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Preparation for 11 plus entrance

While teaching English at St Paul’s Girl’s School between 2002 and 2011, I wrote, marked and assessed the school's English comprehension and creative writing eleven plus entrance.  In other words, I know about the 11+ paper; I understand the logic behind it and the kinds of things we were looking for when selecting students to attend St Paul's.

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Many schools now require their applicants to complete computerised tests as a major means of assessment. I still believe that a hand-written paper with space to create and explore is the best means of assessment for the top schools and I hope that schools like St Paul's and North London Collegiate will retain this format.

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My track record

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I have spent the last 13 years, as an 11+ tutor, helping students understand what they are being tested on and how to find the best way to show off their abilities in English. I will not give false promises; indeed I believe that pushing a student into a school which is too academic is not fair on the child.

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In 2025, my ten 11+ students went to SPGS (7), G&L (2) and City (1). Other schools students have gone to since I started online tutoring include: Hampton, Latymer Upper, Royal Masonic, Haberdashers Aske's, North London Collegiate, Notting Hill and Ealing, St Helen's, Northwood College, Francis Holland (both), Putney High,  Harrodian, Queen's College, Wimbledon High, Wycombe Abbey, Cheltenham, Queen's Gate, Channing, JAGS, Queen's College, South Hampstead High, Sutton High, and Nonsuch High.

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JUST IN: All six of my students who applied to St Paul's Girls' School this January (2026) have received offers; all four who applied to Westminster also received offers. It's my best year yet and I am absolutely delighted that they have done so well. In fact they were offered places for all the schools they applied to including City of London Girls', Wycombe Abbey, Latymer Upper and Godolphin and Latymer. Two of them worked with me last summer. 

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Who I work with

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I am selective in the students (and parents) I work with so that they can rely on me to focus my energy on them. I tend to work with 10-12 students each year on a weekly basis and have occasional lessons with a few other students. Siblings are prioritised as are returning students who want or need help later on in their academic journey.

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I am looking for parents who are prepared to listen to my advice and for students who do not need spoon-feeding but will genuinely flourish with the kind of teaching I provide. If your child attends a prep school, I will quite probably undo a great deal of what they have been taught and you will need to be open to that. I do not prepare robots; instead I work on making space for your child to express themselves fully and to enable them to shine among hundreds of dull over-prepared candidates.

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11plusConsultancy Creative Writing Course 3rd - 7th August 2026 
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The 11plus English papers at schools like St Paul’s Girls’ School and City of London Girls’ School are, above all, a test of literary engagement and intellectual curiosity. They reward imagination, genuine engagement with language, and the ability to write with distinctive creative control. For more details of this course please see my new page dedicated to what will be the first of many group courses during the holidays. But note that applications close for this course at the end of April. 

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​11plusConsultancy Service for Years 4, 5 & 6

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I created this service in 2019 when I realised that I was turning down requests for 11+ tuition several times a week. 

 

This service involves both you and your daughter. I will select papers, mark them in detail and give feedback, with advice on how to improve. My aim is to give you honest advice about the ability of your child and the realism of your expectations. You may not like what you hear and you need to be prepared for this. If I have spare time, I may be able to do some extra lessons with your child for an extra cost although this is not guaranteed; similarly I may be able to mark papers at an extra cost.

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My expertise is preparation for St Paul's Girls' School and other (girls' independent) schools in which a full written paper is required. 

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Sophie has been amazing. She guided my daughter through the 11+ process to achieve great success with scholarships and bursaries. She was honest and keen to help her succeed. What I liked the most is that she took time to give me detailed feedback which really helped me understand how to help my daughter further. She tailored the lessons to suit her needs and with exams changing so rapidly, she was able to adapt accordingly. It’s obvious that she is incredibly experienced and I’m so grateful for all her support! She deserves 5 Star rating!!

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Parent of student, year 6, who worked with me for free because her daughter was applying for full bursaries. She was awarded scholarships and/or bursaries at Godolphin & Latymer, Latymer Upper, Wimbledon High, LEH, Cheltenham, Putney High, Wycombe Abbey, March 2021

Sophie was quite simply a godsend. From the word go, she started nurturing in my daughter a love of the subject through exploring fun ways to play with language, reading and discussing a particular book together over a period of a few weeks as well as setting short but very effective creative writing tasks for homework. As the weeks went on, Sophie opened my daughter's eyes to some of the quality of her composition work and to her mature interpretation in response to some of the comprehension texts. Sophie's positivity was infectious and gave my daughter faith in her ability and a determination to succeed. Several time zones could not stand in the way of Sophie's sense of humour and amazing teaching style and before long, my daughter was tackling past papers on a weekly basis and was confident enough to learn from her mistakes.  My daughter had offers from all the six schools to which she applied, including two academic scholarships, one to a London day school and another to a boarding school. She will be heading to her first choice school, St Paul's Girls' School, in September. I am grateful to Sophie not only for my daughter's stellar results in the exams but because Sophie led her to discover a real love for English.

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Parent of student, year 6, who was awarded places and scholarships at top schools including St Paul's Girls' School, City of London and Wycombe Abbey, Feb 2017

Before we found Sophie Breese, various experts were telling us that my daughter, although bright, had little chance of getting into St Paul's, as the competition was so fierce. Sophie, however, immediately saw my daughter's potential, took her on with great enthusiasm and guided her all the way to a place at St Paul's (and other top independent schools). And this was done with very little homework, with a great deal of fun and via Skype! After dreading her previous tutor's lessons, my daughter positively looked forward to Sophie's. It was phenomenal.

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Parent of student, year 6, who was awarded places at top London schools including St Paul's Girls' School and Godolphin & Latymer, Feb 2017

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