We offer a happy, homely and safe working environment for your child. We do not believe in ‘stressing children out’ and think that a relaxed atmosphere is essential to them achieving their best.

Through the lessons we offer, we hope to increase confidence and concentration levels, expand vocabulary and encourage accuracy with times tables.

Studying verbal reasoning with us will help develop improved literacy and numeracy skills, exam techniques, speed of working, the ability to work alone, techniques for checking work and the ability to self-correct. These skills are crucial at all our county secondary schools.

The class work and homework sheets provided at The Coach House Tutors are of similar difficulty to the actual tests. We are able to fully cover all the question types the children will encounter in the Gloucestershire Secondary School entrance tests. While we cannot guarantee success, we will inform you of your child’s progress accurately and regularly. Whatever the final outcome, their ability to tackle the tests, their confidence and their speed will grow.

It is our belief that these sessions will not only help your child to make a more confident attempt at the 11+ but also, whichever senior school they go to, they will have gained in many other areas which will stand them in good stead for the future.

Download waiting list form

Verbal reasoning tests are a good way to select children for grammar schools.  A maths paper or an English paper would test the quality of the schools they attend or how good their class teachers are. In theory, a good verbal reasoning paper does not discriminate against bright children who have had a patchy or poor education.  However, grammar schools are for children with high academic ability and will not be suitable for every child.

Good tuition gives a child the confidence to achieve his or her own, often hidden, potential.  This is done through familiarity with the questions, awareness of time, improving levels of concentration, and by obtaining detailed knowledge of exam techniques.  Reputable tutors do not, probably cannot, and certainly would not wish to alter a child’s perceived IQ so that they end up in an unsuitable school where they would be unable to cope.  But after a few sessions of verbal reasoning coaching, parents often report children suddenly showing improved scores in all areas of academic work at school, brought about by greater levels of concentration and confidence.

Children should not, however, be put under any pressure by parents or tutors and should therefore be coached carefully and gently in a happy and relaxed atmosphere.  Often verbal reasoning questions are an incomprehensible mystery when the child first encounters them.  Denying children the help they need to undertake one of these fairly tough tests could cause stress and distress on the big day as well as an unwarranted low score.

Delaying coaching or parental help until just days before the exam, in our opinion, puts your child under unnecessary pressure.  Some forward planning by the parents is needed.  Parents often do not realise that if the test is taken in Year Six, ten months before children finish primary school, then coaching needs to start early in Year Five.

Most crucially, since so many children are prepared for selection tests by their parents or tutors, those who have not had sufficient preparation will be left at a significant disadvantage.

**This article was written by Ros & Claire for an article in the Telegraph.