Admissions Policy

There are currently two main points of entry, at 4+ (for Reception) and 7+ (for Year 3), both by assessment. However, the school is currently moving from one to two form entry in the Lower School which will mean that we will no longer have a 7+ entry from September 2010.

4+ Assessments:
Prospective pupils are invited to attend in groups of 6 or 7 for about 40 minutes to be observed interacting by three or four adults, during the latter part of January of the year in which they would start. Parents are not expected to be present at these sessions. The skills being sought are mainly social maturity and readiness to learn in a group situation. Cooperation, flexibility, a "can do" approach and facility with the English language are all highly regarded. We are also looking for numeracy skills, letter recognition and a basic ability to follow instructions.

Following these informal assessments, 32 places are offered for entry into Reception the following September. A short waiting list is kept in case of subsequent cancellation of a reserved place. There is a sibling policy and younger sisters are also invited to a short informal assessment and offers of a place are almost always made. Those who have been unsuccessful are invited to join the list for consideration for an occasional place or at our 7+ entry point.

7+ Assessments:
In Year 3 the year group currently expands from 22 to 32 and prospective candidates are invited to the school during the spring term in small groups to be tested on reading, writing, comprehension and numeracy skills. Successful candidates will be performing on a level with their peers who are already at the school. The last 7+ entry will be in September 2010.

Occasional places:
Waiting lists are kept at every age group in case a place should become available. Any girl applying will be invited to spend a day with the year group which she would join and will be tested on writing, comprehension and numeracy. She will also be observed in her social interaction with her peers.

Because of the short time in Year 6 before the 11+ examinations in January, it is unlikely that an occasional place which occurs at the end of Year 5 will be filled.

Bursaries:

The Trust has a bursary scheme in place to assist in situations of hardship. This is available both to current pupils, whose parents experience financial problems as well as to girls, whose parents would otherwise be unable to afford to pay the fees, in the local community.  Further details can be obtained by speaking to the school bursar.

Girls at Glendower come from a range of backgrounds both in terms of academic ability and ethnicity. Most live within a small radius of the school. We have given an undertaking to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea that we will favour applicants from within the borough when making our offers of places at the school