Wellington College Interview: Tips and Common Questions

Wellington College's 13+ interview has one feature worth knowing in advance: it is held online, over Microsoft Teams, on a separate day from the assessment visit, and it is conducted by a senior member of pastoral staff. That tells you a great deal about its purpose. This is not a formal academic grilling but a whole-child conversation, exploring how your child thinks, what engages them, and how they will fit into the community. This guide explains what the interview involves, what Wellington looks for, and how to help your child prepare for an online conversation without turning them into a rehearsed performer.

What the Wellington interview involves

Wellington's 13+ interview is held online, over Microsoft Teams, on a different day from the assessment morning or afternoon at the school, and it is conducted by a senior member of pastoral staff rather than a subject teacher or a panel. That pastoral focus is deliberate: the conversation is less about testing knowledge and more about getting to know your child as a person, exploring how they think, what they care about, and whether they will thrive in Wellington's community. For overseas candidates who cannot travel, the school offers an additional virtual interview that is more academic in nature. Because the interview is friendly and conversational, a child who is comfortable talking about their interests, and honest when they are unsure, comes across far better than one delivering answers learned by heart.

What Wellington is looking for

Wellington takes a whole-child approach, and the interview is where the personal side of that comes through. The school says it is looking for engagement, determination and joy in learning, and for how candidates think, listen, contribute and behave around others. Within a relaxed conversation, the interviewer is forming a picture of whether a child is genuinely curious and enthusiastic, whether they are resilient, and whether they will contribute warmly to the life of the school.

Wellington looks for engagement, determination and joy in learning, not how many facts a child can recite.

This shapes how you prepare. A child who can talk warmly about a book they love, a hobby they pursue, or an idea they find genuinely interesting, and explain why, will impress far more than one who arrives with polished, pre-packaged answers.

Common interview themes

No two Wellington interviews are identical, but they tend to explore familiar ground. Your child may be asked about the subjects and activities they enjoy and why, about a book they have read or an interest they pursue, and about what attracts them to Wellington in particular. Because the interview is pastoral in focus, the conversation often turns to life beyond the classroom: how they get on with others, what they do outside lessons, how they handle setbacks, and how they feel about boarding and living away from home. The interviewer may invite them to talk through something they find interesting, so questions that open up a conversation are common. None of this needs a scripted response. What helps is a child who has thought a little about why they want to go to Wellington and can speak honestly and warmly about themselves.

Preparing for an online interview

Because the interview is over Microsoft Teams, a little practical preparation helps your child feel at ease. Make sure they have used the technology before, so the camera, microphone and screen feel familiar rather than distracting, and choose a quiet, well-lit room where they will not be interrupted. Encourage them to look at the camera rather than the screen when they speak, to sit comfortably, and to take a moment before answering rather than rushing. A short, relaxed practice call with a relative or friend can settle nerves and get them used to holding a conversation on screen. None of this changes what the interview is about, but it removes the small distractions that can throw a child in an unfamiliar format, so their genuine personality comes through.

How to prepare your child

The aim is a confident, genuine child, not a rehearsed one, so the best preparation looks very little like exam practice. The single most useful thing you can do is have real conversations at home, so your child is used to expressing and explaining their opinions. Encourage them to think about what they enjoy and why, and to come up with a question or two they would genuinely like to ask about Wellington. Reading with reflection helps, since a child who reads widely has more to say, and any experience of being away from home makes the prospect of boarding feel familiar rather than daunting. Combine that with a little practice on the online format, and your child will be well placed. For the rest of the assessment, our guide to the Wellington assessment covers the pre-test and the assessment day.

A note for parents

It is natural to want to prepare your child thoroughly, but Wellington's staff are experienced at telling a genuinely curious child from a heavily coached one, and they consistently favour the former. Your most valuable contribution is not drilling answers. It is giving your child a home where ideas are discussed, opinions are welcomed, and reading and real interests are part of daily life, and making sure they are comfortable with the online format. That preparation lasts well beyond a single conversation, and it happens to be exactly what the school is trying to find.