In the eyes of parents, the interview is like a severe test, and the fate of the child seems to be at stake.
Interview plays a vital role in the recruitment process of private schools in Britain. It is like a special key, which is used by schools to open the door to understand children's inner world. Through this link, schools can conduct a comprehensive and in-depth evaluation of children's personality characteristics, hobbies, maturity and social skills. It is no exaggeration to say that the interview result is often like a weight on the scale, which determines whether the child can successfully get the entrance pass or receive a letter full of regrets "thank you but not admit".
Sometimes, the school may make the interview easy and ordinary, and simply define it as "an opportunity to get to know the children better". However, for parents, this understatement is difficult to alleviate their inner tension and anxiety. In the eyes of parents, the interview is like a severe test, and the fate of the child seems to be at stake.
But in fact, parents need not be so nervous. You know, a child in a nervous mood, just like being bound by his hands and feet, can't fully show his true level and potential. The original intention of setting up the interview session in private schools is not to embarrass children, but to find children who are most suitable for the school atmosphere and educational philosophy from many applicants, so that they can thrive in a suitable environment.
For China students who are preparing to apply for private schools in Britain, the academic written test may not be so difficult, especially for those students who are actively preparing for the exam in China. However, once you enter the interview, all kinds of problems will follow. Today, let's discuss how to deal with the interview of the top private schools in Britain.
In Britain, private schools have their own characteristics in the interview process, and there are certain differences in their processes and forms, but they can be generally summarized into the following main types:
One-on-one interview
This is the most common interview form. Under normal circumstances, it is the principal or a special admissions officer who communicates face-to-face with students. In this process, students are comprehensively investigated mainly through questions and answers, which cover academic ability, English expression level and personal interests and hobbies. During the interview, questions may involve students' personal situation, such as life experience and growth background, and also ask students about their academic interests, such as which subjects they are particularly interested in, and whether they have the desire to explore in some academic fields. In addition, they will also involve students' plans for future study, such as how to improve themselves in middle school and whether they have preliminary ideas for future university majors.
Panel interview
Some schools will choose the form of group interview. This method focuses on examining students' teamwork ability and communication skills. In group interviews, we usually arrange some groups to discuss or cooperate to complete tasks. By observing students' performance in team activities, we can judge whether they have good communication skills, can cooperate with others, have leadership skills or team coordination skills. For example, the group may be asked to complete a project planning together, or discuss a topic and reach a certain consensus. The school will evaluate it according to the students' speeches and interactions with the group members in these processes.
Online interview
For international students, especially those from China who are thousands of miles away, many British private schools will arrange online interviews. This kind of interview is usually conducted with the help of some commonly used video conferencing platforms, such as Zoom and Teams. From the interview content, there is not much difference between the online interview and the offline traditional interview, but the focus may be more on students' language expression ability and self-confidence. Because in the online interview environment, students need to express their ideas clearly and fluently through the screen, and they should remain confident without face-to-face interaction, which is a big challenge for students.
Visiting school written test or classroom observation
In addition to the above interview forms, some British private schools will also arrange written tests or classroom observation during students' visit to the school. This is mainly to examine students' academic level and classroom performance more deeply. The content of written test will generally include the tests of basic subjects such as English and mathematics, so as to measure students' mastery of basic knowledge and learning ability. At the same time, there may be a comprehensive quality test, such as evaluating students' logical thinking ability, problem analysis and problem solving ability. In the classroom observation, the school will observe students' participation in the classroom, their interaction with teachers and other students, and their ability to accept and understand new knowledge, so as to know whether students are suitable for the school's educational model in many ways.
When evaluating potential students in private schools in Britain, each school has its own unique methods. However, in private school interviews, there will always be some specific questions frequently, because the answers from these questions can reveal a lot of information about the candidates to the interviewer.
Interviewers pay attention not only to the content of answers, but also to the way the candidates answer questions, body language and interactive performance in great detail. For example, if children can shake hands confidently when meeting, maintain good eye contact and smile during communication, this will undoubtedly make a good start for the whole interview.
1. Why do you want to come to this school?
This question is to let candidates show their understanding of the school, especially its advantages, and at the same time express their excitement about becoming a member of the school in the future. In fact, many admissions officers of private schools in Britain have heard all kinds of ridiculous answers, ranging from "I don't want to come here, my mother forced me to come" to "because rowing in this school is great" (but in fact, rowing is not provided in this school). However, admissions officers still often ask this question.
2. What do you like best about your present school?
This is a good opportunity for candidates to talk about their achievements and extracurricular activities. If the child can clearly describe one or two reasons why he likes his current school, it will be very extra points in the interview.
