Foresters hone their interview skills

Forest delivers invaluable ‘Viva’ interview experience for Year 13 pupils

This week, all our Year 13 students will participate in formal one-to-one ‘Viva’ interviews with specially-invited external professionals. Our Year 13s are fast approaching the end of their time at Forest, and will soon be stepping into the world of university, apprenticeships or work, so this is an important time for them.  The Year 13 ‘Viva’ interview will be the culmination of around 18 months of work towards the Forest Diploma – our bespoke, ‘in-house’ qualification- designed in collaboration with universities and employers.

The principal aim of the ‘Viva’ is to offer students the opportunity to reflect upon their progress, both academic and non-academic, throughout the Sixth Form.  The students will be challenged by their interviewer to consider what they have achieved and to articulate any challenges they may have faced.  They are required to think deeply and flexibly to get the most out of it, but in turn they gain an amazing experience of an invaluable real-life skill.

Here are just some of the things our pupils and our interviewers said:

‘I now have more confidence in myself; I think that through the Viva, I realised all the things I can do and am good at.’

‘The amount of interview practice has made me much more confident and prepared.’

‘They were charming and interesting young people and have clearly had an excellent experience in the Sixth Form. They have a really good attitude to working and learning and I would have been delighted to have any of them in my medical school.’