For Mini School preparation, Pear Tree provides a combination of Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) and SSAT exam preparation (English-version only).

Our CogAT / SSAT Mini School Prep specialist has a Masters of Education degree from SFU and extensive experience preparing students for a variety of high-school entrance exams, both local and international.

While we do not guarantee that your child will be accepted by such schools, we offer the ultimate preparation for your child to ‘put their best foot forward’.

SMALL GROUP TUTORING MINI SCHOOL COGAT + SSAT PREP (Max 12 students)

6 x 1hr CogAT Preparation + 4 x 1hr SSAT Preparation = $500 + GST

(View course date options)

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What are Mini Schools?

The VSB advertises their Mini Schools as “programs [that] provide opportunities for enrichment for students who are Vancouver residents and consistently achieve B averages or higher, who are highly motivated students and who would benefit from a learning environment with highly motivated peers.” They are available at high-school level only, starting in Grade 8.

In our opinion, Mini Schools are like the private high schools of public high schools. They offer enriched learning, small class sizes, highly motivated students, and specialist programs with specialist educators / guest speakers. Basically, all children would love studying at a Mini School, but they are generally only open to ‘gifted’ and top students.

Despite the high-level entrance requirements, the fact that Mini Schools are so much better than regular high schools means that an enormous number of families apply for the Mini School exam every year. As stated by the Vancouver School Board: “over 1400 students apply [each year] for approximately 600 Grade 8 spaces in the Mini School programs. Acceptance is based on test marks, Gr. 7 report cards, applications and interviews. Applicants must have residency in Vancouver.”

Based on this level of competition, being prepared for this unusual exam is essential to increasing your child’s chances of getting accepted.

*Here is a list of the VSB’s mini schools.

When Should I Start Preparing?

Ideally, you should start in September in order to prepare for this year’s Mini School exam date (November 2020) assuming that your child is in Grade 7 in September. However, you need to consider whether there is enough time to complete all of the preparation classes beforehand. If not, you will be preparing for 2021’s exam.

We highly recommend signing up for our Poetry Analysis / Essay Writing classes in preparation for the Mini School course. Please note that there are 3 x levels for our Poetry Analysis course; Level 1 is a requirement to attend higher level courses. If you visit the Poetry Analysis page, you will see the dates/time options for each level.

Important VSB Dates 2020

REGISTER ONLINE for the test
The VSB has announced that there will be no testing for 2020 due to COVID-19.

Small Group Session Dates 2020

Session 1: (FULLY BOOKED)

CogAT Classes: 9th (extended), 11th, 14th, 16th, 18th September 2020 – 4.30-5.30pm
(N.B. 9th September is an extended class 4.30-6.30pm)
SSAT Classes: 8th, 10th, 15th, 17th September – 4.30-5.30pm
or 22nd, 24th, 29th September, 1st October – 4.30-5.30pm

Session 2:

CogAT Classes: 21st, 23rd, 25th, 28th, 30th September, 2nd October 2020 – 4.30-5.30pm
SSAT Classes: 22nd, 24th, 29th September, 1st October 2020 – 4.30-5.30pm
or 6th, 8th, 13th, 15th October – 4.30-5.30pm

Session 3:

CogAT Classes: 5th, 7th, 14th, 16th October 2020 – 4.30-6pm
SSAT Classes: 6th, 8th, 13th, 15th October 2020 – 4.30-5.30pm
or 20th, 22nd, 27th, 29th October – 4.30-5.30pm

Session 4: CANCELLED

Session 5: CANCELLED

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Parent Testimonials

My son took the mini-school prep courses with you in the fall and I wanted to let you know, he has been offered his first choice of programs. Thank you so much for preparing him so well.

My son was accepted to Ideal Mini. Again, thanks for your help!

Thanks for your lesson. My son was accepted by Churchill Synergy Program. You are really a good teacher, and all my family members appreciate your help.

As far as we are concerned, even if she doesn’t get into [a mini school], this was money well spent to prep her for high school.

My daughter came out of her second session with you and said “I just learned so much math!” – she was really excited. Thank you for being such a good teacher!

Thanks for the feedback. My son really enjoyed the session and said he was looking forward to the next one! I have never heard him say that about school work before! This is the kind of environment we are hoping a mini can offer him, a place where it is fun to learn.

I wanted to say thank you for the quality education you are providing to my daughter at Pear Tree. Thanks to your classes and guidance, she is more confident in her math skills and seems to be on the right track to build a strong foundation for math in high school.

We wanted to let you know that although my son was hesitant about joining the class before going, he has said that he is really enjoying your class. He said that your instructions/explanations have been very clear, and he has enjoyed making friends with the other boys in the class.