Guiding Students to Admissions Success

Norton House was established with the vision to break away from the mainstream approach of how education is conducted in Hong Kong. Vickie Liu, the Managing Director and CEO of Norton House shares how her company is helping guide students on the path to academic success. According to Liu, in the mainstream approach, more often than not, too much emphasis is placed on getting good grades. Whilst grades are undoubtedly an extremely important factor for gaining admission into good schools, there are other elements that are equally, if not more important. “Having flawless grades may land you an initial interview for, say, Oxford or Cambridge, but how will you respond during that interview? What if they ask you something that is not in line with your school syllabus?” Liu asks. “To overcome these obstacles, students need to also ensure they venture outside of their traditional classroom environments, and this is a key concept of what we believe here at Norton House.” Liu believes that every student is different, and therefore requires a customized approach to ensure that the most effective learning can take place in the classroom.

Norton House was founded in 2009 and its core focus is on academic planning and university admissions consulting for students from the ages of 12 to 18. Specializing in UK admissions and general UK-style education, its professional consulting services has achieved an 85% Oxbridge admission success rate in 2017. Norton House utilizes a customized curriculum based on the British National Curriculum whilst trying to help students in other unique ways as well. Some of the services offered include tutorial sessions to prepare students for GCSE, A-Level, IB and DSE exams; and university admission tests such as LNAT for Law and BMAT for Medicine. Students preparing for university can sign up for Norton House’s Admission Coaching & Advisory Planning & Advisory Scheme, a two-to-four year consultancy and management package covering all the elements required for global elite university admission – for example, interview training, personal statement construction, portfolio enhancement, and advanced subject knowledge. Liu notes that many students in Hong Kong find it difficult to expand their lateral thinking skills, and believes that it can be difficult for students to develop those skills by the time they reach adolescence. For this reason, Norton House focuses on early preparation. Liu states that “our schemes are designed to help aspiring pupils prepare for the ultimate goal, which is to attend a great university and excel with their future plans.”

Experienced specialists are recruited to deliver the wide range of schemes offered across Norton House. At Norton House, the admissions specialists, or personal coaches, are all current scholars and research of global top universities such as University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, London School of Economics, King’s College London, Imperial College London, the University of Hong Kong, Chinese University of Hong Kong, etc. All the staff-force are TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certified. As Liu explains, “Our team of professional and passionate educators devise the curriculum together, and work in sync to ensure there is a logical progression throughout our programs and courses.”

Liu emphasizes that having high grades does not guarantee students admission into good schools; grades are only part of the package for success. Personal statements, admissions tests, interviews and essays are all important parts of an application. Liu observes that “learning by rote is necessary to build solid foundations – but later on in life, it comes down to what you do with it outside of the classroom and how you can apply it in various situations.” This is the area that Norton House can help with. 

To find out more about Norton House or Peterhouse International Preschool, or to write a review on your experience with them, please go to: Norton House 

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Free admission workshop at Norton House: Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) Workshop & Oxbridge Interview Seminar