3、Tell me your favorite book/a book you read recently.
In the process of applying for an interview in a private school in Britain, this question is almost a must. It provides an excellent opportunity for candidates to show their reading interest and critical thinking ability. For international students, reading comprehension ability is very important in applying for schools and future campus life. If children can accurately express their feelings or opinions about an original English book, then teachers will affirm their English language ability from the side. Therefore, children need to prepare a book in advance, have a deep understanding of the content, theme, role and plot of the book, and be able to share their own opinions and reasons for loving the book.
4. What do you like to do in your spare time?
The interviewer hopes to see the candidate's enthusiasm for something or at least one or two hobbies through this question. These hobbies can be playing a musical instrument, participating in a sport, or any positive and beneficial activities. Although many children will answer "like to play games" and the interviewer can expect that the answer of video games may appear, this answer should be balanced with other activities and not just mention games.
5. What's your favorite subject at school?
The interviewer hopes that the answer to this question will open an academic and planned dialogue. Children should choose a subject that they really like and can discuss in depth. When answering, you can briefly explain the charm of the subject and how it stimulates your interest in learning or helps you develop a skill. At the same time, you should be prepared to have a more in-depth discussion on this subject, so as to show your enthusiasm for learning and knowledge reserve, because this may involve future subject selection or career planning.
6. If you were a prime minister for one day, what would you do?
This kind of question usually appears at the end of the interview, mainly to create a relaxed atmosphere, but it may also be other types of open or divergent questions. Its purpose is to understand the candidates' interests, and it is also possible to examine their attention to current events. There is no right or wrong answer to this question, and the interviewer may expect a variety of answers, from "eliminating global poverty" to "providing free pizza for everyone".
The following are some other questions that may be asked in the interview of British private schools:
Personal characteristics and growth experience
Correlation of personality characteristics
1. Can you describe your personality in three words?
2. What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?
3. Are you more introverted or extroverted? How does this affect your life?
Family and growth environment
1. Tell me about your family. What do your parents do?
2. In what ways has your family influenced your interests or goals?
3. What is the most important lesson you learned from your family?
Experience of overcoming difficulties
1. Can you share an experience that you encountered difficulties and how you overcame it?
2. What have you learned from failure?
Learning attitude and habit
Learning motivation and goal
1. What motivates you to study hard?
2. What are your academic goals in the next few years?
3. Are there any role models in your study life? Who is it and why?
Learning methods and autonomous learning
1. How do you usually study a difficult subject?
2. Are you good at managing study time? How did you do it?
3. Do you prefer to study alone or in groups? Why?
Socialization and teamwork
Making friends and interpersonal relationships
1. Do you have many friends in your present school? What kind of people do you like to make friends with?
2. Have you ever had a disagreement with your friends? How did you solve it?
3. What do you think are the characteristics of a good friend?
Teamwork and collective activities
1、Have you ever participated in a team project? What role did you play? Have you ever participated in a team project? What role did you play? )
2、What do you think is the most important thing in teamwork? What do you think is the most important thing in teamwork? )
3、If there is a conflict within the team, how would you handle it? What will you do if there is conflict within the team? )
Hobbies and specialties
Learn more about hobbies.
1. You mentioned that you like [a hobby]. Can you tell me more reasons why you are so interested in it?
2. How often do you do [your hobby]? Did it bring you any achievements or special experiences?
3. Do you think your hobbies will help your future study or career? How to help?
Specialty and talent show
1. Do you have any special talents, such as playing musical instruments or dancing? Can you show us a little?
2. How long have you been studying [your talent]? What made you start learning it?
3. Have you ever participated in any competitions or performances with your talents? How was the experience?
Cognition of current events and the world
Focus on current affairs
1. What is the biggest news event that caught your attention recently? Why?
2. What do you think of [a current event, such as climate change, recent sports events]?
3. If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?
Culture and Pluralistic Understanding
1. Have you ever traveled to another country? What did you learn from that experience?
2. What do you know about different cultures? Can you give an example to illustrate how you experience cultural diversity?
3. What do you think is the most important thing to respect and understand in a multicultural society?
It should be emphasized that these reference questions are aimed at stimulating children and parents to think and discuss. Parents and children must avoid mechanically rehearsing so-called "perfect" answers. The real value of the interview lies in showing the candidate's true self, thinking process and the ability to interact with the interviewer. Therefore, the most undesirable thing to do is to memorize the answers to the questions and then recite them stiffly in the interview. The premise of all this is that children's English language expression ability should be good enough.