Scholarship and Entrance exam success

We are delighted that once again, all our children obtained places at their first choice Senior School and many of our children have obtained a wide range of scholarships to Abingdon Senior School, Malvern College, Rendcomb College, Dean Close, Magdalen College, Marlborough, Westonbirt and Cheltenham College.

This term, we have seen even more success for pupils in the Upper School, gaining scholarships and entry to prestigious senior schools. They should be congratulated for all their hard work, determination and resilience; achieving scholarship and exam success is something to always be celebrated but placed in the context of remote learning and lockdown, they should be very proud of their achievements.

At Hatherop, we do all we can to support pupils in preparation for senior school and scholarship exams. From Prep 5, pupils are given extra support in Reasoning, English and Maths, through online programs such as Atom Learning and personalised support from teaching staff. This continues through Prep 6, 7 and 8 with personalised work and individual tutorial style sessions with members of staff whether academic, sport, music, speech and drama or art. Form teachers are always there to support pupils with organisation and workload, monitoring their well-being and liaising between home and school.

Interviews play an important role in senior school entry. As part of their preparations, pupils are given practice interviews, both with staff in school but also with retired headteachers from outside the school community to ensure they feel prepared to talk enthusiastically and confidently about themselves and their interests both at school and at home. With effective preparation we aim for all pupils to approach scholarships and senior school exams with confidence and to realise their potential. There is never any guarantee of success but we want our pupils to have the opportunity to push themselves, to take on the challenge and, whatever the result, be proud of their achievements and look forward to future success.