How can boys join the school?
In the January of the school year when they reach the age of 11, boys have the opportunity to take a selection test to decide which secondary school would be most appropriate. This can be a test taken at our school or a test taken in the primary school as part of the county selection procedure. You can take both if you want to. We can provide you with details of our tests. If you apply to take them you will be sent sample test papers.
If a boy is not selected, but you still feel that a grammar school education is the right choice, then you can appeal. Boys who have been successful at this appeal stage in the past have proved themselves to be just as good as the other pupils. If they and their parents know that this school is the right one for them then that is a strong sign that they will be successful here. So do not hesitate to contact us for full details of the appeals procedure.
If you are still unsuccessful, but after a year or so at a high school you feel there could still be benefit from a grammar school education, then contact us again, and we will willingly investigate development and be pleased to welcome you if the necessary standard has been reached. Similarly if you are moving into the area we shall be happy to consider an application. At the age of 12 or later individual tests in English, Mathematics, Science and a foreign language as appropriate, together with an interview at the school, can be arranged for anyone who would like to transfer to our school.
At Sixth Form level, we welcome applications from students who have attained the necessary grades at GCSE and who want to study for 'A' level examinations.
In the appendix at the back of this prospectus there is detailed information about our admissions procedures with a copy of our full Admissions Policy as agreed with the Secretary of State for Education.
What happens on joining the school?
Once you have been awarded a place at our school, we will send you full details about term dates, uniform and suppliers, the Parents and Friends Association, special days and evenings which are organised for boys and their parents to visit the school, and about transport arrangements.
Mrs Hargrave, our Head of Admissions and Year 7, will visit each boy in his primary school so that he can get to know her and learn from her more about his new school and what to expect when he first arrives as a member of it. Mrs Hargrave will allocate each boy to one of the forms, which will be the group of boys he will be with for most of his time in the first three years.
In the July before starting at the school each boy is invited to spend a whole day at the school when he will meet his Form Teacher and his fellow students and experience some sample lessons.
On his first day in September, having already met his form teacher and new classmates, a boy will be introduced to the timetable, the school's standards of conduct, homework routines and our famous school lunches! During their first week boys will soon start finding their way around, get to know their teachers, start making friends and learn something of the life of their new school.
Homework is a partnership between teachers, pupils and parents. Teachers will set and mark it, pupils will do it, and we rely on parents to encourage their sons and ensure that it is done on time. At the beginning of each year each boy will be issued with a planner for him to record his homework and other events, and for his parents to see what he is doing. Usually boys will have two or three subjects a night, mostly, but not always, written work. They should need about 30 minutes or so for each subject. Parents are asked to sign the planner each week, and if they have any queries call us immediately. Homework is vital, firstly in order to cover the syllabus, and secondly to help train the boys to work unsupervised as part of their preparation for their 'A' level and university studies.
If there is a problem over homework or anything else then parents are asked to contact us immediately. Most problems can be solved quickly, easily and quietly.
A few weeks after a boy has started in his new school year, parents will be invited to a consultation evening where they can meet the Form Teacher. Later on in the year they will meet all the subject teachers. Written reports will be sent home twice a year, and internal examinations will be held for all pupils in the Summer Term.
