Leo is a year 7 student at Cothill House and already has an offer from Harrow School. 

Before studying in the UK, he was a typical student in the traditional Chinese public education system. 

However, just half a year after joining BE, Leo successfully enrolled into a prestigious feeder school for the “original nine” senior schools.

With his offer from Harrow, Leo will now become part of a historical school that has educated famous alumni such as Winston Churchill, Lord Byron and Robert Peel.

“Leo, do you want to study in the UK?”

In March 2017, on her colleague's recommendation, Leo's mother took him to BE for a consultation. He was only nine years old at the time, and took the CAT as well as the BE internal exam. 

The result was a surprise: apart from English, Leo got full marks on two subjects and only one mistake in the other. With these results, BE's consultants believed that Leo had the potential to gain a place at a top school in the UK.

Leo's mother was delighted to hear this feedback from BE, and started to plan for him to study at a British preparatory school.

However, she was a little worried about whether Leo himself wanted to leave home and study abroad. Many parents recognize the pressures and challenges for young children studying abroad; for this reason it is a good idea to let children experience British education and make the decisions themselves.

This is exactly what Leo's mother did. She enrolled him for classes at BE in order to familarise him with British education and see how he responded to it. Two weeks later, Leo was making great progress and excited about the prospect of studying in the UK!

“Leo can choose the school by himself. I will support whatever he wants!”

Two years ago, Leo shared how he chose his school at the BE Family event: "When there are many schools you'd like to attend, the best way to choose is to make a spreadsheet and give a score to each aspect of the schools you like." His method is particularly useful as no one child's passions are the same, and so it is important that parents allow their children to find a path that suits them best. 

Leo himself used this method and chose Cothill House after calculating the total scores for each school. For him, art was an important factor. He has liked painting from a young age and loves art and spatial structure. He's very accustomed to expressing his thought and emotions with a paintbrush, and even likes telling stories by painting. Therefore Cothill, with its excellent art department, was the ideal choice.

One move to win the interview "Harry Potter is the past, let's choose a different one!"

One of Leo's key strengths is his ability to navigate an interview successfully. Indeed, his mum describes him as an "Interview Guru". Between the nurturing environ- ment of Cothill, and the interview training he received from his BE consultant, Leo was able to walk into all his interviews as a confident and charming young man. Unlike other more diffident children, who waited for the interviewer to ask them questions, Leo took the initiative straight way and led the conversations. For example, when he met Harrow's Dean of Academic Affairs, he was quick to remark that, "The painting behind you is very interesting. Can you tell me what it is?" The Dean was delighted to hear such a question, and he began to explain enthusiastically.

A lot of Chinese children say they love to read books in interviews and, when the admissions officer asks what books they've read, the most common answer is "Harry Potter". Leo's strategy was to differentiate himself from the others. Under the guidance of BE's consultants, he devoured more ambitious books, especially those popular with native British children. For example, he read a selection of Charles Dickens novels, and BE's tutor even lent him science fiction books from his own private collection.

Mum's expectations

"The world is increasingly globalised and the need for a decent education is of the highest importance. I hope that all children choosing to study in the UK remain calm, even if it seems like there is a huge challenge ahead. The most important thing is to maintain their passion for learning and to be intellectually curious. If they can do this, then I am confident that one day they will be able contribute a lot to society in whatever field they choose".