How can I help my child prepare for their senior school entrance interview?

Over the past decade, both the number of applicants and the standard of candidates have increased. As a result, selective independent schools now rely more on interviews and pre-tests. These help schools decide whether a child will thrive and benefit from what they offer.

In most cases:

The interviewer will have your child’s exam results, a reference from their current Head, and their latest school reports.
Interviews usually last 15–20 minutes.
Your child should be ready for open-ended questions, mental maths, and stimulus material such as a poem, article, advert, or image.

We asked a group of senior school Heads how they would describe successful candidates. They highlighted three key qualities:

Natural
Interested
Able to develop their responses fully

It is important that your child can speak confidently and enthusiastically about their hobbies, academic interests, and current affairs.

In group activities, your child should contribute thoughtfully without dominating.

Our top tip: read, read, read!

Preparation Methods To Adopt Straight Away

Talk To Your Child

Confident, well-prepared children tend to perform well in interviews. Talk with your child about their interests a little bit each day to develop confidence. A strong senior school interview should feel like a conversation. Encourage your child to share their thoughts and explain their ideas. This will help the interview feel more natural.

Some children may find obvious interview preparation stressful. Try talking during everyday activities, like on the way to school or at mealtimes. This approach builds communication skills without stressing your child. These skills are valuable after their interview too!

It is also important for your child to listen carefully and reflect on new ideas. Interviewers look for children who can understand different viewpoints, learn from discussions, and enjoy school.

Techniques to Use to Shine at Interview

How To Debate/Explain Your Opinion

This is the method we recommend explaining to your child as a technique to use in the interview to ensure they answer with clarity and confidence.

P - Pause and Breathe

A - Analyse the Question

R - Reason your response (in your head)

E - Explain!

Be prepared to justify your opinion, and also be asked the 3W questions that matter in interview (Who, When, & Why).

The Best Way to Tell Your Story

Communication is key. Sometimes your child will be asked a negative question like ‘What is your least favourite subject?’.

The best way to answer a question like this is to start with a positive, then answer the question honestly, and conclude with another positive. A good way to remember this is the PNP (positive, negative, postive) hamburger.

All stories are built up from the ground. Telling stories before bedtime and getting your child to contribute is an excellent way to create the skills which will later make your child an engaging conversationalist.

Other Preparation

Read regularly
- Encourage wide reading beyond school books
- Choose age-appropriate texts, including classic children’s literature
- Focus on enjoyment as well as building vocabulary and comprehension
Stay up to date
- Support supervised reading of child-friendly news sources (e.g. The Week Junior)
- Talk through current events and explain what is happening
- Encourage your child to share their views and draw their own conclusions

Live Lessons on Atom

Your child can access a series of live lessons to further support their interview preparation. Simply search "Interview Prep Course" in the lesson library to watch these.

Accurate at time of publishing.