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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

right, ds got called in for admission interview- hurrah! what will they be looking for?

26 replies

pukkapatch · 19/01/2008 09:59

he has sat the test, and obvioulsy done well enough for them to want to see him. they dont interview all the candidates, but obviously more than they accept.
what sort of questions will they be asking. does he need to prepare in any way?
they also wnat to see myself and dh. will they interview us all together? what do they want to know from us? why do t hey want to see us?
and isnt it illegal to 'have a chat with' the parents?

any advice appreciated please. this is for a private secondary school.

OP posts:
snorkle · 19/01/2008 12:00

Well done to him.

I'd make sure he has thought through what he might answer to questions like what books/films has he read/seen lately & what he thought of them; what he likes to do in his spare time; what TV he likes to watch; what he enjoys most (?least) about school - that sort of thing. It might be worth knowing just a little about current events so he could talk about that too. Should think they're just looking for kids who will talk and have opinions rather than ones who give monosyllabic answers.

At one school ds had an interview at they asked a sciencey question - showed a reaction, told them what it was and asked child toi sketch what they thought the graph of final product against time might look like (but that was a scholarship question) - It was really seeing what sort of questions a child asked and how they reacted to new information I think.

It's not illegal for private schools to talk to parents, only state ones. I imagine here they are just looking to confirm that you are supportive etc. - nothing major.

Good luck!

Berries · 20/01/2008 19:48

They will probably ask him to read from a set book. They will be looking for someone who has a bit of 'spark' and is lively and enthusiastic. Some of the more academic schools (by which I mean top 20/30) will also ask some maths/science questions intended to make the child think on their feet.

The parents are interviewed to try and find out if the school is their first choice. Independant schools ideally want to make enough offers so all places are filled, but not so many that they can't accomodate all the children. If the school finds out where they 'sit' in the selection list they can tell whether you would accept a place if offered. If your first choice is more difficult to get into than this one, they can also have a good guess as to whether your child would be offered a place at the other school, based on how they performed on this test. Having said that, you will, of course, assure the school that they are your top choice

Good luck - we'll be in the same position this week.

Original poster
pukkapatch · 20/01/2008 20:29

thanks, now to convince dh that is what they are looking for. and not an oral exam.

OP posts:
jura · 22/01/2008 01:27

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Califrau · 22/01/2008 01:29

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Original poster
pukkapatch · 22/01/2008 11:32

lol califrau. that is what i am worried dh will do to ds.
no, its whitgift in croydon jura. we didnt do the kingston schools as really too far away to commute dh felt. personally i think whitgift is too,

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jura · 22/01/2008 13:52

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mimsum · 24/01/2008 19:03

At ds' interview for y6 entry to whitgift, he went in to see the head of lower school and another teacher for about 20 mins or so, they chatted to him about various things (when we asked him afterwards what they'd talked about he said "I dunno" but presumably he must have been a bit more forthcoming in the interview as when we went in afterwards (ds went outside and was entertained by older boy while he waited) they told us what a bright boy he was and how enthusiastic he'd been about x,y,z ...

They asked us about his current school, what he liked doing, any questions we had etc

then we all trooped off to see another teacher and had a chat with ds1 there as well, but that was very informal - she asked us if we'd applied for other schools and if so what our first choice would be

much less terrifying than I thought it would be (for all of us ) and he got in (with scholarship) so he must have done ok

claricebeansmum · 24/01/2008 19:11

DS has done 2 interviews - one was a really tough one where he was asked his least favourite subject - french - and then the interview was conducted in French.

Another interview was sitting in a bench in the sun in the playground and chatting about family, weekends etc.

Have come to the conclusion that if you have done well in the exam then the interview is to check that you have one head and are not mad as a box of frogs and can be socialable. If you are borderline then the interview becomes a bit more "academic"

MrsGuyOfGisbourne · 28/01/2008 20:00

PP - how did you get on?

jura · 02/02/2008 10:51

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Original poster
pukkapatch · 02/02/2008 16:35

oh no jura. what a situation to be in. what are the options if she doesnt get the place?
ds had the interview. was very strane. the first one the teacher kept talking, and wouldnt let us say a word. even if he asked a question. he dint take enough of a breath fo rus to say anything.
second one, in which ds was with us, they ketp talking about why he was worse in english than maths. and the reasons why. its because he doesnt read, andhow we can encourage him to read. .
it ended with the teacher shaking ds's hand and saying 'goodluck with your application'
what does all that mean?

now i have to tell dh about the grammar school i know. but when? mondaymorning i think? straight after they have gone to school, so he doesnt see him immediately and has a few hours to mull it over? or wait till whitgift writes to us?

OP posts:
SueW · 02/02/2008 17:19

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jura · 02/02/2008 18:00

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jura · 02/02/2008 18:00

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Original poster
pukkapatch · 02/02/2008 20:19

yes, well done sue's dd.
thats good jura. at least you still have the possibilityof her moving, and if she doesnt, as you said, it doesnt matter excessively.
good luck with the list, and the social issues.

OP posts:
ElenyaTuesday · 03/02/2008 14:31

Pukka,
I would wait until you get a Yea or Nay from Whitgift. Is the local Comp okay if Whitgift doesn't work out? Did you not do Trinity too?

Original poster
pukkapatch · 04/02/2008 16:42

no, trinity is just too far for him to get too.
the local comp isnt at all what we would like. i told dh this morning. and i was pleasantly surprised at how well he took it. ie ds not getting into the gramar.
the choices are now whitgift, and a boys comp which we are notin the catchment for, and he had to sit a test for. so fingers crossed.

OP posts:
ElenyaTuesday · 05/02/2008 13:46

Fingers crossed Pukka - at least you've told your dh now! That's one less thing to worry about!!

jura · 27/02/2008 20:40

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roisin · 27/02/2008 20:51

Great news jura

Original poster
pukkapatch · 29/02/2008 17:52

yeah!!!! well done to tyour dd jura

great news here as well. ds got the place. soooo pleased for him

OP posts:
QueenMeabhOfConnaught · 29/02/2008 18:13

Well done to your ds, pukkapatch.

mimsum · 29/02/2008 18:54

that's fantastic pp - ds is so happy at whitgift, it really is a fantastic school :-)

jura · 01/03/2008 12:47

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