How to prepare for an interview at top schools" We talk to Alex Wulffen-Thomas, headmaster at St Philip?s Prep 
Walking into the hallowed halls of a centuries old public school or boarding school far from home can be intimidating to say the least. Prep school children may be only ten years old when they arrive for interview at what may be their future school. Yet they will be old enough to know that a great deal rides on their small shoulders.
St Philip?s, a small school of 85 boys in the heart of Kensington, prepares pupils for entry into secondary school at year 9, the year they turn 13. They will be only in year 6, aged 10 or 11, when they go for interview at one of the top London schools such as Westminster or City of London for Boys, or a prestigious boarding school such as Eton or Harrow. ?We want to make it as familiar as possible for them,? says Alex Wulffen-Thomas, the headmaster at St Philip?s. ?We don?t know what they will be asked ? it could be a question about a poem or their hobbies. There?s no list of questions that you are given in advance. What we can do is to prepare them for how they might feel and how to put the best version of themselves forward.?
To prepare boys, St Philip?s will start by bringing in people from outside to conduct practice interviews. The headmaster will also speak to the boys, making the process as comfortable as possible by setting the scene. ?If they are going for interview at Harrow, I will show them a picture of the headmast...