When Can My Child Join St Chris?
We appreciate how busy and changeable people’s lives can be, and with that are flexible with children joining us at a variety of entry points and at different times throughout the year, although the majority of children join us in September each year.
The main entry points at St Chris are:
- Nursery
- Reception
- Year 5
- Year 7
- Year 9
- Year 12
Occasionally we do have places available in other year groups, and parents wishing to discuss their personal requirements should contact us directly.
| I'm applying for a place in the Nursery or Junior School |
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| I'm applying for a place in the Senior School or Sixth Form |
You can apply for a place at St Chris by following our admissions process in three steps.
Step One – Register for a Place
Following your visit to the School, if you would like to apply for a place then the first step in the admissions process is for parents, or those with parental responsibility, to register for a place at St Chris by completing our online Application Form on our Admissions Portal. This includes the payment of a non-refundable Registration Fee of £100, and uploading your child’s most recent school report. We will also approach their current school for a personal reference.
Please click here for further information for candidates with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
Please do contact us with any questions or issues by email at admissions@stchris.co.uk or by telephone: +44 (0) 1462 650884 (Nursery and Junior School) and +44 (0)1462 650947 (Senior School and Sixth Form).
Step Two – Entrance Assessments
Nursery and Junior School
| Nursery to Reception |
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| Children entering St Chris in the Nursery or Reception are expected to have the necessary social and developmental skills to be able to access the Early Years Curriculum. These will be observed during a Stay and Play Taster Session, where parents stay with their child. These sessions are one hour long and are spent in the Nursery with the children's peer group. These sessions allow children and parents to decide whether it is the right environment for them and for the school to assess your child in our environment. |
| Year 1 to Year 5 |
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Children are invited to a Taster Day (half a day in Year 1, a full day in Years 2 to 5) where they will join their peers in class. Children will be informally assessed throughout the day with particular attention to English and mathematics. Staff observations, school reports and references will all be taken into consideration. |
| Year 6 |
| For children joining in Year 6, the process will be the same as for those from Years 1 to 5, with the addition of an online Cognitive Ability Test (CAT) as a bench-marking assessment; this will be arranged for a separate time so as to not impact the taster experience. Staff observations, school reports and references will all be taken into consideration. |
Senior School
| Year 7 to Year 10 |
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Applicants for the Senior School are invited to an Assessment Morning in the school year before they start, which either takes place in February each year for September entry or on a normal school day for entry at other points. The purpose of the Assessment Morning is for the School to benchmark and determine an applicant’s current academic level for when they arrive at St Chris and to ensure that they can access our curriculum. There is no pass or fail grade, and the most important part of the day for us is the meeting that they have with a member of staff and the lessons they'll take part in, as we get to find out more about them. St Chris is based on personal relationships and the starting point of any relationship is understanding; that is all we are trying to do on the assessment morning, as it's from that initial foundation that students can flourish. As part of the Assessment Morning, applicants will:
No specific preparation for the CAT or interview is needed, however applicants can bring with them an item linked to a hobby or interest that they would like to talk about at interview. |
| Sixth Form (Year 12) |
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Sixth Form applicants are invited for an interview with the Head or Deputy Head. Normally we would consider the candidate’s projected or actual GCSE results. Generally, we expect candidates to obtain at least five GCSEs at grade 5 and above to follow an AS/A level programme, with at least grade 6 in the subjects selected for studying at A level, or in relevant subjects where a student is starting a subject from scratch (such as Psychology or Business Studies). We reserve the right to alter these expectations on a case-by-case basis. Those not undertaking GCSEs will need to show suitable ability. |
Step Three – Offer
Offers are made in writing with a deadline for the acceptance of a place. A signed Acceptance Form and the payment of the Admissions deposit by the deadline secures a place. There are also additional forms to complete to ensure we have the required information for when your child starts at St Chris (for example, medical information). Full details of all information required are in the offer letter.
Waiting Lists
Where a year group is oversubscribed, we run a waiting list. We arrange our waiting list in the order of date of registration and give priority to:
- Siblings of children who are already at the School or who have a sibling joining the School in the same admissions cycle
- A child who has requested a weekly/full boarding placement
- A child whose parent is a member of staff employed by St Chris
In line with the School’s coeducational status, waiting lists are separated by gender to ensure our coeducational balance is maintained.
In-Year Places
Applicants for an in-year place should check first with the Admissions Department as to the availability of places. Where a place is available, the usual Registration and Assessment process applies as per the points above.
For in-year places the School will also request that a candidate comes in to spend one or more Taster Days (Junior School) or a Taster Week (Senior School) with us before we progress to the offer stage.
Our Admissions Department will follow the process as outlined above and this will not be altered for individual circumstances. Under no circumstances should parents expect or request that the normal application process is changed or accelerated.
The admissions process exists to ensure that you, your child, and the School are confident that we are the right fit for each other. Although we are not in a position to remove a stage or accelerate the process, we will do our very best to accomodate individual circumstances.
Boarding
Please visit the International Admissions pages to find out more about making an application as an international student, or the Boarding pages for more information about life as a St Chris boarder.
Applicants for boarding places will also be considered based on their suitability to board, with further information requested by the Registrar if necessary. The Head of Boarding will be fully consulted before an offer is made.
For international students who require a Child Student visa, the registration process is the same, but instead of the usual school assessment, we organise an online English language test through Bespoke English Language Testing. Following a successful English test, students have an online interview with the Head, Rich Jones.
Where a student requires additional support for the development of their English language skills, we will inform parents and agents at the offer stage, and there may be an additional charge for this.
joining as an iNternational student
