Personal Statement
A personal statement needs to be submitted by all applicants who have made an online application and been offered an interview. This form needs to be completed at least 3 DAYS before your scheduled interview.
When you click on the button at the foot of this page, you'll be taken to the personal statement online form. You have to complete this form in one go, so you might prefer to type your answers elsewhere and cut and paste them across when you are ready. There are five sections. You will need to tell us about:
YOUR PLANS
YOURSELF
YOUR STUDIES
YOUR CHALLENGES (optional)
YOUR EXAM ARRANGEMENTS (optional)
There's an automatic word limit on the boxes. You need to write about 85 words for each of the first three. You don't have to write as much (if anything at all) for the last two; it's entirely up to you. If you wish to submit more material, you can do so by emailing a longer personal statement to our admissions team. This material will be passed to your interviewer prior to interview.
Please remember that we are very interested in your written skills, so please keep an eye on spelling and punctuation, and no lists or bullet points please!
To help you get ready, here's a guide for each box:
Guide to Box 1 - Your Hopes and Plans
We want to see if your personal statement supports your course choices and career ideas. Tell us below how this college application fits in with your future plans. We understand that some of you will already have very specific plans and may already have done some relevant work experience in that field - in which case, tell us about it.
We also understand that for others, plans might be less clear: "I'd like to go to university, but I'm not sure exactly what I'd study" or "possibly I'd like to work in healthcare".
There are some jobs where it is more important that you state an interest now (for example, if you might wish to be a vet or a doctor or a teacher). If you're looking at something in this area, we need to get your choices right.
Guide to Box 2 - Tell us About Yourself
In the next box we'd like to find out more about you. This could include SOME of the following (though you don’t have to cover everything and please focus upon the last year or two; we’re sure things have moved on a lot since you were nine years old!):
• In school it might include being a prefect; being on the school council, or organising charity, arts or sports events.
• Outside of school this may involve helping with the local brownie pack; being involved with a youth group, or being part of a football team.
• Responsibilities in the home; this may include caring for younger brothers or sisters or a parent, or making a significant contribution to any aspect of helping at home.
• Special interests and the specific activities you have pursued in the last couple of years. What are you really enthusiastic about?
• What have you read? What books are you reading at present?
• Who are your heroes? What inspires you?
• Any significant achievements in the last two years?
• Personal qualities – what sort of person are you?
Guide to Box 3 - Your Studies
In this box, you'll need to tell us about your studies. This might include:
• Which subjects are your strongest?
• How are your studies going? How did mock exams go?
• Looking at the courses that you want to do, what are the key subjects going to be for you?
• What sort of grades will you need?
• Are there any areas that you are worried about ?
• What grades are you going to get in English? Will you get a 5 or more in a few essay-based subjects?
• Will your choices need a particular grade in science or maths?
Guide to Box 4 - Your Challenges
Please do tell us about any specific learning difficulty for which you have been receiving help at school and any other significant difficulty in your life that you have had to deal with. If you do not think that there are any significant issues that we need to be aware of, please leave this box blank, but you should always let the admissions team know if the situation changes.
This information help us to understand your position and make us more able to support you; this information is not used to determine your suitability for a place at college.
Guide to Box 5 - Exam Arrangements
This last section is a very specific one about exam arrangements. Some students have special arrangements for exams at school, such as extra time or the use of a word processor. If this is the case for you, please tell us below, so that we know that this is something that we need to talk to you about. If this is not the case for you, please put "no exam arrangements required".
If you are ready to answer each of these sections, please press the button below and start the online form.