(Royal Academy – Guest Hall)
Sophie and the other qualifying students stood on a raised stage while the other students from their year and the parents sat in the audience below.
This was the send off ceremony where the top students would receive their tickets with the location of their entrance examination.
The entrance exam this year in particular was special as it was the first year where the site location was to be kept a secret prior to arrival.
As previous year's particpants who came from wealthy families were too well prepared for the testing environment which led to unfair advantages. It was decided that Sophie's year would trial this new method to increase the competitiveness.
Following the ceremony, there was only a short two hours of rest to say goodbye to their families before they would be shuttled into their respective transport ships and begin the long journey to the testing sites.
