Brandon Learning Centre: British Education - process, preparation and practicalities

 For the last twenty years, I have been working with students who are hoping to get into selective schools. Our parents are successful, motivated people and they want to help their children as much as they can. Which leads us to one of the biggest errors in interview preparation.... memorisation.   It is always so disheartening to try to interview a child and be bet with a barrage of pre-prepared answers. At best, these are unengaging, at worst they are garbled, rotobotic and express ideas unlikely to be natural for a ten year old.  Is your child REALLY reading Great Expectations? Really? Or do they gravitate towards Harry Potter and the Wings of Fire series?  An interviewer wants to know what makes your child tick, not how well they can memorise Wikipedia...  Do you remember how you used to talk about picture books when your child was young? Try to re-tap into their natural curiosity. A heartfelt discussion about whether Ron or Hermione would be a better f...

Did you know that I have been successfully preparing students for school interviews for almost three decades?! If I were to count the first ever interview I prepared a boy for (the old Colet Court, now St Paul's Junior) it would be longer..   This book is based on my strategy - teach a child about what to expect and what they have to offer first, then teach them an answering format and off you go!    You will learn:   What schools are looking for What your child has to offer How to answer tricky questions.. and much more!        From schoolships to music interviews, I have tried to cover a range of formats to demystify the school interview process.  I can't guarantee a place but I can guarantee that your child will tackle any interview with the confidence that comes from preparation.    Order here.    All proceeds from my book will be going to a Hope for Prisoners, a Hong Kong charity.   ...

Which independent schools send the most students to Oxbridge? From the top ten and excluding state schools:   1st (no surprise) Westminster with 179 applicants and 96 offers.  8th Eton 162 applicants and 51 offers 9th St Paul's Girls 88 applicants and 48 offers 10th St Paul's Boys 127 applicants and 46 offers  How do we use this data?  Having a large Oxbridge cohort informs the teaching and ethos of a school. Once you have a decent sized group who all have high aspirations, they encourage and challenge each other (see the History Boys!) Schools can collect data from interviews and pass it on to future applicants so the body of knowledge within the school grows. A fantastic example of this is state run Loretto College in Manchester (67 applicants 24 offers) where a good percentage of students come from some of the poorest homes in the country. The school does a stellar job of encouraging students to return to speak to their peers, thus spreading knowledge and reducing...

      Everything you need to know about school interviews!  Academic interviews... standard interviews... music scholarship interviews... all you need.  Practical and comprehensive...   This is a workbook for you and your child which will help them to build confidence, understand their own skills and apply their talents to different types of interviews. From academic interviews to music scholarship interviews, you'll learn about what schools are looking for from their candidates.  I designed the book so parents can read the background theory and then work through exercises with children. We're printing in A4 size to give children a bit more room to fill in the various tables.  Although I have included example questions, I have focused more on answering technique. Above all, the golden rule is not to memorise!    Order now! https://brandoncentre.shop/brandon-books/   

  The biggest complaint I hear from UK school returnees is that that the food is a but ropey. Comment of the year from a student has to be 'the best food is their fish and chips and even that isn't very good'!   Face it, school food is never going to be the last word in gourmet but schools do go to great lengths to make sure it that the offerings are wide ranging and can cater to different tastes.   If you are getting constant complaints, rather than shipping over a year's supply of  公仔面, try these steps:  1: See for yourself -  ask to see daily menus. These may be accessible on the school portal or the House parent can send them over. Is there really nothing edible? There is generally fruit available in house and some houses also have mini-kitchens for older students.  2: Ask what your child is eating now. They might tell you and you will have clues based on your knowledge of what they eat and what is being served. If in doubt, speak to the ...

When did you last sit down away from the world to read a book? When life becomes too much, try this to escape: Choose a well-loved book. If you still have your childhood books knocking around, so much the better.  Find a space where you will be alone. In my house, this generally means accompanied by a dog or three. They don't count.  Close your eyes and touch your book. Feel the slightly fuzzy texture of the paper, the sharp or rounded edges, the creases on the spine. Remember all the times you have read it, the comfort it has provided.  Now lift the book up to your face and smell the paper which will have its own distinctive scent. What memories does it bring back? Of whiling away time in bookshops, finishing essays in libraries? And now, open your eyes and read. Touch the pages, feel the words taking root within you again. Reconnect with the child you were. Books made you.  Knocks a Kindle into a cocked hat doesn't it?