From now, getting into Grammar school has never been tougher – How can parents be ready?

Recently, the Government announced an additional 20% VAT on the fees for each pupil attending a private school. This will commence from January 2025. The revenue generated from this tax will be injected into state schools. It is anticipated that the funds, amounting to an estimated £1.6 billion, will partly be used to hire 6,500 new teachers.

Private schools often increase their fees every few years to cope with rising overheads and general inflation. Therefore, with the added tax and the usual fee hikes, parents of private school pupils might see an overall increase of up to 30%.

Affecting most pupils in the UK

This situation is not only a setback for parents with children in private schools, but the method of fund generation could also adversely impact parents with children in grammar schools or comprehensive schools.

More children are sitting for Grammar Exams

Some parents, who might have considered private school for their child, are now discouraged from having their child sit the entrance exams, knowing they cannot afford the fees if their child is offered a place. Their alternative is to have their child take the grammar school exams instead. Grammar schools often have many applications and there is no limit on the number of children who can sit for their exams, which means the competition for a place is becoming increasingly fierce.

For many grammar schools, the number of available places is extremely limited. It is not uncommon to see up to 3,000 applicants competing for approximately 100 places in the high performing grammars, with only 300 children passing the first round. This competitive landscape is expected to intensify for parents seeking grammar school placements for September 2025 (sitting this 11+ exams this autunm), with the trend likely to continue.

Potential private pupils opting for grammar places

There is a common misconception among parents that gaining entry into a private school is straightforward if the parents can afford it. However, private schools also require entrance exams, which can be as difficult sitting for the 11+ exams.

To address this challenge, parents often invest in additional tuition to secure a place for their child in a private school. Even if they later find private schooling unaffordable, this tuition investment will be a great support for sitting the 11+ exams, increasing the competition of gaining a grammar school place for others.

What can be done? Parents must take the lead!

We consistently advise parents that it is in their child’s best interest to ensure they are prepared for the 11+ exams. This means not only being academically ready but also possessing the confidence and know-how to take an exam. These life skills are not always taught at state schools by the time pupils sit the 11+ exams.

We often encounter parents who arrange one to two hours of tuition per week for their child, believing this will suffice for the 11+ exams. Usually, this is not adequate.

At AE Tuition, we have 35 years of experience with a methodology that has achieved over an 86% pass rate.* Our approach significantly enhances a child’s educational development.

AE Tuition’s courses are designed to prepare your child for verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, mathematics, and English exams for grammar schools in the Greater London area and nearby regions such as Surrey, Kent, and Essex. Our online preparation is suitable preparation for every grammar school across England and in Northern Ireland,

The preparation includes all that is necessary for the GL Assessment (Granada Learning) and similar 11+ exams. It also serves as excellent preparation for verbal reasoning, mathematics, and English exams in the independent sector.

Our methodology is most effective when there is a strong partnership between the teacher, parent, and child. We believe effective communication throughout the course is crucial to equip children with the knowledge, confidence, and motivation required to pass their 11+ exams and to thrive in a grammar school education.

We encourage parents to look beyond the 11+ exams, just as we do!

It is crucial for parents to understand that passing 11+ exams is just the beginning. If their child is accepted, they must be prepared for a new educational approach. The AE Tuition methodology equips children for challenges beyond 11+ exams. Decades later, our alumni are enrolling their own children, and they tell us that their AE Tuition experience benefited them at university and in their career. What your child learns at AE Tuition will stay with your child and give them the skillset for all future learning.

Our 11+ One-Year Courses for Years 3, 4, and 5 begin this September. For more details about our courses, please visit our website.If you’ve missed the course’s start date, there’s no need to worry. We enrol pupils a few weeks into the course and quickly bring them up to speed to join the rest of the class.