Private 6th form interview

[bonkersLFDT20]

Hello,

I have NO experience with private schools. Does anyone know what sort of format a 6th form interview takes?

Will he get a grilling or will it be more general chat designed to see whether he fits the profile of the school?

Thanks

[MillyMollyMama]

My DD was asked what subjects she enjoyed and wanted to study. She also was asked why she wanted to come to the school and what they could offer her. It was definitely not a grilling. My elder DD also applied to a different independent 6th form and she took exams in the subjects and had interviews for each subject because it was for a scholarship place. She actually got a scholarship in her own school in the end but that was a slightly different process.

I think what you need to factor in is whether the school recruits to the sixth form or is highly selective. If it is a recruiting school and has plenty of spaces, the interview process will be less intense because they are a business and need bums on seats. If it is a highly selective school, your DS will have to match their academic standards. Some schools are pretty difficult to get into at 6th form because they can pick and choose. As a basic guideline, make sure he has a decent CV, sport, music, leadership, academic high flyer etc and has a clear idea about why he wants this school. What does it offer him? Eg art, sport, fantastic science facilities etc. He should have a good idea of what he wants to study and what he can offer the school. Hope that helps. It is usually best to wear his uniform to the interview.

[bonkersLFDT20]

Thank you Milly

I read this after the interview.

It's a selective school and on paper he meets the standards academically and I think he wrote a pretty decent personal statement. He said the interview was pretty tough. The woman carrying it out didn't do much to make him feel at ease which I think is a bit rough since for many students this is their first interview experience.

The letter asked for smart/casual so we got him new smart chinos, which he wore with a dark shirt and tie. He looked pretty smart, but not awkward.

They make decisions pretty quickly, so we shall see. Unless he gets a massive bursary he won't be going anyway!

[MillyMollyMama]

I have to say that, if you want a bursary, they are probably tougher at the interview! They are giving you a lot and will have competition for the bursary places. It is a shame they were not more relaxed though. No-one gets the best out of young people by being starchy. I hope he gets offered a place and I am sure he acquitted himself well.

[bonkersLFDT20]

Well, he got offered a place!
We find out about the bursary tomorrow or so.
The bursary decision is completely independent of the admission decision.

[bonkersLFDT20]

He got offered 75%. Don't know if we can find the rest plus other incidental costs (expensive lunches, music tuition etc) but very pleased of course.

[JanetBookLover]

That is absolutely amazing. Well done to him. So how to find the 25%? A second job? He could may be get a weekend job if that won't interfere with A levels. I thought most bursaries were more like 10% off the fees. 75% is very good. He must be very bright.

[bonkersLFDT20]

Thank you, but the amount isn't related to his ability (like scholarships, which are usually 5 to 10% of the fees), but to our financial situation.
Thing is, if we earn more money then the bursary goes down I imagine, so I think it requires us to spend savings (which are modest) or find it elsewhere. Sell his little brother maybe?

[MillyMollyMama]

To be honest, you really should have thought about how you would fund this before you started! It's a bit rough for him to make all that effort to find that you can't really afford the, now, extremely modest fees! Yes, you will have to get another job or extend your mortgage because how can you now not send him to this school?

[bonkersLFDT20]

Actually, we have always been very clear to him that unless we got nearly 100% it would be unlikely he'd be able to go. He still wanted to go through the process and regardless of what happens I think it has been very useful for him.
He has lots of options for 6th form and this is just one of them. Each of them has pros and cons and as if often the case with such things, you can be uncertain where your mind lies until you find yourself in a certain situation. We also need to sit down and work out the costs which the bursary does not cover (transport, music tuition, other stuff).

I am not certain (we will meet with the school in the New Year), but it makes sense to me that if we earn more then the bursary will be reduced. Fair enough, but it leaves us in the same financial situation.

We do have various avenues we are looking at.

[bonkersLFDT20]

Just to follow up.

We have worked out how to make the shortfall in fees (and other costs) and have accepted the offer.

Milly the bursary and the admissions procedures are entirely separate (quite rightly). The person doing the interview would not have known we were applying for a bursary.