KS1 Common Entrance tutors

1 of 1 UK tutor teaching Common Entrance at KS1.

Common Entrance is the ISEB-administered exam taken at 11+ or 13+ for entry to senior independent schools, covering English, maths and science as core subjects plus, at 13+, humanities, religious studies, languages and Latin or Greek for scholarship streams. Different senior schools weight CE differently — some treat it as a near-formality after a successful pre-test, others as decisive. Tutoring helps most with the specific paper formats (which differ from GCSE-style assessment), with the breadth of the 13+ syllabus, and with the Latin and humanities papers where school provision varies. Look for tutors with explicit Common Entrance teaching or moderation experience.

Key Stage 1 covers Years 1 and 2 (ages 5-7), ending with the Year 2 SATs and the Year 1 phonics screening check. Core focus is reading fluency, phonics, basic arithmetic, and the foundations of writing. Tutoring at KS1 is uncommon but earns its keep where reading hasn't clicked — phonics gaps that don't close in school tend to widen — and for early-maths confidence. The Year 2 SATs are now teacher-assessed rather than externally graded, so the stakes are low; the underlying fluency they measure is what matters. Look for tutors trained in synthetic phonics rather than generalists comfortable with primary-age children.

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