Set aside an afternoon or two and get chatting with schools about mutual suitability and the application process. Make sure you gather the information you need to assess each school’s suitability, and be prepared to share an honest but positive account of your young person.Many schools will ask you to send through those supporting documents as a next step.
You have your student profile and supporting documents, prepared. You have a shortlist of schools which you quite like the look of and your requirements are prioritised.
It’s finally time to make some calls!
Set aside an afternoon or two and get chatting with schools about mutual suitability and the application process. Make sure you gather the information you need to assess each school’s suitability, and be prepared to share an honest but positive account of your young person.
Many schools will ask you to send through those supporting documents as a next step.
Boarding schools are not always close to home. But if you can make it along to an open day, or arrange a personal visit before submitting your application, then do so.
That said, it is perfectly possible to narrow down your school applications remotely, and leave the visit until you have offers in hand. This method will certainly save you a lot of time and mileage, and is pretty much a necessity for those living overseas.
Congratulations, you are now at the stage where you can apply to some boarding schools! Each registration costs between £50-400, and your young person will likely have to sit separate exams and interviews for each school.
So you need to apply strategically. Top Schools Guide recommends applying to 3 to 5 schools – any more is too many and means you have not narrowed things down sufficiently. Before submitting boarding school applications, make a final check that:
i) You confirm each school meets your requirements to a satisfactory extent.
ii) You are hedging your bets. You should have at least one aspirational application, one you are confident with, and one “sure thing.”
iii) You know the next steps of each school’s process for entrance assessments and interview.
Then all that’s left to do is…
SLE does not want to lure you into a false sense of security. However, if you have respected and used the process outlined above, you should have identified and be applying to the right boarding schools for your young person.
This means your student should be at the academic level required to pass the entrance assessments. It means their interview should be a meeting of minds.
But you still want to know how to prepare don’t you. It’s mainly about getting your young person comfortable and familiar with what lies ahead…
You should know what each school is going to be assessing. For senior schools it is usually Maths and English, plus maybe some verbal and non-verbal aptitude tests. For age 16+ entrance assessments, it is likely to be more subject-specific.
If you have a significant amount of time before the real entrance assessments, we can introduce you to suitable tutors.
But to prepare for entrance assessments we recommend getting hold of some level-appropriate past papers, and practising under timed conditions. SLE can provide these.
Whilst some academically elite schools will include some intellectual questioning, most schools use the interviews as an opportunity to verify their initial impressions of the student. The focus is usually on more personal aspects as the schools try to suss out the student’s personality and how well they’ll fit into a boarding house.
Some students can be innately confident, but most still benefit from a practice interview or two. It helps to become accustomed to the situation and familiar with the types of questions being asked. The key aim is to be comfortable with whatever questions come your way, and deliver personable and authentic responses.
If you’ve gone through this process sensibly and methodically, then you should be confident of success. You will have:
Made contact with suitable schools and got all the information you need.
Applied strategically to 3 to 5 schools.
Started preparing for assessments and interview in a relaxed and confident fashion
Now all that’s left is a bit more admin and perhaps some driving. And a nervous wait…