Securing a spot at the perfect school for your child is always competitive, and can be an emotional journey. But our experienced schools advisory service is designed to give you the competitive edge – while making the process of school selection and application stress-free for students and parents alike. We have deep understanding and expertise working across the British education system, and with a dedicated international team, we are well-equipped to support families applying to overseas schools too. From pre-prep to sixth form, London to LA, we’ve helped every single Figtree student gain a place at one of their chosen schools.

From selection to acceptance

Whether you have a list of target schools in mind, or want to explore all your options, our educational consultants will guide you at every step. Our initial meeting will cover your academic and personal priorities so that we can start building a profile of your child’s interests and preferences. From here, we will conduct a highly targeted academic assessment. This helps us to establish your child’s current level in order to inform our targeted, transparent advice – shaping a shortlist of schools that will meet your bespoke needs.

We’ve developed our own prospectuses for the top schools, offering you a genuine glimpse into the options available. While our established relationships with many of the leading schools means we can help arrange visits beyond the scheduled open days, to allow you to explore the school’s daily routine and experience its true culture. And when the offer letters come through, we will be on hand to help you make the best decision for your child.

School entrance exam preparation

Armed with a complete picture of your child’s current skills and future aspirations, our expert entrance exam tutors will step in to provide highly targeted support. Every school is unique, which is why we always aim to match students with an entrance exam tutor that’s worked successfully with other applicants to the same school. Drawing on a suite of practice papers and workbooks, we cover all the core test material, as well as any additional requirements – such as extra exams or subjects.

An expert team by your side

All our entrance exam tutors receive regular training, developed and delivered by the Figtree Learning leadership team every other month. Leveraging exam best practice and our extensive understanding of the individual requirements of each top school, our specialist training ensures our entrance exam tutors have the techniques and teaching methods to tackle any exam, at any level. 

Interview preparation

For many children applying to an independent school, this will be the first time they’ve faced such a high-pressured environment. That’s why we strive to create a supportive space where children can practice their interview techniques, build confidence across question sets – and even start to enjoy the interview process. Removing the unknown goes a long way to allaying children’s fears, so we’ll spend plenty of time practising various interview scenarios to ensure each student makes an impression from the very first moment.