14 November 2017
Our Upper Sixth Oxbridge applicants honed their interview skills last week by facing panels of Year 7 students. Their task was to explain their choice of university subject in just five minutes. Their reward? An honest (at times very honest!) and constructive assessment of their performance, evaluating how clear and convincing their explanation was, how engaging their talk was, and what their body language conveyed.
Year 7 took their duties very seriously, listening attentively and diligently completing their feedback forms while the applicants waited nervously outside the room! After consulting with their fellow interviewers, the Upper Sixth came back for their feedback and to hear what had gone well and where they needed to improve their interview technique.
The Upper Sixth were very nervous beforehand - Year 7’s can be scary! – but they found it a really useful exercise and proved that they are definitely clever enough to explain their chosen subject to an 11 or 12 year old! This will help them as they face more practice interviews here and at Whitgift School over the next few weeks, and if they’re invited to interview at Oxford or Cambridge at the start of December.
As well as helping their older counterparts, the Year 7 girls perhaps also got a glimpse of their future six years from now…