Five top tips to remember

*Give long and detailed answers with “because”

* Look at the camera or at the interviewer; keep good eye contact

* Always remember to smile

* Stay positive with your answers and ‘think on your feet’

* Have a go at every question

Strengths and skills

 Football
 Running
 Coding
 Website-making
 Writing
 Reading
 Maths
 Debate

Achievements

1) 3 writing awards in Year 5

a) Newspaper report on a typhoon day
b) Recount on a stormy night
c) Manual on how to survive on a desert island

2) Showcased writing of dragon description on the wall

1, Tell me about yourself

I am Matthew and I am 10 years old. I study at Harrow Shenzhen in Year 6. I like playing football and
reading. I play the piano at Grade 4 and the Cello at beginner level.

2, Strength: How would your friend/ teacher describe you.

My friend and teachers would describe me as, supportive, and responsible. I was an Academic Leaders in
our Y5 class and student librarian this year. I handle organising books, tidying up library and help the
classmates to solve their math and English problems. Besides, they call me Mr Enthusiastic. I engage in
every aspect in class and take part various activities in our school.

3, Weakness
I am energetic boy and sometimes I rush my work. When I was young, I jump all day long, and I always
rushed my work, so I had time to play. But when I grew up, I tried to slow down my pace and
concentrate on my work as much as possible.

4, What book did you read recently

I have been reading Once by Morris Gleitzman these few weeks.

‘Once,’ is an excellent book describing the harrowing events of a Jewish boy who escaped from the rule
of Adolf Hitler. The book tells a story of Felix, a ten-year-old boy who escapes from the orphanage to
find his mum and dad.

I absolutely enjoyed it because of the naiveness of the hero, Felix. He always tells stories to keep him
happy whether the situation is bad or not. The book gives a strong message to the reader that everyone
deserves something good in their lives, at least once. I would recommend this book to someone who
likes WWII and are interested in the life of a Jewish.

5, Tell me about your current school/ do you like your school and why?

I am one of the founding students at my school and I grew up with the school.

I was lucky to meet three teachers at my school. Miss Rowland, Mister Leary, and Miss Litt. Miss
Rowland gave me the opportunity to perform the school song once a month in assembly and gave me
the opportunity to be the host of our class assembly. Mr Leary and Miss Litt sparked my interest in
writing and had given me several awards for my hard work.

I was never worried about anything in this school because my friends that always backed me up. Every
day, after lunch, I always have the time of my life: I play football. Rain or shine, I would always go to
school.

6 A movie/drama you like

I especially enjoy the movie Paddington Bear. I watch it over and over again even my dad says that I
need some new material. I specifically enjoy the part when Paddington carries the dog whilst riding the
escalator after reading the sign that said, “dogs must be carried.”

What is your favourite subject and why?

List:

1, pe

2, computing

3, science
My favourite subject is computing. In computing, we get to learn coding on Scratch, Python and Turtle
Playground. This inspired me to create a game with my friend. The game is about feeding and farming animals
such as cows, sheep, horses and even pigs. We had a recent project on website making on Wix and Microsoft
Sway in which my group won first prize. Our computing teacher is caring and friendly. She even once gave us
chocolate!

What is your least favourite subject and why?

Acronym to remember

C= Challenge

A= action

R=result

My least favourite subject is music. The teacher asked us to sing aloud, but I do not have confidence in my
singing voice. However, I registered to be the lead singer of our house singing competition. I practiced for
weeks and weeks on end. We resulted in a win, and I was awarded a certificate.

What is your hobby? What extra-curricular activities do you do?

My favourite hobby is playing football. I have played football since I was three. I started training in year 5.
During Year 5, we formed our own 5-a-side football team. I was converted into various positions by our
captain for me to try out which one was best. I eventually became a striker; however, I have been playing
attacking midfielder since my captain wanted me to organize the team more. I soon became deputy captain of
the team.

Do you like reading?

