Preparing for the 7 plus interview and assessment day can be a daunting process for both parents and children, but with the right guidance, it becomes an opportunity for children to showcase their potential. In this article, Keystone's 7 plus tutor Kathleen, shares her insights into typical 7+ interview questions and the format of assessment days, offering practical advice to help families navigate this important stage of prep school admissions. process.
What happens after the 7 plus exams?
The 7 plus process is different for each school. If children are successful in getting through the examination stage, they are often invited for a follow-up assessment day. This may be for an extended half or full day of activities or a shorter interview session. Interviews can be done one-to-one or with a small group of children. As part of the selection process, the school is trying to build a holistic picture of your child. This is done through observations throughout their time at the school alongside interviews.
What do they do on a 7 plus assessment day?
All schools are different! The purpose of the assessment day is to see how ‘teachable’ the children are and how they interact with each other. Usually, candidates are put into small groups with a teacher from the school. They will then do a lesson which often involves a hands-on task and group work. Other adults will be in the room to support and observe each child in action. At playtime, adult eyes will be on the playground to note any interpersonal concerns between children in an ‘unstructured’ setting. Sometimes students will be asked to read one-to-one with an adult to check their fluency, expression and comprehension. If a school is doing interviews, this could be done as informal chats with children during the lessons or more formal sessions where children are one-to-one in a separate room.
To prepare your child for the assessment day, you can discuss with them the ‘schedule’ so they know what to expect. The “soft skills” the school will be looking for should already be a part of your child’s positive learning behaviours. If your child has a tendency to be quite quiet when nervous, you can remind them to speak up. If your child tends to be quite dominant, you can remind them to listen carefully to other children and adults throughout the day.
How do I prepare my child for a 7 plus interview?
A good starting point for preparing your child for the 7 plus interview would be to simply have regular conversations with them on any topic. Conversing with your child – taking turns in listening and speaking, with questions and answers included – will help your child to interpret and respond to the interviewer’s questions. Engaging your child in conversation will hopefully also put them at ease when they come to the actual interview, as they will view the interview as just another conversation.
When speaking with your child, encourage them to offer explanations. You might want to encourage your child to use ‘because’ to expand their answers. Your child may be confident in knowing their likes and dislikes, their hobbies and what happens at school. If they can expand their answers to include specific reasons as to why they like something, this will help demonstrate depth to their thinking and will help the interviewer see your child’s personality.
It’s also important to develop your child’s confidence in speaking up when they are unsure of what you are saying or asking. This will stand your child in good stead as, if they are unsure of something in the interview, they will feel at ease in asking for clarification.
Helping your child develop their own opinions is another way to prepare for the 7+ interview. There are no correct answers to interview questions. Instead, encouraging your child to give their personal opinion without a judgement of it being right or wrong, will show their individual thoughts and give a sense of their character. Added to this, expanding on their opinions with an explanation will also demonstrate how your child can use reasoning to answer questions and will therefore show deeper thinking.
Additionally, regular reading with your child is essential for your child’s language and vocabulary development, and it will ultimately help with their communication skills in the interview. Discussing a book that you are reading together provides a good opportunity to develop your child’s opinions and thoughts, too. Some schools may also want their candidates to read a text and discuss it with them in the interview. When reading with your child, check for their understanding of the story and, if appropriate to the story, you may want to ask the following questions:
- What happened on this page?
- Why has the author used this word?
- How does this character feel?
- If you were in the story, what would you do?
What questions do they ask at a 7 plus interview?
Some schools may ask each child to bring in a personal object they can talk about. This could be something they’ve made, an award they’ve won, a book they love, a favourite toy, etc. Discussions around a personal object are intended to put the child at ease. Their choice of object should provide a story they can tell and a personal connection.
There are many questions that could come up in the 7+ interview.
Interviewers may want to know about the child’s family, their likes and hobbies. Questions that may be asked are:
- Can you tell me about your family?
- What do you like to do on the weekend?
- Describe your favourite toy. Why is it your favourite toy?
- What are your hobbies?
- What is your favourite place?
The school may also want to know about the child’s current school. Questions may include:
- Can you tell me about your school?
- What do you like about your school?
- What is your favourite subject?
- What would you like to learn more about at school?
The school may also want to know more about the child’s opinions and assess their reasoning behind their opinion. Examples of these kinds of questions may include:
- Would you prefer to play football or go swimming?
- Do you think it’s better to win one big race or five small races?
- Would you rather play in mud or sand?
- Would you rather blow a trumpet, bang a drum or sing a tune?
Some schools may want to hear a child read a passage and ask questions about it. Questions may include:
- What happened?
- Can you describe this character?
- What was the problem in this story?
- What do you think this word means?
Some schools may also ask candidates if they have any questions for the interviewer. Talking to your child about their school, their likes and extracurricular interests will help spark ideas for questions they can ask the interviewer. Examples of questions they could ask the interviewer may include:
- What is your favourite book?
- What do you like to do on the weekend?
- Why do you like being a teacher?
What is the interviewer looking for?
The interviewer will be assessing the communication skills of candidates. The interviewer will also be looking at whether your child is a good fit for the school. To be able to judge whether a candidate is a good fit, interviewers will be looking to see if children can readily and openly share their thoughts, feelings and opinions in response to their questions. They will be looking for answers that go beyond one-word responses and give a sense of the child’s personal thoughts and feelings. Children that can expand their answers and give reasons will give the interviewer a sense of their personality and show strong communication skills.
What happens in a 7 plus group interview?
In a group setting, the interviewer will be looking at the interactions between students. How well can they work together on a task? How do they deal with conflict or differing ideas? Do they listen to and build on another child’s ideas? Can they disagree respectfully with another child? Schools will place a high value on a child’s inter-personal skills as these are often indicators of future personality. Ideally, each school wants to select students they feel will match the ethos and dynamic of their school. They are trying to anticipate what this 7 plus student might be like as a person when they are in year 6. While academic rigour is assessed in the examination stage, personality is assessed in the interview stage.
Final Thoughts
The whole 7 plus process will likely be a new experience for the majority of children. It is hard to predict how a child will respond to these new pressures. Things which an adult might not consider to be stressful (visiting an unfamiliar place, speaking with new people, writing a test) could bring out an unpredictable anxiety in your child. It is important to reduce the pressure as much as possible and treat the experience as a ‘new adventure’. Children are excellent mimics and will take on the stresses of those around them, so the calmer you can be, the easier your child will likely find the whole process.
7 plus tuition
Keystone Tutors have a number of highly experienced 7 Plus tutors who can help with exam and interview preparation, for leading UK prep schools.
For more details on how Keystone can help prepare your child for the 7 Plus, please call the office for a chat with one of our client managers, or contact us via our request a tutor form.