At Britain's most selective independent schools, demand has remained concentrated through a period of considerable change in the wider sector. For families preparing applications, this is a moment that rewards thorough preparation, early conversation, and a clear-eyed reading of what each school offers.

The Independent Schools Examinations Board's Common Pre-Test — the standardised admissions assessment used by more than a hundred of the UK's most academically selective senior schools — was developed precisely because the volume of applications at this end of the market consistently outstrips the places available. Strong preparation, accordingly, begins from a clear understanding of what each school is looking for — academic capability, certainly, but also character, contribution, and the institutional fit each one prizes.

Alexis has spent thirty years inside this sector, twenty of them as a housemaster, with sustained responsibility for the academic and pastoral progress of pupils through the very institutions that families now seek to enter. He has interviewed hundreds of candidates at 11+, 13+ and 16+. That perspective — what admissions tutors actually weigh, what the application supplements signal, where the discretionary judgements lie — is rarely available from outside the system.

For families seeking admission to Britain's leading independent day and boarding schools, the work covers entry at 11+, 13+ and 16+. Each engagement is conducted in close partnership with the family, so every application is presented to its fullest advantage. Alexis is closely involved at every stage — considering the narrative behind each application, advising on shortlisting and timing, preparing candidates for assessments and interviews, and managing the cadence of the process with the precision and discretion the work requires.

Timing matters as much as content. The most selective schools close registration eighteen months or more before entry; several routinely close earlier still. Decisions about school progression, test preparation and the strategic sequencing of registrations begins early. Targeted conversations at that earlier stage give the work the time it requires.