is the raison d’être of this company, which they do through their bank of qualified teachers. So, while other tutor agencies might offer you a med student who teaches science on the side to make a bit of extra money, Capital employs actual teachers with classroom experience to… Areas covered: Around half the tutoring happens online – these pupils mainly live in the South East, with others living all over the UK and beyond into Africa, Singapore and Dubai. The other half is in-person tutoring at the pupil’s home – mainly in London…

• Bruton Lloyd overview

  Review snapshot Founded in 2006 by Russian-born friends Ekaterina Ametistova and Anna Kunitsyna, who met at Moscow State University while doing master’s degrees (maths for Ekaterina; physics for Anna).

• Watling Tutors overview

  Review snapshot: The market is a lot more crowded than when we last reviewed this company, but it still soars above the competition. Serves mainly local (but some further afield) clients who rave about Watling’s unparalleled knowledge of local schools and the quality of the tutors, most of whom are trained teachers… Areas covered: Just over half the tutoring is in-person at the student’s home, the rest happens online. For the former, most clients live within 10 miles of St Albans, although they have clients across Hertfordshire and all north and northwest London postcodes. Even with online tutoring, clients tend…

• Keystone Tutors overview

  Review snapshot: This is the BMW of tutor agencies – wow-factor quality, innovative, always evolving, an authority in the industry. It doesn’t pretend or want to be Ferrari – rich jet-setters and Russian oligarchs aren’t their target market.

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