FEATURED SCHOOL: KING EDWARD 6TH SCHOOL FOR BOYS, CAMP HILL, BIRMINGHAM

One of the reasons that K.E.6 is one of the top grammar schools in the country is that they are constantly on the look out for ways of doing things better than ever before. I was approached by Head of Specialisms, Terry Law, with a request to run training courses for aspiring university applicants, pretty much the whole 6th form. University interviews are no mere formality these days. A student can be rejected on the basis of an interview alone, heartbreaking if they achieve excellent A Level grades.The project is addressing all these issues. Many of the exercises take the form of games which encourage interaction with each other as well as myself. The course also includes writing and presenting a short story to the group. Each 2 hour session strikes a balance between enjoying ourselves together and developing team skills, conversational skills, as well as presentation skills. Stories will be presented to a larger audience later in the year.

The training I was asked to provide covered 3 main areas:Write ups are sent to James after each session. These are kept on file, along with feedback from students and staff, as a record of what is being achieved. This information can also form part of reports to Ofsted inspectors.

• Understanding personality styles.
• What is your personality style? How do you project your personality in a mature but authentic way that will impress your interviewer? How can you  recognize the personality style of your interviewer and adapt your style accordingly?
• How should you prepare for the interview. How can you anticipate questions and prepare intelligent ones of your own. What skills you can use to turn an interview into a conversation? What’s behind a question?
• What do you do when you get a “curve ball” question, or a loaded question?

Session two was rated relevant and useful by 97% and enjoyable by 97%.

Session three was rated relevant and useful by 90% and enjoyable by 97%.

OUTCOME

Every student who applied for Oxbridge was successful. Terry Law said that he couldn’t be certain how much of  the school’s 100% success rate was down to my course; but he has used me for a second year running. We have also agreed, in outline, a leadership training program for 1st year 6th formers for the next academic year.