In an increasingly competitive academic landscape, many families are familiar with tutoring. Extra support to improve grades, prepare for exams or strengthen subject knowledge has become a normal part of education. But there is a growing recognition that academic ability alone is not enough. Confidence, resilience, organisation and self-awareness all play a crucial role in a young person’s success, both in school and beyond. 

At Oppidan, we believe that exceptional mentoring helps young people fulfil their potential. The Oppidan Mentoring Awards celebrates schools that excel in mentoring their students. Our award is an opportunity to shine a light on your school's commitment to building strong, supportive mentoring relationships within your community and fostering student growth.

For families preparing for grammar school and selective independent school applications, the 11+ process can often feel like a moving target.

Choosing a university is one of the first major decisions a young person makes about their future. 

Take a look inside the 2026/27 edition of our top independent schools guide. Our Schools Advisor, Cat Sutherland-Hawes, shares her honest take on the UK's leading senior schools, from academic powerhouses and boarding gems to standout choices for sport, music and the arts. Available as a free download.

The UK is home to some of the world’s most widely respected, academically rigorous and established schools. 

We've designed a new journey: the Communication Journey. Here’s what your child will get from it and why it matters now more than ever.

With four teenagers currently moving through the GCSE and A Level years in our household, we have become mildly obsessed with the idea of the ‘incremental gain’.

A decade on from Oppidan’s very first mentoring sessions, Walter sat down with one of the young people who was there at the start. This is the Class of 2016.

Exam periods can be a challenging time for the whole family. For teenagers, they often bring a mix of pressure, uncertainty and high expectations. For parents, it can be difficult to know how best to help. You may want to support your child, but worry about saying the wrong thing, adding to the pressure or not doing enough. 

For many families, the cost of independent education can feel like one of the biggest barriers to applying. Fees are substantial, and for some parents the assumption is that if paying in full is not realistic, the option is simply out of reach. 

A major education white paper has just come out from the government. If you have a child in school, or even if you don’t, it is worth having a look here to see what it might mean for you.  

With school open evenings, subject choices and opinions coming from every direction, few decisions feel quite as weighty as the choice between A Levels and the International Baccalaureate (IB). Both are rigorous and are globally respected.

In the downpour of February, we were delighted to host an event at the Royal Academy bringing together Thomasina Miers (Co-Founder of Wahaca), Walter Kerr (Co-founder of Oppidan Education) and Tom Barber (Co-Founder of Original Travel) for a practical and frank conversation about taking a sabbatical with your children. 

It’s the question parents ask me most. In any talk I give, it’s the time parents get out their notebook, jot down ideas on their phones.  

These are two very different processes, with somewhat different workloads to them. Both systems offer first-class institutions and great global opportunities, but the journeys to admission differ in structure, style and focus. Understanding these distinctions is the first step towards making a confident choice.

For decades, the path after school has felt almost predetermined: finish your A levels, go to university, get a degree, start your career. But that path is no longer the only one worth walking, and a growing number of students and families are starting to ask a very reasonable question: is university really the right next step?

This May half term, we’ll be back at Peligoni on the Greek island of Zakynthos, running morning revision camps for students preparing for upcoming exams.

I’m delighted to be leading Oppidan Education’s work in Portugal. I’m an international educator and advisor with experience across UK, French, American and IB systems, as well as bilingual and ESL environments. I’m also a mother of three children who have experienced multiple school systems and educational transitions.

Henry Faber of Oppidan Education shares how mentoring builds confidence, executive skills, and support networks teens actually respond to.