Should I accept the Sevenoaks offer

I have recently gotten an acceptance email from Sevenoaks school, to join their sixth form in the coming year. This, of course, is an amazing offer and I'm really grateful for it. I've been to the school before and I absolutely loved it and the facilities and the accompanying town. However, they offer the IB, which I am not 100% sure is right for me, as it will force me to do Math and Physics.
The other school I'm looking at is Cardiff Sixth Form, which I'm writing the entrance exam on Wednesday. I've never been to the school, know next-to-nothing about except for the fact that it is one of the best independent A-Level school in the UK, which is a huge plus. Also, it allows me to specialise in the subjects I really enjoy - History, Literature and Economics - which are what I need to study Law.
Note, I haven't gotten an offer from Cardiff, and Sevenoaks wants a reply by the 10th of December.
The dilemma here is not whether I should Cardiff or Sevenoaks, but whether I should do the IB or A-Levels. The program I choose will determine the school I choose.
Any thoughts?

Reply 1

Doones

21

Original post by the_logician

I have recently gotten an acceptance email from Sevenoaks school, to join their sixth form in the coming year. This, of course, is an amazing offer and I'm really grateful for it. I've been to the school before and I absolutely loved it and the facilities and the accompanying town. However, they offer the IB, which I am not 100% sure is right for me, as it will force me to do Math and Physics.
The other school I'm looking at is Cardiff Sixth Form, which I'm writing the entrance exam on Wednesday. I've never been to the school, know next-to-nothing about except for the fact that it is one of the best independent A-Level school in the UK, which is a huge plus. Also, it allows me to specialise in the subjects I really enjoy - History, Literature and Economics - which are what I need to study Law.
Note, I haven't gotten an offer from Cardiff, and Sevenoaks wants a reply by the 10th of December.
The dilemma here is not whether I should Cardiff or Sevenoaks, but whether I should do the IB or A-Levels. The program I choose will determine the school I choose.
Any thoughts?

You've either missed the deadline... (Or have plenty of time to consider it.)

Or........

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 2

username4377214

OP

12

Original post by Doonesbury

You've either missed the deadline... (Or have plenty of time to consider it.)

Or........

Posted from TSR Mobile

I'm so sorry! When I first posted this it was having problems and... idek :/

Reply 3

Doones

21

Original post by the_logician

I'm so sorry! When I first posted this it was having problems and... idek :/

So what did you decide to do? :smile:

Reply 4

username4377214

OP

12

Original post by Doonesbury

So what did you decide to do? :smile:

I decided on Sevenoaks! Thanks for asking :h:

Reply 5

Iaam

1

Hi, I am applying to Sevenoaks to join the sixth form in 2020, any advice for preparing for the interview or the entrance test? Thanks

Reply 6

username4377214

OP

12

Original post by Iaam

Hi, I am applying to Sevenoaks to join the sixth form in 2020, any advice for preparing for the interview or the entrance test? Thanks

Hey, laam!
It's so great that you're thinking about applying to Sevenoaks! It's a really good school, and I can't wait to start this August! From what I remember, you're meant to write four entrance tests in total: English Literature, Mathematics, Critical Thinking, and one based on a Higher Level subject.
Mathematics was quite easy, basically the same as the IGCSE, and I'm guessing GCSE syllabus. Just practice some of your past papers and you should be fine. However, if you're planning to do Maths at Higher Level, I've heard it's MUCH harder. It's mainly advised for those who did Additional Maths at IGSCE.
For English Literature, I only had two questions. One was based on a passage that was provided and the other on any book I had read prior. For this just read a range of books and practice answering essay questions in a limited time. I think I had 1 hour (or maybe 1 hour 30 mins) to finish the paper.
The Critical Thinking paper was by far the hardest out of all the papers I did. There's this book that I had to buy to prepare for this paper, it was called Thinking Skills by John Butterworth and Geoff Thwaites. To practice, I downloaded some Thinking Skills Assesment papers online. They were really hard to do, but I was fortunate that some questions that I practised came out.
The fourth exam really depends on which one you choose. I chose Physics and had to learn the Edexcel Physics syllabus for GCSE. It wasn't that hard in my opinion, and I was happy to see that they had a list of formulas in the first page.
Something to note about the tests is that they are less about testing your academic skill (although that's an important factor for a school like Sevenoaks) and more about seeing how you approach questions. Study well, and there's no reason why you shouldn't pass.
(As a side note, you can visit this page: https://www.sevenoaksschool.org/admissions/sixth-form-entry/recommended-reading/ for some recommended reading)

