Our courses: written preparation, the January intensive, and oral practice

The long course: written exam preparation from September

Eleven weekly sessions plus two mock exams, running September to January, with two 55-minute lessons per subject each week, in Budapest or online.

This is the main course and the one most families take. It runs from September to the January exam: 11 teaching sessions per subject plus 2 full mock exams. A session is two 55-minute lessons in the same subject, back to back, so a task type can be introduced and then practised in the room rather than posted home.

You can take Hungarian, maths or both. Both is the usual choice, since most schools count both papers — though a child who is well ahead in one and shaky in the other is better served by one subject taught properly than two taught thinly.

Children work from Kobak workbooks organised by the task types that recur in the real papers, and written work comes back marked with comments. Everyone gets the online platform — video lessons, drills, teacher chat open until exam day — and the 13-module mental preparation strand.

The two mock exams are the part parents remember afterwards. Both are held in a building the child has never entered, on a Saturday at 10:00, invigilated by an adult they have never met. The point is not another practice paper; it is that the unfamiliar room happens twice before the morning that counts.

In person or online: how to choose

Choose in person if your child needs the room and the routine; choose online if travel across Budapest would cost you an evening.

The online groups are live and timetabled — same teachers, same weekly rhythm, same marked work — not a video library you log into when you remember. In practice the in-person course suits a child who works better with others physically present and who will not, given the option, keep a browser tab open behind the lesson. Online suits families outside Budapest, families facing a cross-city journey at 16:00, and children who already work well on their own. It is also meaningfully cheaper, which matters if you are taking both subjects.

Felvételi Bombázó: the January intensive

A four-day intensive in the week before the exam, in person at a Budapest hotel or live on Zoom. Two subjects or one.

The Felvételi Bombázó is built for the last week and is a different animal from the long course. Two full days of teaching at a weekend, then a Monday online session of two plus two hours going deeper, then a mental preparation session. Two teachers work the room at once: one teaching from the front, one moving between children answering the questions that would otherwise stop them. Everyone gets a personalised workbook and the e-learning platform through to exam day.

Expected dates for this cycle are 16–19 January 2027 for year 8 and 9–12 January 2027 for year 6, sitting just ahead of the exam. In person it runs at the Mercure Budapest Korona with limited places, or you can join entirely online over Zoom.

It suits a family who prepared through the autumn and wants a concentrated final push, and a family who started late and needs the highest-value four days available. It is not a substitute for four months of work, and we would rather say that before you book.

Oral exam preparation

A four-hour workshop for children whose target school holds an oral round, with an option for two one-to-one mock interviews.

Only heavily oversubscribed schools may hold an oral round, and never unless they also require the written exam. Check the prospectus before booking: plenty of families never need this.

If yours does, the Szóbeli Előkészítő comes in two forms. The standard package is a four-hour workshop — two hours on how these interviews actually run, then two hours of group practice — held in the second half of February, before the oral window opens in March. The upper package adds two individual simulations modelled on the target school’s own format, with one-to-one feedback. Both run in person and online, for years 4, 6 and 8.

What it works on is not knowledge. It is standing up, being asked something unexpected by an adult in a formal room, and answering it without freezing.

Which one suits your child

The long course if you are starting in autumn, the intensive if January has arrived, oral prep only if a school requires it.

Venues and timetable

ELTE Radnóti in District XIV and II. Rákóczi Ferenc Gimnázium in District II, weekday late afternoons or Saturday mornings at 10:00.

In-person groups run at ELTE Radnóti in District XIV and II. Rákóczi Ferenc Gimnázium in District II — both real schools, with several of our teachers on their staff. You choose a slot when you enrol: a weekday between Monday and Thursday from around 16:00, or Saturday morning at 10:00. Saturday fills first, so book early if it is the only slot that works.

Course dates key to the exam date. The 2026/27 calendar stays provisional until Oktatási Hivatal publishes the binding version, so treat the January dates above as expected rather than fixed; the Hungarian pages carry the schedule as it firms up.

What language are the lessons in?

Hungarian. The exam is in Hungarian, the papers are marked in Hungarian, and the lessons run at the pace of a Hungarian classroom.

This gets its own section because it decides whether the rest of the page is relevant to you. There is no English-language stream, and we do not think there should be one: a child facing 45 minutes of Hungarian comprehension under time pressure needs to have practised in Hungarian. Enquiries, enrolment and parent consultations can happen in English.

If you are unsure whether your child’s Hungarian is up to a fast group lesson, that is exactly the conversation to have on the phone before booking, not after.

Prices and the refund guarantee

Course fees run from roughly 60,000 to 211,000 forints depending on format and subjects. You can withdraw up to the first lesson.

At the time of writing the long course is around 128,000 Ft for both subjects online and around 211,000 Ft for both in person, with single-subject options from roughly 73,000 Ft online. The January intensive starts at about 63,000 Ft for one subject and the oral workshop at about 60,000 Ft. A premium package with unlimited one-to-one consultations sits well above these, and discounts run for early booking and for enrolling two children together.

Prices move with promotions, so read the live figure on the Hungarian pages: the main course page, Bombázó and Szóbeli. For an in-person course you may withdraw up to the day of the first lesson and be refunded; exact terms are in the Hungarian ÁSZF.

How to enrol

Pick the course on the Hungarian site and book online, or call +36 70 857 9549 on weekdays and we will walk you through it.

Booking is done on the Hungarian pages, and the checkout is straightforward even with limited Hungarian. If you would rather not, call +36 70 857 9549 between 9:00 and 19:30 on weekdays and we will take it from there in English. Not yet sure your child needs this exam? Read the exam explained first; about us covers who teaches, and a separate page answers what parents ask most.

Frequently asked questions

When does the long course start, and can we join late?

Groups start in September and run to the January exam. Joining after the start is sometimes possible depending on the group and how much has been covered — call us and we will tell you honestly whether it is worth it or whether the January intensive is better.

How large are the groups?

Small, deliberately, so that written work can be marked individually and a teacher can reach every child during the practice half of each session. Ask about the exact size of the specific group and slot you are considering.

Can we take only maths, or only Hungarian?

Yes. Single-subject enrolment is available on every course. It is often the right call when one subject is already strong, though bear in mind most selective schools count both papers in their admission score.

Is the online course the same course?

Same teachers, same weekly rhythm, same workbooks and same marked work, delivered live on a schedule rather than as recordings. What it cannot reproduce is a room full of children working on the same problem at the same time.

Do the mock exams really take place in another school?

Yes. Both are held in an unfamiliar building on a Saturday at 10:00 with an invigilator the child does not know, which mirrors the real exam. It is the single element of the course parents mention most afterwards.