Prep School Support
Our work in Prep Schools provides targeted support for the Senior School admissions process. Our services include Pre-test preparation classes, staff CPD workshops and mock interview practice.
Targeted support for the senior school admissions process
- We offer a cost-effective, quick and flexible offering to help schools cover any curriculum gaps using high-quality and Keystone-trained tutors.
- We are here to fill in any staffing gaps, expand your curriculum and help with last-minute staff shortages. Alongside this, we can help with EAL and SEN needs.
- We tailor our offering to your in-house style (including reporting and assessment needs)
- Our delivery is fully remote, and we can work for all time zones and requirements. However, for schools based in or near London, our tutors are sometimes able to offer some face-to-face support.
Our Prep School Support
Keystone has years of experience navigating the intricacies of independent school entrance requirements and the differences between individual schools’ assessments. Keystone can review your current pre-test provision, train staff in your school or run student workshops to assist those approaching their pre-test exams.
Our Pre-test provision for Prep Schools allows you to:
- Upskill time-poor staff quickly
- Tailor workshops and training to suit the needs of your students
- Market a programmed response for pre-tests to parents
Examples of past workshops for students include: ISEB Common Pre-Test for English, Maths, Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning and Computerised Pre-Tests.
In our workshops, students spend time learning each topic, practicing questions together, and putting their knowledge to use in independent pretest-style test questions. They also do regular test practice and build confidence in how to manage time and work in test conditions.
We are available to provide one-to-one or group mock interview workshops for the 11+ or 13+ Common Entrance.
Our mock interviews give students the opportunity to undertake an interview in unfamiliar surroundings with someone they have not met before. In this sense, it more closely replicates the actual interview experience than having a session with a teacher or parent that they know well.
Format
The interview will last for around 30 minutes and will include questions relating to both the child’s character and academic ability. The emphasis of the interview will be tailored to the student’s target schools, based on feedback Keystone has received from previous students as to each school’s interview format. Following the interview, students will be given verbal feedback on strengths and weaknesses.
We also provide additional academic and enrichment classes to Prep schools for targeted groups of students.
Study Clubs:
Our study clubs are after-school sessions that are designed to help schools expand their current academic provision. Our clubs are designed to expand and enhance students’ engagement and can be flexible to suit the interests and demands of students. We can focus on both curricular and super—curricular subjects within these clubs.
Examples of previous study clubs include: After school Greek, Creative Writing, Debating and Coding clubs.
Read more about our extension and enrichment classes.
As one of the UK’s most established providers of supplementary education, Keystone Tutors provides Prep Schools with access to a pool of subject specialist tutors who can teach a vast range of hard to staff subjects such as Latin, Mandarin, Ancient Greek, Computer Science and Philosophy. We provide tutors on an hourly basis so schools can offer a diverse range of subjects without the worry of the economic viability of having to employ full time teaching staff.
Our tutors will deliver all or part of the curriculum as required by your school. Within our offering we can manage attendance, assessment and reporting - tailored to your house style and systems.
Looking for something more bespoke?
We understand that every Prep School has different needs, and we are always happy to discuss these and ensure that we can create a programme to help your students. Please do flag anything that we can help with which has not been mentioned above and we would be delighted to discuss how we could support.
Explore the Schools
Keystone work with
Westminster Cathedral Choir School
Keystone works with Westminster Cathedral Choir School to provide mock interview preparation for their students in Year 6 students approaching the 13+ common entrance exams.
Downe House
One of Keystone’s experienced Law tutors Joe, recently conducted a series of six interactive, online tutorials with a group of Year 12 students from Downe House School in Berkshire.
Astrea Academy Trust
For the last two years, we have been providing weekly A Level extension tuition to their Year 13 students who are aiming for top grades.
City of London Academy Southwark
City of London Academy Southwark contacted Keystone for help in supporting their Year 13 students with admissions test support for students applying to study maths at University.
Luckley House School
Keystone has worked with Luckley House School on a number of occasions partnering with them to provide targeted support for their A Level students.
Repton School
Repton contacted Keystone for help in sourcing a Computer Science tutor to take over their AS Level class. Their current teacher was leaving and they needed a tutor to start at the beginning of the summer term.
Our tutors
We employ a core team of full-time tutors — rare in the industry. This means quality, reliability, and long-term commitment to students.
Our tutors are part of a tightly-knit team of skilled professionals, many of whom are former teachers from top UK independent schools or career tutors. Each one is handpicked through a rigorous screening process, and we take pride in personally knowing each tutor, ensuring that every student benefits from a supportive and carefully tailored learning experience.
Jon is a former Head of Science with over 20 years' teaching experience. With a specialised focus on GCSE and A-level Science and Maths, alongside his expertise in university admissions, Jon brings a wealth of knowledge to each lesson. He joined Keystone in 2012 and has helped 350 Keystone families over this period, teaching more than 12,900 hours.
Alexander has a Masters from UCL and is an experienced tutor with a passion for English. He aims to instil a love of learning in all his students and is patient and enthusiastic. Alexander has supported 90 Keystone families since becoming a Keystone tutor.
Lara is an English graduate with a love of teaching and academia. She teaches both face to face and online and has taught over 6,300 hours with Keystone since 2016.
Davina has been tutoring for over 15 years. Her teaching is marked by its sympathy and diligence. She plans her lessons exhaustively and structures rigorous long-term programmes. She is particularly talented at helping her pupils get to grips with the perils of the English language, and making Science more accessible to those who have struggled to understand it in class.
Alice read English Literature at the University of St Andrews, graduating with First Class Honours, before completing a PGDE at the University of Edinburgh. She has seven years’ experience teaching in Edinburgh independent schools, where she most recently served as Head of English.
Callum is an enthusiastic and engaging tutor. He impressed us at interview with his supportive and knowledgeable approach to tutoring.
Cameron is a playwright and tutors alongside his writing schedule. He is highly personable and as a result his teaching style is very engaging. He has been with Keystone since 2014 teaching over 10,600 hours.
