Prep school interviewing parents?

[kerrygrey]

OMG! Obviously DC performed well enough on the Visit Day - but now WE are invited to an interview with the "selection panel".
This is worse than any job interview - at least with a job you usually know, more or less, what you're talking about! What are they likely to ask? Help, anyone??

We have never had this. How odd?

Probably it's because we are going for a bursary. If you ain't got the money yer gotta have something else to offer. Maybe.

Gawd. I would be nervous.
I always thought it was hugely to the childrens advantage thatvthe school never met me.

We had something like a parent interview though it was quite informal. We were asked about our own education, whether we enjoyed school, how we discipline DS, what we expected out of the school, why private etc.

Good luck!

I had an interview for both the schools where my ds' have bursary places, they were competely different.Ds1 is at a top academic school where the interview was quite formal and I was asked what I would do if he didn't get a bursary,if I had looked at other schools and what they had offered and was told I would be expected to be 100% supportive and ensure if selected for matches and other events at weekends he would always attend and this can mean very long days like today when he had to be at school before 7 ready for a 4 hour journey.Ds also had several interviews where he was asked why he wanted to go there and if he understood that all he did was expected to always be of high standard.
For ds2 at a smaller school the interview was far less formal and more about helping out when I could which mainly seems to entail an awful lot of baking fo school events!

We had an 'interview' with the head at one of the schools our son did exams at. It was a pretty informal chat, where first he went through what he and our son had talked about as a conversation starter, then asked us why we thought it was the right school for our son and then answered our questions - about 10 minutes. I just think they want to see if you're generally supportive and have a realistic view about your child.

Thanks everyone! These write-ups are really useful. Keep 'em coming...

Interview was today.How about this for an unexpected question, "if your child was a boiled sweet, what sweet would she be?"!! A short list of 5 for 1 bursary, so we're not holding our breath

What did you answer>? and what reason did you give?
Good luck

Glad our school has no interview, my DS would be a humbug right now which might mean he wouldn't get in

Are these bursaries which are used to justify the school's charitable status? If so, it seems very weird to be interviewing the parents who apply for them for their children. I may be missing something but I would have thought it runs contrary to the very point of bursaries. But then I am the kind of person who finds questions like the boiled sweet one impossible so I guess I may just be being defensive!

Chocolate limes, because she is a mixture- at ease in her comfort zone (chocolate) and sharp, nervous, in new situations (lime). Back home DC said a spaceship because of the surprise sherbet in the middle which no one expects. Which is probably a better answer.
Yes, Vicky, it is charitable status thing, and I do see your point, but we are prepared to jump through the hoops they present us with.

I agree with Vicky.

Onanotherplanet - the thought of dcs being told that they'd be expected to meet high standards in all areas makes me shudder!

Hi Kelly, we have 4 plus assessment this week which is a parents interview and an “opportunity” to ask questions. Would appreciate any pointers on the kind of questions to be expected or what we can ask that sounds smart!

Needyourhelpmum it’s probably best to start your own thread as this is 8 years old.