Selected Sundays · Year 5 and Year 6 · Max 8
Weekend Masterclasses
Focused Sunday morning sessions designed around independent and grammar school entry requirements — deeper English comprehension and creative writing taught at the pace and standard entrance and scholarship papers demand. Five Sundays this Autumn term. Max 8 children. Specialist teaching every session.
- English Comprehension & Creative Writing · 9:30am–12:00pm
- 5 Sundays, 4 October to 6 December · book single Sundays or all five for £335
- Max 8 per session, with focused attention and tailored verbal feedback
- Year 5 primarily · Year 6 welcome · live online · Google Classroom · no term commitment
- Named techniques every session: SHAMPOO · PEEL chains · In the Action Rule · Inference Ladder
English is where selective school places are won or lost — and the written paper is completely teachable
Comprehension and creative writing at depth require a different kind of session — more time, more text, more feedback. Weekend Masterclasses give that time. Two and a half hours. One subject pair. Named techniques. Real improvement.
Free monthly parent webinar — ask us anything
Ask anything about 11+ preparation, English technique, school selection and how to support your child at home.
Per Sunday
£75
Per Sunday
Autumn 2026
Every Sunday Session · 9:30am–12:00pm · Max 8 · No Term Commitment
Weekend Masterclasses cover two subjects per session: English Comprehension and Creative Writing are taught in the same morning — 70 minutes each — so your child works deeply on both the written response and the extended writing elements that selective school papers set. This is not a revision session. It is structured teaching.
What your child leaves with each session: one named comprehension technique applied across an unseen text, and one structural writing technique applied in a timed response. Both are recorded in session notes sent within 24 hours, so the technique is practised before the next session.
Autumn dates are live: 5 Sundays from 4 October
Autumn 2026 dates now live · places limited to 8 per session · all-5 package closes Saturday 3 October
£75
per Sunday · Autumn 2026
| Days | Sundays |
|---|---|
| Time | 9:30am–12:00pm |
| Year Group | Year 5 Primarily · Year 6 Welcome |
| Group Size | Max 8 |
| Format | Live · Google Classroom |
| Teaching | Specialist · Every Session |
| Frequency | 5 Sundays · Autumn Term |
- Comprehension + Creative Writing every session
- Named technique — applied and practised in-session
- Session notes sent within 24 hours
- Individual verbal feedback during practice questions
- No term commitment, book individual Sundays
What is taught
Two subjects. Full depth. One morning.
Comprehension and Creative Writing taught at the depth and pace that independent school entrance papers actually require. Both subjects in every session — neither treated as secondary.
Creative Writing
Named techniques: In the Action Rule · Show Don't Tell · SHAMPOO vocabulary · timed response
- In the Action Rule: the opening technique that sets tone and voice immediately — used by children who secure marks in the first two lines, not the last
- Show Don't Tell: converting abstract emotion into concrete detail — the technique that separates a 7/10 response from a 10/10
- Structural writing: beginning, complication, resolution — taught as conscious architecture, not instinct, so it holds together under time pressure
- Timed writing: every session includes a timed response — 20 or 25 minutes depending on the target school's paper — with live review after
- SHAMPOO vocabulary applied in writing: using the same literary devices in creative output that are identified in comprehension — one method, two directions
- School-specific format practice: NLCS narrative, Habs Girls persuasive, St Paul's Girls open format — each child practises their target school's requirements
English Comprehension
Named techniques: SHAMPOO · PEEL chains · Inference Ladder · 4-step elimination
- SHAMPOO applied across an unseen text — identifying and labelling all 7 literary devices at speed, then selecting which to develop in a written response
- 4-part PEEL chains: the extended format that NLCS, Habs Girls and St Paul's Girls mark most generously — Point, Evidence, Explain/Effect, Link
- Deep inference: mood, tone and authorial intent — not just "what happens" but why the author made that choice
- Non-fiction comprehension: purpose, argument, bias — a different reading strategy from fiction, and one most children are underprepared for
- Inference Ladder: a structured approach to building inference from surface detail through to authorial intention — used in every session
- 4-step elimination for multiple-choice questions — never start by reading the options; always start by forming your own answer first
AUTUMN 2026 SCHEDULE
Selected Sundays. Autumn Term
Five Sunday sessions across the Autumn term. Half term (19–30 October) falls between sessions two and three. Each Sunday builds on the last, so you can book the sessions that suit your child, or book all five for £335 and save £40.
Best value · All 5 Sundays
The Full Autumn Term
One booking secures your child’s place at every Sunday, from Foundations on 4 October to the full Exam Rehearsal on 6 December. Each session builds on the last, so this is the complete journey.
