Preparing for 11+ Interviews

Interviews can be a daunting time for children, especially for those who feel they lack confidence in these situations, but they needn’t be! Have a read of our blog post all about helping your child to prepare for their 11+ interview.

Why do schools interview children?

Contrary to what you or your child may think, the point of interviews at 11+ are not to terrify children! Schools want to ascertain whether your child will fit into the school’s way of life and whether the school will be the right school for your child. Make sure your child knows what each school can offer them and why they think it is the right fit for them. Generally, most schools will have a one-to-one interview where they ask them standard interview questions. Some schools have now introduced more ‘creative tasks’ and these aim to assess teamwork, problem-solving, mental maths, communication, creativity as well as clarity of thought.  Other schools may ask the children to come prepared to give a short presentation.

Ensure you check the school’s website for exact details on what their process entails.

How can you prepare for 11+ interviews at home?

• Work through the Bright Light Education 11+ Interview Practice Skills Book. This book is both a guide and an activity workbook, helping children (and parents) to prepare for competitive 11+ interviews. It will help children to understand the process and be well-prepared (without being over rehearsed!) when entering that interview room.
• Ensure they are keeping up to date with current affairs. First News and The Week Junior are great newspaper subscriptions to receive and for news videos, games and quizzes, CBBC Newsround can be a great option.
• While you are looking through the prospectus and website, start to make a list of questions about the school and learn these for use in the interview.
• When practising interview questions at home, ensure children are preparing and NOT rehearsing. Interviewers are looking for children who are speaking naturally and not reciting pre-prepared answers.

What questions might be asked?

Interviews may include a range of different questions, relating to personal hobbies, academic achievements, school life etc. Your child may also be asked other types of questions, such as reading a passage, discussing an image, mental maths questions.  Our 11+ Interview Practice Skills Book contains a range of interview questions, together with sample answers to over 50 questions.  Here are some example questions:

E.g. What three words would you use to describe yourself?
E.g. If I were to look through your exercise book at school, what would I see?
E.g. What will you contribute to this school?
E.g. What story in the news in the past few months has really caught your attention and why?
E.g. Whose face would you put on a £10 note and why?
E.g. Should we all become vegan to reduce carbon emissions and habitat destruction caused by meat production?

What can parents do to help on the day?

• Arrive for the interview in plenty of time! There is nothing worse than a mad rush, struggling to find somewhere to park and feeling stressed out before you have even arrived. Your stress will pass onto your child!
• You need a little time before their interview to allow your child time to compose themselves, but not so much time that they have time to become nervous.
• Make sure they appear smart, smile, are feeling confident, maintain good eye contact and use a warm greeting such as ‘Good Morning Mr Johnson’.
• Practise a firm handshake!

What can Bright Light Education do to help?

11+ Interview Practice Skills Book:
This book is both a guide and an activity workbook, helping children (and parents) to prepare for competitive 11+ interviews. It will help children to understand the process and be well-prepared (without being over rehearsed!) when entering that interview room. This book is aimed at 11+ interviews but would also be useful for any school interview between the ages of 8 and 14. Read more…

11+ Interview Preparation Course:
This three session course is for any child wishing to prepare for an 11+ interview as part of a school entrance examination. There will be a maximum of 8 children in the group and the course will take place online. Read more…

Mock Interview:
We also offer a twenty minute 1:1 mock interview, held online. Only your child and the tutor will be present during this mock interview. It is recommended to take this after the Interview Preparation Course. After the interview, detailed and written feedback will be sent via email. Read more…