Admissions Criteria
Northbourne Park School exists primarily as a school preparing children for Common Entrance at 12 and 13, and for Kent Test at 11+. As such, the curriculum maintains a strongly academic thrust and would not be appropriate for children with below average abilities. Our admission assessments seek to ensure that the prospective pupil meets these minimum expectations.

Initial Contacts
Prospective parents who contact the school receive a school prospectus and a letter inviting them to make an appointment to visit the school with their child.

School Visit
The Headmaster meets the prospective parents and children and conducts an informal discussion with the child and his / her parents to determine the academic interests and suitability of the child for the school. The Headmaster will then conduct the parents and child on a tour of the school.

Documentary Evidence
During the visit, the parents should provide written evidence of the child’s recent school performance (except in the instance of prospective Nursery children), usually in the form of recent school reports, awards and any other documentation from their last school. If parents wish to progress the application for their child they complete and return a ‘Provisional Entry Form’ along with the fee of £50. This is acknowledged and holds a place for that child in a particular year group pending a ‘Taster’ day.

Assessment
Children entering Northbourne Park School will normally spend a day in the classroom with their year group and be assessed by the class or subject teachers. Children may also have a short assessment of reading spelling, general abilities, and numeracy, usually administered by the class teacher or a member of the Learning Support Department.

Children with known Special Educational Needs
Should any child already have identified LDD or SEN, relevant reports should be brought to the admission interview. Any child who appears to have LDD or SEN at the time of admission, may be referred for further assessments to enable the school to provide appropriate intervention on arrival.

French Classes
Children joining the French classes will provide evidence of their level of English competency and will be assessed during their initial tour of the school.

Taster Day
The child will then spend a day at the school in their prospective class, and teaching staff will assess him / her and feed back information to the Headmaster on the child’s academic, extra-curricular and social suitability. The Headmaster will formally offer a place if appropriate when meeting the parents at the end of the taster day. The parents will then be required to complete and return a ‘Final Entry Form’ with their deposit to the School Administrator to secure the place for the child.

Acknowledgement
A formal written acknowledgement will be sent to the parents upon receipt of the deposit. 

The School Administrator will contact the parents (and child) on a regular basis until the child’s start date and send all the relevant newsletters, reviews prior to the child joining the school.

Non EEA Pupils
Prospective pupils who come from outside the EEA will require a visa via the Tier 4 sponsorship licence scheme. The School holds a Licence under Tier 4 and will issue a Certificate of Acceptance of Studies once the pupil has fulfilled the entry requirements (including English language) by providing a school report.

EWB/JJ2011