What UK independent schools say about interviewing a child abroad, in their own words
Book a Free ConsultationA video interview is a conversation on Microsoft Teams or Zoom that some UK independent schools offer candidates abroad. Whitgift lists overseas boarding interviews online by Microsoft Teams for 18 to 25 November 2026. King’s College School Wimbledon says “Overseas candidates will be required to travel to King’s to sit our entry tests. In order to avoid unnecessary travel, overseas candidates will be interviewed at King's the day prior to the written tests.”
Tuition is delivered online via a high-quality video platform, meaning our specialist tutors are accessible to families regardless of location. Each school below speaks in its own words, with the entry point and year it serves.
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Book a Free Consultation Message us on WhatsAppEach row quotes one school’s own page, read on 4 October 2026, with the entry point the sentence sits under. Rows are grouped by the verb the school itself uses, because will be arranged, can be arranged and by exception commit a school to different things. This page uses video interview for what the schools call an online, remote, virtual, Teams, Zoom or video-call interview; the school’s own word is in each quote. A school that does not appear below is not covered here. The 11+ and 13+ from overseas hubs list which schools let a child sit the first test from abroad; this page adds the interview step.
These rows use a verb that commits the school: the video interview is the arrangement for an overseas candidate.
Source: each school’s page linked in its row, read on 4 October 2026.
The verb and the condition are the school’s own: can, may, is possible, if a visit in person is not possible and facing considerable travel are different commitments, so each is quoted with its sentence.
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Book a Free Consultation Message us on WhatsApp| School and entry point | The school’s own words | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Sevenoaks School Later Decision, Year 9 entry in September 2028 | “Testing can also take place at a British Council office or other approved centre, with the group discussion taking place online. Please contact the Registrar to discuss such alternative arrangements.” | A group discussion, not an individual interview: “In the second stage of assessment, candidates will sit papers in English and Maths and participate in a 40-minute group discussion.” |
Source: each school’s page linked in its row, read on 4 October 2026.
These sentences stop short of saying a video interview is held. They are quoted as written, and the question each leaves open is in the section on what to put in writing.
| School and entry point | The school’s own words | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Stowe School 13+, interviews in Year 6 | “All prospective pupils are expected to visit the School for their interviews when they are in Year 6. By exception overseas pupils may be interviewed remotely: Day pupils - September to mid-January of Year 6. Boarders - September to March of Year 6.” | An exception; what qualifies is a question for Stowe. |
| Felsted School Joining from overseas | “For those pupils who are unable to visit us in person, we are very happy to organise online meetings.” | Felsted’s word is meetings. Its Year 9 page lists, under UK Admissions Steps, “Attend entry testing and an interview with a member of the Senior Leadership Team” |
Source: each school’s page linked in its row, read on 4 October 2026.
Verbs differ here too: required, must, expect and encourage are different commitments. The 11+ and 13+ pages of King’s College School Wimbledon (KCS Wimbledon) are separate rows because each page carries its own sentence.
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Book a Free Consultation Message us on WhatsAppSource: each school’s page linked in its row, read on 4 October 2026.
The video interview is only one stage. St Paul’s Girls’ School is the clearest split: the first section quotes it saying interviews can be remote while written assessments can only be taken in person onsite. Test formats are not repeated here: see the ISEB Pre-Test guide, the Common Entrance guide, and the 13+ from overseas pages on the ISEB Pre-Test abroad and which entrance test applies.
Source: each school’s page linked in its row, read on 4 October 2026.
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Book a Free Consultation Message us on WhatsAppA child in Year 8 in 2026-27 starts Year 9 in September 2027, a child in Year 7 starts it in September 2028, and a child in Year 6 starts it in September 2029. The schools’ own labels agree: Winchester heads its Year 6 interview row “13+ YEAR 9 2029”, Sevenoaks’ Later Decision timetable is for Year 9 entry in September 2028, and Whitgift’s 13+ key dates are headed 2027. The 11+ rows serve a child who is in Year 6 in 2026-27 and starts Year 7 in September 2027. Dates already past are marked as past.
Source: each school’s page linked in its row, read on 4 October 2026.
Source: each school’s page linked in its row, read on 4 October 2026.
Source: each school’s page linked in its row, read on 4 October 2026.
Source: each school’s page linked in its row, read on 4 October 2026.
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Book a Free Consultation Message us on WhatsAppWhere a school states a time-zone arrangement, it is quoted. St Paul’s Girls’ School says “we will try to schedule them at a convenient time for your time zone.” City of London School for Girls says “we will try to schedule them to a convenient time for your time zone.” Whitgift sends “Applicants considered for an offer will be sent an invitation to interview in mid-November. The invitation will contain an online booking calendar with which families can book a time suited for them to interview.”
Other schools publish dates by place. Winchester’s guide lists “in Hong Kong: 19 – 23 October 2026” for 11+ interviews (entry to The Pilgrims’ School, progressing to Year 9 at Winchester College), a window that is still ahead. Dulwich says “The Entrance Examinations for boarding applicants from Hong Kong will be held in Hong Kong on Sunday 25 October 2026 and in other countries at a similar date and by individual arrangement with applicants.” For the London-to-local clock conversion, see the online tuition and time zones page, which works through the clock rules for Dubai, Doha, Hong Kong, Singapore, New York and Paris; this page does not repeat them.
