Here Comes the Oxford Offer!

We are delighted to learn that our Year 13 student Elina J has received a conditional offer from University of Oxford!
 

This makes a total of 7 Oxford offers in DHSZ history.

We were delighted to be able to catch up with Elina to hear her story behind this outstanding offer.

Elina has already received offers from the University of Oxford and Imperial College London, both in Materials Science, and she determines that this is something she is interested in and she tells us firmly that this is a subject that interests her and suits her very well.

Self-drive is the best motivator

Discovering what she loves and what she's good at is not always easy, Elina tells us she started out with the intention of studying Business, but discovered her true purpose in Year 12 - a conversation with her college counsellor when she was asked "do you prefer reading or making things?” She answered "making things with my hands" without thinking, so she was suggested that she "would be better suited to engineering". This conversation was so insightful and the seeds of learning engineering were planted in Elina's mind. "I actually prefer hands-on practice to reading books, I think business is more abstract compared to engineering."

With her goal in mind, Elina started working towards it. As she was changing her major midway through her high school journey, she was not left with much time to prepare, so Elina planned her study schedule in more detail to make sure she was on target. When she realised that she was lacking in experiments, she immediately did research to find experimental projects that she could do. After identifying her target material, a biodegradable and environmentally friendly material made from agar and glycerin, she first researched how to make it, but then consulted Mr. Murdoch Mackay, the biology teacher in DHSZ because she was curious about how it worked. “I didn't fully understand the information I found online, so Mr. Mackay gave me quite a lot biology-related information and answered all my questions."

With this knowledge in hand, Elina got into the school's Synthetic Biology Lab and worked with fellow Year 13 student Amanda L to experiment and successfully created this bio-based biodegradable plastic. She explained that this material could replace disposable plastic products in the future and could degrade more quickly to protect the environment.

During the second round of interviews with Oxford, Elina also talked to the interviewer about this environmentally friendly material and asked the interviewer about the problems she encountered during her experiments. We believe that the interviewer must be impressed by the depth of thought and the knowledge she had developed during her experiments.

Serena Shi, Elina's counsellor, also commented, "It's rare that high school students are able to create something on their own, because most of them focus on textbooks and exams only. Not only is Elina a strong learner, she also manages her time very well, so she can devote her time outside of the classroom to experimenting and expanding her knowledge."

Grow in Dulwich

Elina had studied in the UK before coming to Dulwich and told us that the learning environment at DHSZ is very similar to that in the UK and allows students to discover and develop their interests. It is the teachers, facilities, and resources provided by the school, as well as herself-discipline and internal drive that allow her to focus on improving herself. "The teachers at DHSZ are very supportive, whenever I pop up with a new idea, they encourage me and help me explore ways to make it happen."

The international language learning environment at DHSZ, coupled with Elina's desire to communicate and express herself has allowed her to improve her English further at DHSZ. "My English skills are definitely better now than when I was in Year 11, including speaking, because I often initiate conversations with teachers and I think talking and communicating more really does help with the language. The foreign teachers here understand that English is our second language, so I don't have to be afraid of saying it wrong."

Apart from English, Elina said DHSZ helped to develop many soft skills. She enjoys taking part in various school activities, and often acts as a 'leader' in team work. This has helped her to stand out in the group interview at Imperial College London, "There were four students in the interview group, and perhaps it was my usual 'habit' of enjoying and being a good speaker and leader that made me unwittingly take the lead in the group."

Elina also appreciates the help she received from her counsellor Ms. Shi in her university application process and said that she now looks back at the first draft of her personal statement, which was completely having no focus, "In the first draft, I just listed my achievements and awards, which were not impressive at all. Serena pointed out the structure of my statement and allowed me to identify my weaknesses so that I could be more targeted to improve myself."

The more we talked to Elina, the more we realised that she is the perfect example of the ‘Holistic Education’ of Dulwich. In addition to her studies, she is a keen athlete and has been the winner of senior girl group for two years in a row. In this year's Sports Day, she participated the 1500m running (gold), shot put (gold), high jump (gold), 800m running (silver), long jump and javelin. Elina also talked to us about her love of cooking and researching dishes. Whether it's learning in and out of the classroom or developing her own interests, we can see that she shares the same characteristics with the other students who can succeed in being accepted by the top universities - she herself believes that anything she does can be an opportunity to learn and develop her competences.

Comments from the counsellor

Ms. Shi, Elina’s counsellor has high praise for her, "Elina has a very good all-round ability, although we are applying to a top academic university in UK, she is not a bookworm. She is able to organise her studies and life very well.

She is very involved in all kinds of school activities, such as sports days and even the Enterprise Fair which is an event organised by Year 10 students. She is also very western thinking, expressing her ideas and communicating with her teachers, which fits in perfectly with our school's educational philosophy.”

Advice from Elina 

"Self-discipline and self-management are very crucial. Teachers will not interfere with students' learning when they move on to university, so I think it is important to develop good self-management skills from high school. Also, if you want to improve your English skills, don't be afraid to face your teachers, don't be afraid to make mistakes, and be bold enough to communicate with them."