Yes. I like reading because I just get drawn into the book and I am completely unaware of my surroundings.

Do you like listening to music?

Yes, I really enjoy listening to music because it calms me down. My mum always says that music is
a type of language people use to express their feelings. I enjoy pop music because I get to dance
and jump around without a care in the world.

Topic: How do we fix climate change?

Climate change is inevitable, due to the rapid growth of the economy and human society; however, we can
take small actions to help fix it. Driving electric cars, walking, or cycling are innovative ideas. Planting trees
can also help because it absorbs harmful gases such as Carbon Dioxide from the air. Scientists in Germany has
discovered Hydrogen fuel that can power trains. However, it is impossible to eliminate gas vehicles from our
world as electric cars are not reliable. I think that we should all take small actions and together we can achieve
something bigger.

1, recycle

2, plant trees

3, use sustainable transport

4, hydrogen fuel
5, purified gas.

Climate Change:

Latest News
1) Mechanical trees:

Mechanical trees are type of robot that absorbs Co2 from the air. The machine is like a ten-metre-tall
replica of an air conditioner. The machine was created by Professor Klaus Lackner in Arizona, USA.
The “tree” consists of 192 disks covered in a type of resin each with a two-inch gap. The disks are
made of a material that attracts Carbon Dioxide. After 20 minutes, the disks shrink into the base
which mixes the Co2 with water which is pumped down into the earth and mineralised out of harm's
way.

2) Nuclear Fusion:

Nuclear Fusion was found inside the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. This is called fusion
beceTwo types of hydrogen, tritium and deuterium are put into a small pellet the size of a pencil
sharpener. The capsule is put into a cylinder tube with holes on either sides. Lasers are fired into the
holes to make intense heat. The fusion creates helium and n. N is the extra energy. The fusion
creates 50% more energy than what was invested. The was enough to power 17 kettles.

Topic: Pandemic impact on economics/life

First, the pandemic has negative influence on the economy. Global Tradings have decreased
because of the frequent lockdowns. People spend less because they have lost their jobs. We are
facing the recession.

Second, lots of people lost the lives during the pandemic.

Finally, travel is restricted in countries. I have not met my friends and teachers in HK for 3 years.

Topic: Space explores

NASA revealed that humans will be able to step on the moon in 2025. But the question is, when will
space tourism be available? SpaceX are deciding to take people to mars after the technology has
improved. This decision was made under the special request from Yusaku Maezawa. However,
Space tourism will only be for the billionaires as the ticket price for the trip would be one billion. Elon
Musk has lowered the price to one hundred thousand and he said that it would be the lowest price.
The price could be the more expensive than a house and some people are not willing to risk their
live savings. This means that the poor or even the middle class cannot afford such things.

Topic: Will China attack TW?

There is a possibility that China will continuously try to plan out invasions of Taiwan. However, it is
most unlikely happen in the short term.

Taiwan has several allies in the APAC. American is one of the strongest one. Last year, Pelosi
visited Taiwan to enforce the relationship with the island.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is continuing, but Russian is not getting the results they want. If
China invades Taiwan, China will be sanctioned by the USA or the EU, like frozen the money/
account which China has in USA.

This year, China has experienced economic recession due to the pandemic and it would take a long
time to recover.I don’t think it has money to start a war.

The 2022 biggest news, what are they. List 3 you are interested in

1) First, The protests took place after 10 people died in a building on fire.China finally eased the
Zero-Covid policy after protests in Nov last year..But China was not ready for the reopen.No
sufficient ICU or medicine , millions died afterwards.

2) Second, Pelosi visited Taiwan in Aug.Her visit in Taiwan to send a clear message to Beijing,
which is Taiwan has strong international supports.( If the interviewer ask more , you can
continue the questions of if Peking will attack TW)

3) Last Dec, a group of USA scientists made a NF breakthrough.

The Nuclear Fusion breakthrough has given people hope in making Eco-friendly fuel. When and
where and who did it ?