Platforms named: Microsoft Teams by Whitgift, Uppingham and Brighton College; Zoom by Dulwich College, James Allen’s Girls’ School and Millfield. A school that names no platform is not listed.
The lengths are the figures a family can plan around. In the preparation column a dash means the school was not quoted on that point here.
Source: each school’s page linked in its row, read on 4 October 2026.
Where a school says the child must come, the entry rules are GOV.UK’s, so they are quoted. Bulleted lists on the GOV.UK pages run together when read in a line.
Source: the GOV.UK pages linked in each row, read on 4 October 2026.
Whether a particular family needs an ETA or a visa is not decided here: GOV.UK’s check if you need a UK visa service answers it. Which entry route a school expects for an interview-only visit is one of the questions in the next section, and Westminster’s own parent-residence rule for 13+ is quoted in the first section. See also the Child Student visa and educational guardians pages.
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Book a Free Consultation Message us on WhatsAppSeveral sentences stop short of a rule. Each row ends with the question it leaves open; where a sentence is not quoted here, the row points to the table above that quotes it.
| School | Its wording | The question to put in writing |
|---|---|---|
| Oundle School | “All overseas applicants sit the Oundle Entrance Examination in November of Year 8, also with papers in Mathematics, English, Science and normally a Modern Foreign Language, alongside an interview and Cognitive Ability Test.” “Entry is by written examination in January before entry in September.” | Which month applies to a child at an overseas school in Year 8 now, and is the online interview part of that same sitting? |
| Rugby School | “We expect all applicants to attend interviews at Rugby in Year 7.” “Our Year 6 Assessment Day consists of online tests in English, Maths, Verbal Reasoning (VR) and Non-Verbal Reasoning (NVR), an interview with a senior member of staff and collaborative group activities.” | Which of the two routes applies to a child living abroad, and where does the interview take place on it? |
| Felsted School | “For those pupils who are unable to visit us in person, we are very happy to organise online meetings.” “Attend entry testing and an interview with a member of the Senior Leadership Team” | Does the overseas route include an interview, and if so, how is it held? |
| Stowe School | Quoted in the exceptions table above. | What counts as an exception, and by what date should the request be made? |
| Wycombe Abbey | Quoted in the in-person table above. | Which parts of the assessment day can be arranged differently for a family abroad, and is the interview among them? |
| Sevenoaks School | Quoted in the options table above: the Registrar is the contact for alternative arrangements. | Which cities and dates are the international assessment days, and is the online group discussion held on the same date as the British Council sitting? |
| School | Its wording | The question to put in writing |
|---|---|---|
| Westminster School and the other schools in the in-person group | Quoted in the in-person table above. | Which entry route does the school expect for the visit, and what can it provide to support the family’s application for it? How does Westminster’s parent-residence rule for 13+ apply to our family, and in which year should we raise it? |
Source: each school’s page linked in its row, read on 4 October 2026.
Reviewed 4 October 2026 against the schools’ own admissions pages and GOV.UK pages linked in each row. Dates and rules are labelled with the entry year they serve; check each school’s page again before acting.
Some schools say a video interview is the arrangement for candidates abroad. Oundle says “We interview all overseas candidates online during the assessments.” Whitgift says “Overseas applicants will attend the interview online via Microsoft Teams.” and lists overseas boarding interviews for 18 to 25 November 2026. Shrewsbury words it as an option: “If this is not possible, we are pleased to arrange an online interview.” Read each school’s sentence for its entry point before relying on it.
KCS Wimbledon says “Overseas candidates will be required to travel to King’s to sit our entry tests. In order to avoid unnecessary travel, overseas candidates will be interviewed at King's the day prior to the written tests.” Westminster, for 13+, says “Overseas candidates will be required to come to Westminster for their interview, and for the Further Mathematics and English testing in January when they are in Year 6.” The in-person group also includes, for example, Wycombe Abbey, Rugby and Radley; their sentences are quoted in the first section.
Two girls’ schools say they will try to fit the family’s clock. St Paul’s Girls’ School says “we will try to schedule them at a convenient time for your time zone.” City of London School for Girls says “we will try to schedule them to a convenient time for your time zone.” Whitgift’s invitation “will contain an online booking calendar with which families can book a time suited for them to interview.” For London-to-local clock conversions, see online tuition and time zones.
Three schools address preparation in writing, each on its own page. Channing says “We actively discourage preparation for the interview.” City of London School says “No specific preparation is required or expected for the interview or group session” and Radley, in its FAQ on preparing for the Year 9 (13+) assessment process, says “We strongly recommend that boys are not over-prepared for their interview.”
GOV.UK says “Most visitors need an ETA or a visa. What you need depends on: your nationality why you’re coming to the UK, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man” It also says “Each person travelling needs an ETA, including babies and children.” GOV.UK also lists people who do not need an ETA. Whether a family needs an ETA or a visa depends on the facts GOV.UK lists, and its check if you need a UK visa service gives the answer.
It depends on the school. KCS Wimbledon says “overseas candidates will be interviewed at King's the day prior to the written tests.” At Winchester the general ability test comes first: “GAT testing is conducted online at an assessment centre and is administered by Winchester College staff. Candidates are invited through to interview on the strength of both their application (school reports, references, resume) and GAT testing.” It adds “Pupils invited to interview complete the written assessment on the day of their interview.” Uppingham says “The interview and online assessments may take place in either order, and can be separated by several weeks.”
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