4 young school girls

Interview practice for senior schools and well beyond…

30th January 2019

Performing well in interviews is a key skill for life, as well as part of the application process for local independent senior schools. It’s therefore something that is an important part of our Y6 development programme at this time of year. So, we took a look at the lessons and the all-important mock interviews that have been under way in the past few weeks.

 

1. Classroom preparation

 

In the photograph below, Mrs Hughes was giving top tips to girls on how to create a good impression in an interview situation.She shared advice on the importance of positive body language, answering questions in full, and avoiding overuse of colloquial words and phrases.

 

At Bowdon Prep, we embed our values of Belief, Perseverance and Success into all parts of the curriculum, and they work extremely well as a guide for interviews. Mrs Hughes asked the girls how they might apply the value of Perseverance in an interview situation for example. They responded with some brilliant suggestions including reframing potential negatives into positives, remaining determined, smiling and making direct eye contact!

 

Y6 pupils interviewing each other following initial advice from Mrs Hughes.
 

2. Mock interviews

 

Following on from this preparation, all girls take part in at least one formal mock interview. This is conducted either with parent volunteers or with senior teachers at the school. Mrs Gee, who does many of the interviews herself, points out the reason for this. She said, “we want to make sure that our girls can walk into unusual and unfamiliar situations with a real sense of their worth…not being boastful, but able to share who they are and what they have achieved. We want the interviews to become second nature to the girls so that they go into the ‘real thing’ feeling well-equipped and excited”.

 

As an example of this, Mrs Gee highlights a recent interview she did with Y6 pupil Sarah (pictured).

 

Sarah is normally a quiet and reserved pupil, yet in the interview, Mrs Gee said she was wowed by Sarah’s confidence and by the excellent examples she gave about her achievements and talents. Well done Sarah…these skills will stand you in good stead for life.

 
 

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