As for the interview, mine was pretty chill. I actually had two: one was before I applied to the school but I'm pretty sure they also considered that in my acceptance process because the lady I talked to took pretty diligent notes (I honestly was a bit scared). The next was after I wrote my tests, and were pretty chill. It was mostly trying to find out what kind of student I am, my hobbies, my thoughts about learning, etc. It was very enjoyable.
HOWEVER. I was talking to someone else who also applied to Sevenoaks (and got in) and he said that his interview was super stressful. He was quizzed about current affairs (I remember him saying that they asked him about the history of Brexit) and he honestly thought that he wasn't going to get it because of it. So honestly the interview can go either way.

Hope this helps!

Reply 7

Iaam

1

WOW thank you, that is really helpful!

OP

No problem!

Hello the_logician, I am wondering if one should do external tests like ielts to increase the chance of admission. Did you do any of these tests? And by the way, just asking, where are you from?

Reply 10

username4377214

OP

12

Hi! Sorry for the late reply 😅. I didn’t do the IELTS (still haven’t) nor did I have to do any external exams. They’re not important as Sevenoaks doesn’t ask for them. And I’m from Nigeria.

Reply 11

JC53

9

Thank you so much!! One more question, for TSA, did you do Paper 1 or 2? By the way, how's Sevenoaks?

Reply 12

username4377214

OP

12

Original post by JC53

Thank you so much!! One more question, for TSA, did you do Paper 1 or 2? By the way, how's Sevenoaks?

I'm assuming you're talking about the Past Papers I did. If so, I don't really remember which Papers I did, but I probably did both just to be on the safe side. I think I only did maybe four in total because it was very hard to do them.
I haven't started school in Sevenoaks, but I will by next week on Thursday. I'll make sure to tell you about my experience maybe after a week of being in the school.

Reply 13

JC53

9

Original post by the_logician

I'm assuming you're talking about the Past Papers I did. If so, I don't really remember which Papers I did, but I probably did both just to be on the safe side. I think I only did maybe four in total because it was very hard to do them.
I haven't started school in Sevenoaks, but I will by next week on Thursday. I'll make sure to tell you about my experience maybe after a week of being in the school.

Thank you so much!!!!

Reply 14

lilg3

10

Original post by Iaam

Hi, I am applying to Sevenoaks to join the sixth form in 2020, any advice for preparing for the interview or the entrance test? Thanks

Hi! I'm also applying to Sevenoaks for sixth form 2020! Could I ask what you are doing to prepare for the exam next week? I seem to have found very few people that are applying to Sevenoaks Sixth Form 2020

Reply 15

vvvc24356

4

Original post by lilg3

Hi! I'm also applying to Sevenoaks for sixth form 2020! Could I ask what you are doing to prepare for the exam next week? I seem to have found very few people that are applying to Sevenoaks Sixth Form 2020

Hi, I've also applied to Sevenoaks for 2020 and I've just hear back. Do you wanna dm and talk abt it there?

Reply 16

lilg3

10

Original post by vvvc24356

Hi, I've also applied to Sevenoaks for 2020 and I've just hear back. Do you wanna dm and talk abt it there?

Sure! What's your instagram?

Reply 17

vvvc24356

4

Original post by lilg3

Sure! What's your instagram?

sent to u in dms!

Reply 18

lilg3

10

Original post by the_logician

I'm assuming you're talking about the Past Papers I did. If so, I don't really remember which Papers I did, but I probably did both just to be on the safe side. I think I only did maybe four in total because it was very hard to do them.
I haven't started school in Sevenoaks, but I will by next week on Thursday. I'll make sure to tell you about my experience maybe after a week of being in the school.

How has sevenoaks been the past few months? I have to decide by today and i kind of had the feeling that the people in sevenoaks werent as nice and that it was kinda easy to have social problems. But obvs i dont know cuz I dont go there. How is your experience? Is the HM nice?

Reply 19

tnguyen5

8

Original post by lilg3

How has sevenoaks been the past few months? I have to decide by today and i kind of had the feeling that the people in sevenoaks werent as nice and that it was kinda easy to have social problems. But obvs i dont know cuz I dont go there. How is your experience? Is the HM nice?

Dude, I also applied but I'm in the wait-pool. Do you wanna dm about how the application process went for you? interview? entry exams etc?

Should I accept the Sevenoaks offer

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