It’s the question parents ask most often in September — and also the one they ask most often in March. The answer differs in the two cases, and it depends not on how many months are left but on the level the student is starting from.
Starting in March isn’t too late — what’s too late is starting in March and expecting to reach the advanced level from scratch.
The rough guide we use when planning: getting from zero to a confident “3” (a pass) takes about three months at two lessons a week; from a “3” to a “4” takes about as long again; from a “4” to a steady “5” (the top mark) takes the longest, because by then it’s no longer about filling gaps but about speed and accuracy.
[Draft — we’ll add exact figures based on our students’ results over the school year]