Topic: Do you support strikes?

I partly support strikes. Living costs have risen and workers must work longer to support their families. Strike
is a way for people to tell their wages are not enough, and They deserve a 'good working conditions and fair
wages.

However, strikes may lead to protests and other facilities cannot run properly, like disruption for passengers in
the run-up to Christmas.

Topic: How do you feel about the Queen’s death?

The Queen passed away on the eighth of September. She seemed so timeless that everyone believed she would
just go on and on.
She devoted her whole life to the country. 2 days before she passed away, Queen met Liz Truss.

She is a great lost for the country and we will always remember her in our heart.

Topic: How do feel about having three Prime Ministers in one year

The year started with Boris Johnson as the PM.

Bo Jo was fined for having parties during lockdown. He set a bad example to the public. However, he
supported Ukraine firmly.
Liz Truss resigned after 44 days becoming the Prime Minister. She tried to push an aggressive tax
cutting policy, which objected by most of British people .( do not say :lead to the plunging pound.)

Rishi Sunak stepped up becoming the first ever Asian PM. He is diligent and well-balanced. He
has rich knowledge in economies.

Topic: One day, if you become a Prime Minister, what is the first thing you would do?

If I were Prime Minister, the first thing I will do is to convince China to accept the vaccines support
from USA and the EU.

Only effective RMNA vaccines can save people’s lives from the pandemic and recover the global
economic.

Topic: What do you do at weekends?

I have a regular weekend routine. I do my homework and then have my piano lesson in the morning.
And played football with my friends downstairs.

After dinner, I attend Tennis class. Sometimes, it is exhausted after taking so many activities and I
would do something different. Sometimes, Mom takes me for a walk to bookstore or dad drives me
to supermarket to replenish our supplies. Around 9pm, I watch football or have a movie night on
Saturdays.

List three dream dinner guests dead or alive

I would like to meet Elon Musk, Richard III, and Lionel Messi.

I will ask Elon Musk if space X only created a world for the richest people and when can kids take
space tourism.

Richard III if he had really killed the princes in the tower and his brother George.

Finally, I would ask Messi why he is so good at football and if he could teach me some skills.

Why do you want to apply to this school

Tonbridge:

The school is far away from the heat of London. It is in the peaceful and beautiful countryside. I once
watched the school video, the 150 acres of playing field and the athletic aspect of the school has
really caught my eye. I am a sporty boy and cannot wait to take a match with my classmates there.

Besides, the school is well-known for his strong academic record, and it has an award-winning
library. I am passion for learning and dream to be student librarian there.

Mom told me that Tonbridge is an All Steinway School more than 90% of the pianos in the school
are Steinway.

Win Coll
City Boy

Why do you want to learn in UK and apply for boarding school?

When I was 4 years, dad worked in UK. Mom and I travelled to visit him.

The memory of UK has fadeaway, but I can still remember ...,,

When I grew up, I am so obsessed with prime league, Paddington bear, Sherlock Holmes, and
everything about UK. Even my teddy bear was from Marks and Spencer's.

I am very independent, since I was little , I crossed boundaries to HK for kindergarten with many
children. I was not afraid of it. I can always make new friends during the journey.

How do you define success?

Success is when you achieve the wanted and expected results whilst helping others to achieve it as
well.

Poetry/ Passage

If you are given an unseen text to look at shortly before your interview:

1. Simplify the poem in an one sentence summary

2. Pay attention to technical language

Syntax: the order of the words

Voice: the specific style an author writes in

3. Do not try to guess the author or the date

4. Do not try to guess the meanings or themes based on an indivudual word or image
5. Think about the mood or tone
6. Look out for changes
7. Have a look at the structure and form

Traditional Forms

Haiku: 3-line poem (5,7,5)

Ballad: (no fixed lines)

Sonnets: (14-line poems: fixed meter)

Acrostic: (No fixed number of lines, but the beginning letter of each line spells a word)