At ISP, we believe that every student should have the support and guidance they need to reach their Destination of Choice with 93% of ISP students achieving their first-choice university in 2024. We achieve this by breaking down barriers for students and their families. For highly selective universities like the University of Cambridge, one of these barriers is preparing for the admissions process.
That’s why we’ve launched a group-wide Mock Interview Programme—a unique initiative that brings together expertise, experience, and collaboration from across the ISP network to provide our students with specialist interview coaching.
Why Mock Interviews Matter
Gaining admission to institutions such as Cambridge is an incredibly competitive process, with interviews playing a decisive role in the selection of candidates. These interviews assess a student’s ability to think critically, articulate ideas under pressure and engage in academic discussion at the highest level. For many applicants, it is their first experience of such an intense, discussion-based assessment.
By offering structured mock interviews, led by experienced interviewers in different subject areas from across ISP and beyond, we are helping students to:
- Develop confidence in expressing their ideas clearly and persuasively.
- Experience realistic interview conditions, simulating the Oxford University and the University of Cambridge process.
- Receive tailored feedback to refine their responses and improve performance.
- Build resilience and adaptability, key qualities for success in academia and beyond.
Leveraging ISP’s Global Network
One of the key strengths of ISP is our ability to connect schools, educators and experts worldwide to share knowledge and best practices. Our Future Pathways team has worked to develop strong university partnerships and to bring external expertise into our schools.
This initiative is more than just practice interviews—it is a demonstration of how ISP empowers students by:
- Building relationships with top universities such as Cambridge to provide direct insight and guidance through in-person visits to our schools. These relationships enable us to train our Future Pathways Advisers on the highly competitive application process.
- Creating opportunities for students to engage with experienced professionals. For example, we have had students from Dubai mock interviewed by colleagues in Switzerland, students from India interviewed by colleagues from the UK and students from the US interview by colleagues in Spain, all covering a wide range of subjects—from Law to Natural Sciences, and Economics to Engineering.
- Delivering targeted training for Future Pathway Advisers, ensuring high-quality 1:1 university counselling.
- Creating communities across the group that facilitates shared understanding. One teacher remarked that they are ‘getting to know lots of lovely people at other schools, which is really nice!’
Schools that have already participated in Future Pathways training with the University of Cambridge have highlighted the value of ISP as a global group that shares expertise and resources to help students succeed. ‘The support and expertise have made a significant impact,’ says Pavani Dusi from Sancta Maria School in India, where students gained places at Cambridge for Natural Sciences and Law after being supported with mock interviews by ISP colleagues based in the UK.
This exchange of knowledge hasn’t just benefited the students—our educators have also gained valuable insights. As one teacher reflected after taking part in a mock interview session, ‘Putting myself in the shoes of an interviewer has helped me understand the expectations colleges have from students better. This will help me do better justice to my classes as a Physics teacher.'”
Get Involved
This is just the beginning. As we expand our Mock Interview Programme, we encourage more schools, educators and alumni to support this initiative. Whether by conducting mock interviews, sharing expertise, or providing mentoring, every contribution helps our students take the next step towards their future success.
If you’d like to learn more or get involved, please contact jfretwell@ispschools.com
Together, we are shaping futures and supporting every student in achieving their academic aspirations.
