4 Plus and 7 plus Tutoring in Hampstead
Preparing Hampstead Children for North London's Most Competitive School Entrances
Hampstead sits at the heart of one of London’s most concentrated and competitive independent school landscapes. Within a short radius, families have access to some of the country’s most academically distinguished schools — from Highgate and UCS to South Hampstead, NLCS, and Habs. But navigating this landscape is considerably more complex than it first appears, and the decisions families make at the 4+ and 7+ stage have consequences that extend well beyond the assessment itself.
Hermes Education has worked with Hampstead families for years, preparing children for entrance to North London’s leading schools. Our teachers bring direct experience from inside these institutions — from Highgate, UCS, South Hampstead, NLCS, and Habs. We understand not just what these schools assess, but how they think about the children they are looking for.
Understanding the North London School Landscape
The first thing families new to the North London independent sector often notice is how single-sex it is. NLCS, South Hampstead, and Habs Girls are among the most academically selective girls’ schools in the country. UCS, Highgate, and Habs Boys offer outstanding education for boys. But for families seeking a co-educational all-through school — one where their child can stay from Reception to Sixth Form without changing schools — the options narrow dramatically.
In practice, Highgate is the only genuinely co-educational all-through school in the immediate Hampstead area. This concentration of demand on a single school has a predictable effect: Highgate’s entrance assessments are exceptionally competitive, at a level that exceeds what its headline results alone might suggest, because so many families whose children could thrive at UCS, South Hampstead, or NLCS are also applying to Highgate simply because it is the only co-ed option. Parents should approach a Highgate application with the same rigour and preparation they would bring to any of the most selective schools in London — and ideally not as their only application.
Geography Matters More Than Parents Often Realise
Schools like Habs and NLCS are genuinely outstanding — but they are not Hampstead schools in any practical sense. Both sit significantly further north, and for young children at Reception or Year 3 age, the daily commute is a meaningful consideration. A journey that feels manageable on an open day can become genuinely demanding when repeated five days a week through a London winter.
Families who have their hearts set on Habs or NLCS from a Hampstead base should think carefully about whether their current home makes that workable in the long term — and whether they might be open to moving. The reverse is equally true: families based in the Barnet or Hertsmere corridor for whom Habs or NLCS is the natural local school may find that Highgate or South Hampstead, while excellent, involves a longer journey than they had anticipated.
This is not a reason to rule schools in or out. It is a reason to factor geography into the decision at the outset, rather than discovering it matters only after offers have been made.
The Prep School Question — and Why It Is More Complicated Than Parents Assume
North London has a rich and well-established prep school sector. Schools such as The Hall, Devonshire House, Sarum Hall, and others have long served as feeders to the area’s senior schools. Many families target a prep at 4+ with the intention of securing their child’s place at a senior school further down the line.
What surprises some parents is how competitive prep school entry has become in its own right. Getting into The Hall at 4+, for example, is a genuinely demanding assessment — not a formality. These schools receive far more applications than they have places, and they assess children rigorously. The assumption that prep school entry is a stepping stone that takes care of itself is, in the current market, an expensive one to make.
It is also worth remembering that most preps are not all-through schools. Children who enter at 4+ will typically leave at 11 or 13, at which point they face the senior school assessment process regardless. A prep school offers an excellent education and strong preparation for senior school entry — but it does not remove the need to prepare seriously for that next transition.
The Changing School Landscape in North London
The North London independent school landscape is shifting, and the most significant development in recent years is the arrival of Alleyn’s — one of South London’s most celebrated schools — north of the river for the first time in its 400-year history.
Alleyn’s Regent’s Park
Opening in September 2025, Alleyn’s Regent’s Park has rebranded from North Bridge House Regent’s Park Preparatory School. It offers co-educational education for children aged 4 to 13. The school operates under Alleyn’s academic programme, including its AiQ digital and ethics curriculum, while continuing to be owned and operated by Cognita.
Alleyn’s Hampstead
Opening in September 2026, Alleyn’s Hampstead is the more significant development for families in NW3 and the surrounding area. It expands the existing North Bridge House School Hampstead into a full through-school for children aged 2 to 18 — meaning it will become the second genuinely co-educational all-through school in the Hampstead area, directly alongside Highgate. For families who have found Highgate’s competition level daunting, this is a meaningful new option, though its academic positioning relative to Highgate will take time to establish.
It is also worth noting that the arrival of a well-resourced, branded Alleyn’s school in Hampstead is already creating ripples. Devonshire House — currently a prep taking children to 13 — has reportedly been surveying parents about extending to 18, in part as a response to the competitive pressure this expansion creates. The landscape families are navigating in 2025 and 2026 is genuinely different from what it was even two years ago.
