How to apply to Clayesmore
Generally speaking, it is possible to join the Prep School at Clayesmore into any year group of any term during the school year, provided, of course, there is a space.
There are several stages to the admissions process and the speed at which you pass through them will almost entirely depend upon how far ahead you are planning.
Ordering a copy of the prospectus and then visiting the school are the first two steps, giving you a chance to see the school in action, meet key staff including the Head of Prep School, Richard Geffen, and the Head of Pre-Prep, Julie Bolger, if appropriate, and generally learn more about us and enable us to gain an understanding of your child or children and their interests, strengths and needs.
If you have plenty of time in which to make your decision, (two or three years, say), you may prefer to come initially to an Open Day, but it is perfectly normal to arrange a personal visit to meet the Head and have a tour of the school.
This is simple to arrange and you just need to make a phone call to our Prep School Registrar on 01747 813203. It is entirely up to parents whether they bring their children with them on their first visit. There are benefits to coming on your own the first time especially if you are looking at a number of schools and we’re quite happy for you to come to see the school as often as you like before you make up your mind.
Once you are sure you would like to go ahead and register your son, daughter or family for Clayesmore, we will arrange for them to come and spend a school day with us. This gives everyone a chance to be sure that we are all doing the right thing, and children always seem to leave us having had a wonderful day and unable to wait to start! For our part, we will look informally at how he or she gets on during the day – how well they fit in academically, socially and behaviourally – so that we can be reasonably sure that your son or daughter will be happy and successful if they go ahead and join the school.
There is no specific examination for entry into the Prep School – we rely on interview with the Head of Prep and a report from the child’s present school. For children with dyslexia or other specific learning difficulties we carry out an assessment to make certain that we are able to meet the child’s educational needs.
The registration form needs to be completed at this point and returned to us together with the registration fee of £100. Four terms or so before your child is due to actually join the school – (or straightaway if you are rather late in the day) – we will also ask you to pay your deposit to secure the place that we will then keep for your child.
Finally, a word about the Senior School. It is very much the norm for the vast majority of Prep School children to pass seamlessly on from year 8 at the Prep School into year 9 at the Senior School – indeed, this is one of Clayesmore’s major attractions. However, you need to complete a Senior School registration form in addition to the Prep School form, though there is only one registration fee.