Westbourne House School pupils gain 30 scholarships across the board
Headmaster, Martin Barker, said: “This is incredible and a fantastic endorsement of what Westbourne House is all about: all-round excellence, being the best you can be and giving everything a go.
The scholarships were awarded for a wide range of subjects and skills:
- Academic
- All-rounder
- Art and Design
- Drama
- Music
- Sport
“The children have worked so hard, along with the support of their teachers and their parents to achieve these scholarships," added Mr Barker.
In total, 30 scholarships were awarded to 22 pupils in a year group that is 44 pupils strong.
Academic Scholarships
Awarded by: Brighton College, Seaford College, King's School Canterbury, Churcher's College, Portsmouth Grammar School
Mrs Langford, Deputy Head – Academic, commented: "Academic scholarships at 13+ are usually given for excellence across a broad range of academic subjects.
“Westbourne House supports every pupil to succeed and thanks to hard work from our pupils and to the expertise of our specialist teaching from Year 5, our pupils get an incredibly strong academic foundation across the board.
“These scholars showed a willingness to take intellectual risks, a genuine delight in being academically challenged, a love of the esoteric and, of course, all this on top of doing the basic things really well.”
“The scholarship papers require a great depth of understanding and students are expected to have exceptional analytical skills - really understanding the "how" and "why" of topics rather than answering factual questions.”
All-rounder Scholarships
Awarded by: Brighton College
Pupils were awarded these scholarships for all-round excellence in three different areas, including academic work (Maths and English), sport, music, drama and chess.
Art & Design Scholarships
Awarded by: Canford School, Seaford College, King's School Canterbury
Mrs Jeram, Head of Art, commented: “I knew my young artists had got a scholarship to their senior school without them even saying a word; they were smiling from ear to ear! They were so excited to share their special news with me. It's a real honour to be a part of this experience with them.
"Art and Technology portfolios take a long time to build; the scholars rightfully feel very proud of their achievement.
"The educational journey through Westbourne brings out so many qualities but one of the qualities that I value the most is the 'give it a go' attitude that our pupils develop. By being open minded and trying their best, they have achieved so highly. This is reflected in their stunning portfolio of work that they will be able to treasure forever."
Drama Scholarships
Awarded by: Portsmouth Grammar School, Seaford College (Brighton College - All-rounder)
Mr Cousens, Head of Drama, commented: "Our pupils should be commended for their efforts in engaging with some challenging material in an attempt to show their future Heads of Drama how capable they would be at working alongside GCSE and A-Level drama pupils in whole school productions. They took on some mature material admirably and excelled at delving into the mindset of some very complex characters."
- Wilf portrayed Malvolio's famous forged letter scene from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night
- Freddie played Inspector Goole from J.B. Priestley's chilling thriller An Inspector Calls
- Monty played Andy Bowen, a 17 year old keen to test out the speed of his new car
- Rupert performed his LAMDA exam material as part of the Millennium Award to Brighton College
"One of the most challenging parts of the training is for the pupils to re-perform their monologues in a wide range of absurd genres. Their willingness and efficiency at attempting this challenge provides clues to their drama teacher how proficient they are likely to be in being directed in major productions. The pupils also enjoyed training in interview technique and improvisation skills. They needed to be agile minded to think and adapt quickly, be articulate in describing past productions and show evidence of supporting theatre productions with their families."
Music Scholarships
Awarded by: Brighton College, Hurst, Canford School, Charterhouse, King's School Canterbury, Lancing College, Portsmouth Grammar School, Seaford College
“We are extremely proud of our bumper cohort of music scholars this year - a 100% success rate!” commented Mr Dichmont, Director of Music.
He continued: “Each of them has worked exceptionally hard, not just in recent weeks but over the past few years, devoting their time and energy to develop their musicianship. We are so pleased to see their enthusiasm and determination being recognised.
“As many of our pupils know, starting to learn an instrument requires hard work and patience, but the rewards are numerous, as multiple studies have shown. We are fortunate to be able to offer lots of opportunities to those who are willing to give of their time, from solo performances to the wonderful experience of playing with others in an ensemble, including our orchestra which is nearly 40-strong this year! It is ALWAYS worth the extra effort!”
Sport Scholarships
Awarded by: Brighton College, Seaford College
"We are incredibly proud of our pupils' hard work and dedication – they truly earned this amazing achievement," commented Mrs Cook and Mr Hanley, Heads of Sport.