SESSION 1 OF 5
Sun 4 Oct
Foundations
SHAMPOO + In the Action Rule
Your child learns to identify and label all 7 literary devices at speed, then opens a piece of writing with the technique that secures marks in the first two lines.
£75 – 9:30am-12:00pm
SESSION 2 OF 5
Sun 18 Oct
Extended Answers
PEEL chains + Show Don't Tell
4-part extended written responses using Point, Evidence, Explain/Effect, Link, paired with converting abstract emotion into concrete descriptive detail.
£75 – 9:30am-12:00pm
SESSION 3 OF 5
Sun 8 Nov
Depth & Structure
Inference Ladder + structural writing
Building inference from surface detail through to authorial intention, alongside conscious story architecture (beginning, complication, resolution) that holds together under timed conditions.
£75 – 9:30am-12:00pm
SESSION 4 OF 5
Sun 22 Nov
School-specific Practice
Non-fiction comprehension + target school format
A different reading strategy for non-fiction text (purpose, argument, bias), paired with writing practice matched to your child’s target school: NLCS narrative, Habs Girls persuasive, or St Paul’s Girls open format.
£75 – 9:30am-12:00pm
SESSION 5 OF 5
Sun 6 Dec
Exam Rehearsal
4-step elimination + full timed response
The multiple-choice technique for comprehension, followed by a complete timed writing response under exam conditions: the closest rehearsal to assessment day this term.
£75 – 9:30am-12:00pm
- Places limited to 8 per session
- Live on Google Classroom
- Book each Sunday individually, no term commitment
- Or save £40 with all 5 Sundays
Inside a masterclass
What a 2.5-hour session looks like in practice
Every session follows the same rhythm — teach the technique, apply it, review it. The structure is deliberate: children need to do, not just hear.
9:30–10:40am
Comprehension block
Unseen text. Named technique introduced. Timed response under exam conditions. Individual verbal feedback and the full group hears the feedback on every child’s answer.
- Technique introduced and modelled: 15 min
- Timed response on unseen text: 25 min
- Live review — 1-mark vs 3-mark answers on the same question
- Individual verbal feedback on written response
10:40–10:50am
Break + transition
Brief break. Your teacher sets the context for the Creative Writing block: what the target schools are looking for in this session’s format.
- 10-minute break
- Target school format briefing
- Writing technique for the session named and modelled briefly
10:50–12pm
Creative Writing block
Opening technique demonstrated. Timed writing response on a school-specific prompt. Live reading and feedback on two or three responses with the whole group.
- In the Action Rule or Show Don't Tell: modelled opening
- Timed response: 30 minutes
- Live reading of selected responses with group feedback
- One specific technique to practise before the next session
Target schools
Which schools do Weekend Masterclasses prepare for?
The English paper is the most differentiating element at every one of these schools. Masterclasses are designed specifically around the English component of their assessment.
Grammar schools
QE Boys'
Henrietta Barnett
Tiffin
Tiffin Girls'
Latymer
St Olave's
Grammar school English papers reward precision, inference depth and extended written response. The techniques taught in Masterclasses — PEEL chains, Inference Ladder, structured creative openings — are built around what these papers actually mark.
Independent schools
Habs Boys'
Habs Girls'
NLCS
St Paul's Girls'
City of London
Westminster
What parents say
In their words
11+ · NLCS offer · Weekend Masterclasses 2025
"The English teaching was at a completely different level to anything else we had tried. Our daughter came home from the first session able to explain exactly what she had done differently. That's when I knew we had found the right place."
Parent, Hampstead · Year 5 cohort 2025
11+ · Habs Girls' offer · Weekend Masterclasses 2025
"The creative writing sessions transformed how my daughter approached her writing. She stopped asking what to write about and started thinking about how to open, how to structure, how to close. Habs Girls made an offer within three weeks of her final session."
Parent, Barnet · Year 5 cohort 2025
Which is right for your child?
Weekly Workshops vs Weekend Masterclasses
Both programmes use the same named techniques. The difference is breadth vs depth — and many Year 5 families use both.
Weekend Masterclasses
- English only — Comprehension and Creative Writing
- Year 5 primarily — 2.5 hours per session
- Five Sundays this term, done by 12pm
- £75 per Sunday · all 5 for £335
- Best for: deep English work before grammar or independent school exams
Weekly Evening Workshops
- All 4 subjects in a rolling rotation
- Year 5 & 6 · 45 mins per session · max 12
- Tuesday and Thursday evenings, minimal disruption
- £25 per session · monthly passes from £46
- Best for: consistent weekly preparation across all subjects
Many Year 5 families combine both — workshops for the week-by-week subject rotation, masterclasses for the deeper English work that the written papers require. There is no duplication: workshops build the technique habit, masterclasses develop exam-level depth and school-specific fluency.
Autumn 2026