Wellington College Sixth Form

Hey guys,

So I noticed that there isn't one forum for Wellington College like there is for Sevenoaks, though please forgive me if I am mistaken.

I'm applying this year and I'd like to get to know other people who are as well :smile:

And if any previous applicants or Wellington students had any advice on the entrance exams and such, it would be extremely welcome :smile:

Thanks!

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Reply 1

gcsestudent123

Hey, I am starting sixth form in September and I applied to Wellington College however unfortunetley I didn't get in :frown:

but 3 of my friends did! Wellington is amazing especially at sixth form, offering lots of different opportunities and two different programmes of study - IB or A Levels. I remember going in for the entrance exams day. Basically, you apply and then they will send you an email asking you to select 1 of 4 days on offer to go in for your assessments (there are so many applicants 4 days is necessary!). You will be required to sit 3 specific subject papers, so, for example, I did English, History and Biology and then in addition to this you have to sit a Maths Skills paper and then also one non verbal reasoning and one verbal reasoning test. The subject papers are 40 minutes each and so is maths skills. You will gets breaks in between! As well as all of this you also need to do a Harkness Activity (harkness is a round table) and you will sit round this with a group of other applicants and have a debate/discussion. You are able to select either a science, arts or humanties discussion and they group you according to your selection. I chose Humanities and we had to have a discussion about whether it was right that the CIA could monitor people. After this you have an interview with a member of staff - don't worry, you aren't in a room alone with them, they convert classrooms and all the applicants go in at the same time and sit at a desk by themselves where a member of staff is waiting so it will be a 1 on 1 interview however there are about 20 other people in the room taking too so it is less intimidating. The interview can last anything from 15 minutes to 45 minutes it depends on the interviewer and what you're discussing. They can ask you anything but everyone was asked why they wanted to go to Wellington and what they thought about boarding etc. after that it is pretty open, I was asked what had recently interested me on the news (tip: don't go for the obvious thing, go for something interesting), I was also asked about whether I was interested in studying IB or A levels and my activities in and out of school. They asked me whether I had been involved in drama productions, musical stuff etc. My friend was asked if she would back up a murderer in court - try to give interesting answers! Questions about future careers was also discussed. I feel it necessary to add that getting into Wellington is extremely difficult - last year there were 500 applicants and only 30 places available (20 for boys boarding, 15 for girls boarding and 5 for day girls or boys) so don't get your hopes up but try your best! Every applicant is an A*/A student so try and differentiate yourself from the crowd and be interesting! I know this all seems very daunting and a lot to take in and believe me it was a tiring day however even though I didn't get in it was such a good day and you get to meet so many different people and all so nice! Pretty much no one knows each other so don't be scared and just get talking! Good luck on your application.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 2

thirdcultureteen

Oops I realized that I forgot to thank you for the information! :/

Because I'm an overseas applicant, my process was a bit different. They let overseas applicants do the interview and harkness activity in Hong Kong first, and if you're successful, then they'll let you take the entrance exams. I went to HK for this a few weeks ago, and I've been notified that I passed that stage onto assessment. :smile:

Yeah so thank you so much for the information. I was a lot less nervous that day because you gave me an idea of what was going on, and for that, I could not be more grateful. :smile:

Thank you again!

Thircultureteen

Reply 3

Song Jacky

hi, I just wonder that do they provide you time before the harkness discussion to prepare?

Reply 4

milknoodles

Original post by thirdcultureteen

And if any previous applicants or Wellington students had any advice on the entrance exams and such, it would be extremely welcome :smile:

Thanks!

hi! i'm going to the assessment day on wednesday 16th, what about you? to be honest im a bit nervous about the group discussion as its not something i do often but i'll try my best. what subjects are you sitting an exam for?

Reply 5

milknoodles

Original post by Song Jacky

hi, I just wonder that do they provide you time before the harkness discussion to prepare?

well actually my mother met some staff from wellington college the other day and she was told we get about 10 minutes of preparation before the discussion. im not 100% sure though, but im sure we'll have material to read beforehand

Reply 6

thirdcultureteen

Original post by milknoodles

Lol uh I posted that two years ago, so I've already applied haha. I sat the English, Maths and Mandarin exams. The group discussion was fine in the end though, so I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just don't be afraid to voice your opinion and make sure you don't just fall silent while everyone else talks!

Reply 7

milknoodles

Original post by thirdcultureteen

Oh dear im sorry about that! Thanks for the advice anyway. Can you remember the amount of people in the discussion?

Reply 8

thirdcultureteen

Original post by milknoodles

Oh dear im sorry about that! Thanks for the advice anyway. Can you remember the amount of people in the discussion?

Around 12 maybe?

Reply 9

nevlexis

What to expect on interview? Do they ask you like strange questions or not?

Reply 10

fuggedaboutit

Original post by nevlexis

What to expect on interview? Do they ask you like strange questions or not?

Hope this helps and is not too late. I'm an overseas applicant and was asked stuff like how will investors take advantage of Brexit. And how my future career can help people in need. My friend got some philosophy questions related to the purpose of life.

Reply 11

squeakysquirrel

Original post by thirdcultureteen

And if any previous applicants or Wellington students had any advice on the entrance exams and such, it would be extremely welcome :smile:

Thanks!

Don't know about entrance exams - but my son used to teach there - loved it - you will have a great time. Grounds are fantastic - teachers are wonderful. Results are good.

Reply 12

nevlexis

The interview was rather formal, they asked me standard question like why this school etc. I did Harkness Hall in sciences the question was what is more threatening terrorism or antibiotic stable microbes. The math was more on logic than on math. There was a bit of geography in physics and revise waves! Chemistry was like m. Tough for me. Best of luck!

Reply 13

Elena ruhland

Could you talk about what you wrote for your personal essay please?!

Reply 14

JC53

Hello, I am applying for Wellington too. Did anyone do UKiset yet? I am a foreigner...

Reply 15

lilg3

Original post by JC53

Hello, I am applying for Wellington too. Did anyone do UKiset yet? I am a foreigner...

I did the UKiset a few weeks ago and am also applying for Wellington college. It wasn’t that hard it was most logic and stuff and then just an English test. There is an essay though. Mine was on how school was different before the internet