Authority and Circulation

This policy has been authorised by the Board of Gloryfield Schools.  Its status is advisory only.  It is addressed to prospective parents students and pupils and to all members of the teaching and administrative staff.

Policy

The Aims of the policy are

1. To ensure compliance with the School’s purposes of delivering high and quality educational services. Gloryfield School is an independent school for girls and boys from 0 – 18 with boarding facilities for pupils and students in all classes.
2. To identify and admit those who will benefit from the academic education and who will contribute to, and benefit from, the ethos and activities of the school community.

Key principles

Equal Treatment
We welcome children from many different ethnic groups, backgrounds and creeds.  Human rights and freedoms are respected, but must be balanced with the lawful needs and rules of our school community and the rights and freedom of others.  All candidates for admission will be treated equally, irrespective of their or their parents’ race, colour, gender, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, orientation, property, birth or other status.  We expect all of our students and pupils to attend our church services and school assemblies, which are of a Christian nature and fundamental to our Christian ethics.

Public Benefit & Provision of Financial Support
The Board of Gloryfield School are committed to broadening access to the school. The School offers Scholarship entrance for students and pupils of all ages based on their ability and potential in academics, sports, music and IT. In addition to the recognition associated with a scholarship offer, an award in the form of a tuition free discount may be offered to members of staff and few students with outstanding academic performance. Our scholarship programme follows the guidelines of the school policy on scholarship. More information can be found in our Scholarship Policy.

In addition to Scholarships which are based on the merit of the candidate, the School may offer to eligible parents means-tested financial support to help with the payment of school fees. These Bursary awards may be offered in conjunction with Scholarship awards or independently subject to the limitations of the Assisted Places budget. Awards may be made for the full term of the pupil’s time in the School or for a defined period due to short-term financial difficulties on the part of the parent and/or the school who is offering such scholarship. The School requires those parents who request bursarial support to fill in a Statement of Financial Circumstances. This information. Extending the terms over which fees may not be paid are subject to annual review.

Special Needs
We do not discriminate regarding entry.  We welcome pupils and students with special educational needs, providing that our Educational Progress Staff can offer them the support that they require to be able to thrive in our educational environment.   We welcome pupils who have physical disabilities provided that such conditions have been made known from the start.

We require parents of children with special educational needs or physical disabilities to declare their child’s requirements with us in the registration forms.

Procedures

Entry Points
The usual ages for entry are:

• Students and pupils of all eligible ages and classes
• With the exception of the terminal classes in the senior secondary school where new students are not allowed to enroll or just register for their final exams.

Entry Requirements

Pre-Preparatory entry is by key skills assessment during a day spent in the department.  Reports from previous schools may also be sought, if applicable.

Preparatory school the admissions policy for all Preparatory school Candidates entering all year groups starts with parent/guardian providing a most recent school report from the candidate’s current school, candidate’s birth certificate and a completed registration form. Parent/guardians are requested to submit details of any additional learning needs. Finally, candidates will often spend a minimum of 1 full day in school before a place is offered.

Senior School places for pupils from Gloryfield Junior School into the Senior School are guaranteed in the vast majority of cases (except for extreme poor performances in the entrance exams conducted by the school).

All Candidates seeking admissions will be required to sit for an assessment/entrance exams in English, Mathematics and General Paper if appropriate in other subject papers (especially for students seeking entrance into our science classes).

Reports and References
All candidates will need to provide reports and references from their current or most recent school.  The Head of the candidate’s current school will be required to write a reference commenting on the candidate’s academic ability, attitude and behaviour, involvement in the school community, talents and interests, and any special circumstances including any known child protection issues or concerns.

The School reserves the right to (May be) establish from any previous school that all outstanding fees have been paid. The Board and Management of Gloryfield School owe a duty to the school to ensure they are not taking on a risk of bad debts unnecessarily.

Disclosures
Parents must as soon as possible disclose any known or suspected circumstances relating to their child’s social, emotional and mental health, development, behaviour, allergies, disabilities or learning difficulties. Any child protection issues or reports should also be fully disclosed.  Should an undisclosed condition or issue subsequently become apparent, and the school cannot fully meet the needs of the pupil, or current pupils may be at risk as a result, parents may be required to withdraw the child from school.