From Tonbridge to Harvard: Head of School Jonas secures his place in Ivy League 

Jonas Freeman, Tonbridge’s Head of School, has accepted an offer from Harvard, the oldest university in the United States and widely regarded as one of the most prestigious in the world.

Jonas (MH5) will be taking up his place this September, embarking on a four-year Liberal Arts programme of study.

His achievement is all the greater as this year Harvard accepted just over three per cent of applicants, the lowest rate in the university’s history. It had a record number of candidates apply, showing an increase of seven per cent on the previous year.

Having studied no fewer than six A-levels at Tonbridge, Jonas had offers from a number of other leading universities in both the UK and USA, including Cambridge, Yale, Princeton and Stanford. He also received four offers of highly prized scholarships, including the Jefferson Foundation Scholarship at the University of Virginia (in which only 35 students are selected from around 2,000 applicants nominated by an approved school).

After a tour around various universities in the spring, however, Jonas decided that Harvard was his number one choice. “Harvard consistently attracts some of the best secondary school pupils from around the world, and I am excited by the idea of studying among such students,” he said.

“After 10 flights and visits to six different universities in just over a month, I was exhausted from my travels, but equally I found myself bubbling with excitement on my flight back to the UK, smiling at the thought that I had only just started on my journey.

“I attended Harvard and Yale’s Visitas and Bulldog Days, their official pre-freshman visitation days that have been running for decades. In my case, it was Visitas that confirmed for me that Harvard was the one. From the people I met to the classes I attended, there was an amazing buzz in the air and a sense of opportunity, which I immediately felt myself drawn to.”

The Liberal Arts system, which was invented at Harvard, allows students to follow four disciplines: the natural sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities. In their first year, students have to keep their interests broad, prior to selecting specialist areas in subsequent years. Devotees of literature must also study some science: engineers are required to choose an arts course.

“As someone who has not necessarily settled on a course to study, let alone a career, this holistic approach was extremely attractive,” he said. “It will allow me to not only revisit subjects that I dropped in my latter high school years, but also will give me the freedom to explore new ones.”

Jonas says that his Tonbridge education will continue to play a big role in his life, even once he has left for pastures new. “For sure, lots of hard work lies ahead, but I am not scared in the slightest by the challenge of studying at Harvard,” he said.

“With the balance that I have struck in the last five years between academics, sport and co-curricular activities, I believe that Tonbridge has prepared me perfectly. It has taught me how to think critically and has given me a valuable sense of perspective and a quiet self-confidence.

“Above all, Tonbridge has rounded me as a person. I never had to choose between academics and sport, for example, or between my passion for debating and my interest in romance languages. And since I was never told to compromise my interests or to sacrifice my passions, I have learned to never limit myself.”

Now that his place at Harvard awaits, Jonas can focus on completing his A-levels, before enjoying his summer break back in his native Canada. A talented linguist, he has already completed A-levels in French and Spanish (receiving A*s for both), and this summer is taking English, Maths, Chemistry and Mandarin. For good measure, he will be able to add additional language qualifications in German and Portuguese to his Tonbridge portfolio.

Jonas is pictured, above and below, in the School’s Library Gardens.

Also see: Tonbridge’s Upper Sixth heading to top universities across the globe.