Each student on the Mentoring Programme has one mentor, who stays with them month by month and year by year. Through prep school, senior school and the university application, the mentor holds the threads together — academic progress, co-curricular life, competitions, written work and examinations — and works with the school, the subject tutors and the family so that the direction stays clear. Grades and offers matter; the growth of the whole person matters more. That conviction lies at the heart of GRACE, our philosophy at Ultra. Whether a student has just arrived at a British school, is sitting GCSEs, A-levels or the IB, or is preparing for Oxford, Cambridge and the world’s leading universities, the plan starts from where they stand and looks to what comes next, with academic progress and personal growth pursued together.
A route, and a pace of preparation, suited to the student’s background, the target schools and the family’s wishes.
A bilingual team in Britain and China stays with the family at every stage, and keeps timetabling, time management and communication with parents in the same hands.
We choose the reading with care and keep a library of past papers: foundations first, then the particular style of each target school’s examinations.
We follow each target school’s recent admissions patterns and what it looks for, and prepare students for interview, with mock interviews well before the day.
The choice of subjects at GCSE, A-level and IB, pre-test requirements, and a timetable for preparation that is realistic and well paced.
Research, volunteering and competitions, chosen to build what examinations cannot measure.
Progress reported and reflected on at regular intervals, and the plan adjusted where the evidence calls for it.
A record of the student’s development, kept over the years, so that every application rests on evidence that is true and full.
Every student has at least one adviser based in Britain, within a team that spans Britain and China: the education consultant, the planner, and the colleague who arranges school visits. Parents hear from us promptly, and are kept closely informed of each step.
Thinking, expression, study skills and command of each subject; Western etiquette, cross-cultural communication, time management and a sense of purpose.
Mentors are heads of department or experienced teachers at leading schools, chosen with care by our senior advisers.