How North London Schools Assess — What Families Need to Know
One feature of the North London selective school process that distinguishes it from some other parts of London is the prevalence of two-round assessment processes. Schools including Highgate, NLCS, and South Hampstead typically conduct an initial screening, with a smaller group of children invited back for a second, more detailed assessment round.
This has practical implications for how children should be prepared. A child who performs well in round one but is not prepared for the step up in round two — or who finds the experience of a second visit more daunting — can be disadvantaged even if they have the underlying ability. Preparation needs to account for both stages, building both the skills being assessed and the resilience and confidence to sustain performance across two separate assessment days.
4+ Preparation in Hampstead
The 4+ assessment takes place when children are three, with entry to Reception the following September. In Hampstead, the primary destinations at 4+ include Highgate Junior School, The Hall, Devonshire House, Sarum Hall, and South Hampstead Junior School, among others.
Each school approaches assessment differently. Some are primarily observational, watching how children engage with unfamiliar adults and navigate play-based tasks. Others include more structured activities. Knowing which approach each school takes — and preparing a child specifically for that style — is the difference between broad preparation and preparation that actually works.
Our 4+ programme builds the underlying capabilities that assessors are genuinely looking for: curiosity, communication, confidence in new social situations, and early cognitive skills. We do not rehearse children to perform. We develop the qualities that allow them to present naturally and at their best — because the assessors at these schools have seen every coached performance, and they are not impressed by one.
7+ Preparation in Hampstead
The 7+ is a more structured academic assessment, typically sitting in January of Year 2 for September Year 3 entry. In North London, the key 7+ destinations include Highgate, UCS, South Hampstead, NLCS, and Habs, as well as a number of selective preps who assess at this stage.
At 7+, children are assessed on reading comprehension, creative writing, mathematics, and often a group activity or interview element. The two-round structure used by several North London schools means that the assessment process can span a number of weeks, and children need to sustain their performance across that period.
Our teachers have worked inside the schools conducting these assessments. We understand the specific skills each school prioritises, the way they structure group tasks, and what they are looking for in an interview or interaction. That knowledge cannot be replicated by a generalist tutor working from published admissions information.
Where We Work in Hampstead
Our Hampstead sessions are held at Hampstead Parochial Church of England Primary School, in the heart of the village. The entrance is just off Heath Street, directly beside the Everyman Cinema — a straightforward landmark for families navigating Hampstead for the first time.
A practical note on parking: the surrounding streets operate paid parking on weekdays but are free at weekends. Our sessions take place on Saturdays, so families driving to us will not face weekday parking charges. That said, Hampstead village can be busy on a Saturday morning and we recommend arriving with a few minutes to spare.
For parents who would like to make the most of the time, Hampstead is extremely well served for coffee. There is a Gail’s Bakery nearby, and the village has no shortage of independent cafes within a short walk of the school. Many parents find the Saturday session fits naturally into a broader Hampstead morning.
Why Hermes Education
Hermes Education was founded to close the gap between what selective schools are looking for and what most children are given the opportunity to develop. But our connection to the North London school community is not merely professional — it is personal.
Our founder and CEO passed his own 7+ to enter Dulwich College. Years later, when his daughters were approaching school age, he designed the Hermes programme specifically to prepare them for 4+ entry to JAGS and Alleyn’s. Both daughters were successful. The programme you are considering was not built in the abstract — it was built for the most selective London schools, by someone who has navigated this process himself, and tested on his own children first.
Our teaching team brings direct experience from within the North London schools that matter most to Hampstead families. We have current and former teachers from Highgate, UCS, South Hampstead, NLCS, and Habs. When we tell you what a particular school is looking for, we are drawing on experience gained inside that institution — not inferring it from a prospectus.
Our success rate across four years of operation is 80%, and our academic testing partnerships with Cambridge and Oxford University ensure our programme reflects current research into early childhood development rather than received wisdom about what preparation should look like.
Our groups are small. Our approach is rigorous but never pressured. And our knowledge of the North London school landscape — including the changes currently reshaping it — is current.
Book a Free Consultation
If you are beginning to think about 4+ or 7+ preparation for your child and you live in Hampstead or the surrounding area, we would be glad to speak with you. Our initial consultations are free, and there is no obligation.
We will talk through your child’s timeline, the schools you are considering, and what realistic preparation looks like — including whether the two-round assessment process at your target schools requires any specific adjustments to how we work with your child. We will also tell you honestly if we think the timing is wrong, or if your child’s needs would be better served differently.
Hermes Education offers 4+ and 7+ preparation for families in Hampstead, Belsize Park, Swiss Cottage, Golders Green, Finchley, Muswell Hill, and the wider North London area. Our sessions take place at Hampstead Parochial Church of England Primary School, Heath Street, NW3.