Admissions

Most children enter St George's either at 3 in to our Nursery, or at 4 in to the Reception year group. Once a family has made an initial visit to the school, and decided they would like to apply for a place, we require them to register their child, for which there is a £50 registration fee.

The next contact we have with the family is 12 months before their child is due to join us, when we offer firm places, strictly in chronological order of the date when they originally registered. If they wish to proceed, we ask for a deposit of £750 which guarantees the place; £250 of this is refunded on the second term's account, the remainder on the final account after the child has left the school.

We always try to give priority on our lists to younger siblings, wherever possible. Children entering the Nursery or Reception are not formally tested, and it is rare for us to do this with any pupil entering the Pre-prep department.

The school operates a waiting list system for children wishing to join any particular year group, and new pupils are admitted when spaces may appear. In Year 3 and above, this will involve a prospective pupil visiting the school for a day, when a number of informal assessments are carried out. A report from his/her present school is also requested.

As far as pupil numbers are concerned, we limit ourselves to 16 children per session in the Nursery, and 20 pupils per class from Reception upwards — we have two classes in every year group.

All classes are of mixed ability until the end of Year 3, but from there on setting is gradually introduced, enabling children to work at a level most appropriate to their individual needs. In Years 6, 7 and 8 pupils are setted by ability in all academic subjects, and in the final year we add an extra class to provide very able children with the opportunity to attempt scholarships to senior independent schools.

The vast majority of our pupils stay at St George's until they are 13, and are prepared to sit the Common Entrance examination, or entry examinations set by individual schools. A few pupils leave at 11 to take up places at local Grammar Schools.