Scholarship Interviews at 11+ and 13+: What Schools Ask and How to Prepare

A scholarship interview at 11+ or 13+ is usually a conversation with a teacher about reading, interests and an unfamiliar problem, held either inside the school's ordinary entry interview or on a separate assessment day for a subject award. North London Collegiate School and Brighton College describe academic awards decided within their normal entry assessment and interview, whilst Tonbridge School and Brighton College describe subject-specific conversations for art, music and drama candidates. This article concerns UK independent-school awards, and it does not cover university or US athletic scholarships.

Because the interview tends to sit alongside written papers, a reference and sometimes a practical task, the most useful preparation is the habit of reading widely, explaining ideas aloud and talking about one's own work. Each school's scholarship page states which format applies to its own entry at 11+, 13+ or 16+, so that page is the first thing to check before a child practises anything.

How does a scholarship interview differ from a standard entrance interview?

At the schools cited here, the academic scholarship interview is usually the entrance interview itself, with the award decided afterwards on the combined evidence. North London Collegiate School considers external applicants for its academic scholarship within its normal entrance examination, interview and reference process, and Brighton College says all candidates are automatically considered, with awards based on performance at assessment and interview. St Paul's School sets its scholarship examinations after a place is secured, and its scholarships page mentions papers without mentioning an interview.

The clearer difference appears in subject awards, where the conversation is about the candidate's own work with the head of that subject. Tonbridge School asks that scholars show a strong standard across the compulsory papers together with excellent performance in one or more subjects, and every candidate there takes part in an informal interview. At 16+, Westminster School bases King's Scholar selection on the Sixth Form Entrance Exam papers and interviews.

What formats do scholarship interviews take?

The pages cited here describe one-to-one or small-group conversations, often with a subject specialist, and several add a stimulus or a piece of the candidate's own work. St Paul's School describes an entry interview that explores numeracy and the ability to critically analyse source material, followed by co-curricular interests and a general conversation. Tonbridge School builds its art interview on preparatory work completed for a given theme.

The pages consulted describe no group discussion as a scholarship format, and none says that an object or a picture is used as a prompt, so a family expecting either should ask the school directly.

• One-to-one with a head of department or director: Brighton College names the Director of Art and Photography, the Director of Drama and the Director of Music at sixth-form entry.
• Talk about the candidate's own work: Brighton College's 11+ art candidates talk to an art teacher about why they are passionate about art and look through their pieces.
• Stimulus: St Paul's School refers to source material, though its page does not say what form it takes.
• Practical task alongside conversation: Brighton College's 11+ art assessment includes a group practical task.
• Oral component inside the papers: Westminster School's Challenge lists Drama monologues, an Art or Science practical and a French oral among its specialisms.

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What kinds of questions are asked at a scholarship interview?

Questions tend to fall into three kinds: what the candidate has read, what they do and enjoy, and how they reason through something unfamiliar. St Paul's School states that its entry interview covers co-curricular interests and a general conversation, and Tonbridge School's art interview follows the candidate's own work, so questions often start from something the child has already done.

The examples below were written for this page as illustrations, and no named school is known to ask them.

Follow-up questions such as 'what makes you say that?' are usual, because the panel is listening to the reasoning behind the first answer.

• Reading: 'You mentioned finishing a novel recently. Which character changed their mind, and what caused it?'
• Reading: 'If you could add one book to the school library, which would it be, and who should read it first?'
• Interests: 'What is the hardest part of the activity you spend most time on, and what have you tried in order to improve it?'
• Unfamiliar problem: 'Here is a short paragraph about how a town chose where to build a new bridge. What else would you want to know before deciding?'
• Unfamiliar problem: 'A map shows five towns and no roads. How would you decide which two to connect first?'

How are music, art, drama and sport scholars interviewed about their work?

Subject scholars are usually interviewed by the head or director of the subject, and the conversation starts from the performance, portfolio or task they have just presented. At 11+, Brighton College's art candidates talk through their pieces with an art teacher, drama candidates perform a one-to-two-minute monologue from a professionally performed play before a short interview about their interest in drama, and choral candidates sing two contrasting songs, with a short interview with the Director and Deputy Director of Music during the assessment.

Tonbridge School shares an art theme in advance, asks candidates to bring the finished work together with any supporting or developmental pieces, and uses that work as the basis of the interview. Sport is described differently at Brighton College, where staff speak individually with each candidate to assess ability and there is no formal interview on the day. Sixth-form art, drama and music candidates there do have an interview with the relevant director.

How should a child prepare without rehearsing scripted answers?

Preparation that works is regular conversation about real reading and real activities, because a child can answer follow-up questions fluently only about material they know. Practising the skill of thinking aloud serves a candidate better than any list of model answers, and it can be built into ordinary weeks at home or at prep school.

Where a school publishes specimen papers or syllabus guidance, as Westminster School does for the Challenge and as St Paul's School does for its written papers, those materials cover the papers only; neither page offers advice on interview preparation. Practice for the conversation therefore comes from the habits below.

• Talk for two minutes about a book finished that week, then answer two follow-up questions from an adult.
• Read a short unfamiliar text, such as a news paragraph or a poem, and say what it suggests and what it leaves out.
• Explain a maths or science idea aloud and name the step where it became difficult.
• Practise saying 'This may be wrong, but one possibility is' and then reasoning towards an answer.
• For subject candidates, talk about a single piece of work, including what the child would change in it.

For one-to-one interview practice alongside the written scholarship papers, read about our scholarship exam preparation, or tell us about your child and the schools on your list and we will reply with tutor recommendations.

What can the panel learn from preparation, and what can it not?

A panel tends to learn whether a child has read, has practised explaining ideas and has thought about their own interests, and it is seldom persuaded by a memorised answer, because follow-up questions leave the script quickly. Preparation also shows in calm, in the ease of talking to an unfamiliar adult and in the depth a child can reach on a chosen subject.

Preparation cannot show how a child responds to a question nobody has anticipated, which is the part a stimulus such as source material gives a panel the chance to see. Interviews also sit alongside other evidence, since North London Collegiate School's process includes a reference and Tonbridge School's art information lists a recommendation among the bases for awards.

What should parents do and avoid before a scholarship interview?

Parents help most by reading the school's own scholarship page, discussing the application with the child's current head and arranging low-stakes conversation. Westminster School requires the head teacher's countersignature on the Challenge form and describes discussing the matter with the head as essential, so that conversation is worth having early.

Where a school hosts parents during interviews, as St Paul's School does with a talk from the High Master and senior leaders whilst candidates are interviewed, the child goes into the room alone, which makes the child's own habits of speaking the thing worth building beforehand.

• Do: check the format on the school's page and ask the admissions office when the page is silent.
• Do: keep the child's reading and activities going so the conversation draws on real material.
• Let subject candidates complete any preparatory work set by the school themselves.
• Avoid: writing or scripting answers, or choosing impressive books the child has not read.
• Avoid: coaching a tone or a set of opinions, since panels follow up on whatever a child says.

Related guides

• 11+ entrance exam tutors
• 13+ Common Entrance tutors
• scholarship exam preparation
• 11+ interview preparation
• The 13+ interview
• 11+ academic scholarships
• 13+ academic scholarships

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