Asked the school what they expect from a 4 year old. The parents' group says they're just being polite.

maple_river_757128 Oct 2026

Our daughter is 4 and we've applied for UKG at a school on our side of Marredpally for next year. The informal group for applicant parents has been sharing lists for weeks: writes her full name, counts to 100, knows colours in two languages, reads three-letter words. Last week I asked the admissions office directly. The answer was short. They want to see that she can sit for a few minutes, follow a simple instruction and talk to an adult she doesn't know. Nothing about reading. When I shared this in the group, two parents replied that every school says that and then quietly takes the children who can read. One said her nephew was 'not taken' somewhere last year for that reason, though she didn't know any details. I'd like to believe the school. I also don't want my daughter to be the one child who couldn't do something that was expected all along. For those who've been through it, how did it go?

6 comments

saffron_bottle_27128 Oct 2026
went through this with my daughter six years ago. the lists were far scarier than the interaction. she was asked her name, shown some picture cards, asked what she likes to eat. that was it
jade_badminton_491928 Oct 2026
same lists going around in our group for grade 1. what i've noticed is the people sharing them are mostly ones whose kids haven't had the interaction yet. the ones who've been through it go quiet. make of that what you will
pebble_river_83728 Oct 2026
Mine is only 2, so I can't say how these go, but 'her nephew wasn't taken, no details' is doing a lot of work in that group. I'd trust the person who runs admissions over a story with nothing behind it.
hazel_veranda_851028 Oct 2026
When ours were applying, the more useful question turned out to be 'what does an ordinary UKG morning look like here in the first month'. If the answer is circle time, play and settling into the routine, that tells you what they are looking for. A school that starts worksheets on day one will answer differently, and then the lists might matter more.
dusk_marigold_275028 Oct 2026
Did they say how long the interaction is, and whether a parent stays in the room? That made more difference to how our son did than anything he knew.
breezy_kite_678229 Oct 2026
The part I'd worry about is less the school and more what the lists do at home. We spent two months 'practising' with our son before his interaction and he got so fed up that on the day he refused to say his name at all. They took him anyway. So maybe the school was being straight with us and we were the ones not listening :)
- maple_river_757130 Oct 2026
  That's reassuring and slightly alarming at the same time. We've been doing some number practice in the evenings since the lists started, and she's begun asking 'is this for school?' every time I take out a book. I'm going to drop the drills and go back to just reading with her at night.