What is more important than academic excellence?

King’s Scholarship defines a high level of academic achievement, along with the sports, music and art scholarships. My initial thinking was to understand the gap between the national curriculum and the questions from the King’s Scholarship papers to understand why the scholars are often from the same public schools and regions. I explored the possible reasons and looked at how anyone can work with their available educational resources to be competitive at the King’s Scholarship exams.

The interview in the King’s Scholarship process provides the starting point to work backwards. The goal should be succeeding in that first interview in whatever subject or topic. I think if we realign the goal of succeeding in an interview to convince the gatekeepers to unlock the desired opportunities. This goal will be more important than King’s Scholarship because it is more viable, less dependent on the difference in resources, more enjoyment as it is about desire, less robotic in terms of completing exams.

After two years of visits to top schools to discuss with headteachers, observing what they do, interacting with young professionals and performers and graduates from top universities, I think the follow topics are really important.

1. Individuality – What makes this person unique and special. Everyone is different, so it is important for that person to highlight their passions and skills with evidence in the form of a portfolio.
2. Communication – The Gatekeepers are people most of the time. So how to communicate effectively. I avocate a classical rhetoric approach. I noted some of the top prep schools place “debating” high on the list of clubs to do. Prep schools are designed to “stretch” kids so they are most competitive in the entrance exams for top colleges and bring prestige to the Prep schools.
3. LIVE performance – Jon Hipkiss, comedian, bought up a really critical point. How can we perform 100% LIVE each time? How can we show the best of us in each interview. Resilience, confidence and mindset are key.
4. Mindset – How can we achieve a growth mindset? Our focus is through small improvements over time, like a snowball building up momentum. The portfolio provide evidence of growth.

How have BE a Scholar Tuition adapted

BE a Scholar Tuition looks for connections to the curriculum. Students can improve their grades by focusing on their passions through a detailed research approach. They practise different writing styles on their topic, research with AI, and present to peers to practise communication. They become subject matter experts (SME) who will be unique to their peers, and draw confidence from the unique topic to communicate effectively to others. They will engage gatekeepers (the subject matter experts of today) to convince them that they are right for the roles and become the future experts.

Example

A musician is finding his own style (1). He can use music to communicate (2). He plays the piano live in front of the school (3). He keeps pushing his skills and repertoire (4) as shown in his channel.