Preparing for Hampton Interview

[Tingo]

My DS has an interview on Thurs. we weren't expecting this and he has had no preparation whatsoever.

Can anyone advise how to prep him and what questions to expect?

His biggest passions currently are making Minecraft videos and baking cakes. Should he downplay this? He likes some sports but is no fanatic by any means. Any tips?

Hi Tingo,

Tips I've picked up from reading other threads are:
check the news - he may be asked about current affairs.
check he knows a bit about what clubs they offer and can say which he'd like to join, as they place high value there on co-curricular activity.
get him to think about why he'd like to go to Hampton.

Good luck.

Tingo There is a thread going on at the moment on secondary education

Thanks racingheart and Copthallresident. The other thread has been helpful.

Slightly banal question, but what was the parking situation like on the 11+? We are going this Saturday for 13+, and am not sure how much time to allow.

Far fewer sitting 13+ (told today it was 500+ for 11+ and 300 for 13+).
Parking itself was really well organised by the school. Getting into the school from that narrow road is something else. Maybe slightly better on a Saturday, as we all faced rush hour traffic over Hampton Court bridge - a standstill!. But leave an extra 15 mins at least, if not more, than it usually takes you to get there.

OP, good luck!

Not Hampton but DS was asked to come up with a moto for the school. He was also asked to list uses for an empty cereal box. One of his uses was to cut off the end and make it into a Cyclops eye piece (X-Men) :)

In his opinion DS did just ok in the exam so we reckon it was the interview that closed the deal.

So expect the standard questions ie what do you do in your spare time? Why do you want to come here? Also expect the unexpected like the cereal box question.

Interviewer: Name a person you admire, who is not a member of your family, and tell me why you admire them.

DS: Psy (singer of Gangnam Style) because he's had a million you tube hits.

Tingo

My DS would have said exactly the same and he's 13! they are boys, they think like boys i.e.not at all. It is an all boys school so thankfully they are not competing against girls, my 9 year old DD would have said Nelson Mandela/Mother Theresa!

I would be very worried about any boy who doesn't name Psy, the inventor of Minecraft or David Beckham.

And I think you will find that Psy has had a billion youtube hits, its a big topic of coversation in this house.

Well my DS would never name Psy or David Beckham. And I'm not worried.

I was obviously being flippant, OP is at that awful time between interview and waiting for letters.

Both my sons (now ys 7 and 10 ) did interviews at Hampton and other similar schools. My older son, who got an offer from all the schools he tried for, chatted about football at Hampton (his father's very unillustrious club being the main topic) and asked how many football teams there were and whether there were lots of school plays. Some schools ask academic questions eg Latymer, but even then you can still get in if you don't get them all right - I think they're just as interested in seeing how children approach and talk round a question. I made sure mine knew it was OK to say "I'm sorry, I didn't quite understand the question. Could you repeat it?" Both mine got maths questions wrong in the interview at the school they ended up at.

DS had his interview at Hampton last week and they didn't ask anything out of the ordinary, nothing about cereal boxes, people he admires, maths questions... It was a very straightforward pleasant chat, I guess it depends on who they have the interview with. But it's clear the school doesn't have a ready made questionaire!

I think that for the most part schools want children who are lively and communicative, who can talk easily with adults and discuss ideas and concepts.

I think they would rather have a boy who could talk for five minutes about why he likes Gangnam style than a boy who reads Dickens but only gives monosyllabic answers to questions.

I wish you and your DS lots of luck - so relieved to be past the dreaded waiting stage.

Bit concerned about some of these posts, as I used to be on the Hampton interview teams and know what sorts of questions are asked. Sensible preparation is a good idea, and I certainly would avoid mentioning baking and Minecraft! PM me if you want to ask more...they always invite far more to interview than they will offer to, so getting that interview nailed is really important.

Please could you give us some tips HamptonHogwarts? My DS is currently at a state school and I feel very unprepared compared to some of my friends children at prep schools. Thank you.