Admissions Process

We are delighted that you are considering St Margaret’s for your son or daughter. Choosing the right school for your child is one of the most important decisions you will make and so our Admissions team is available to chat through the process and offer friendly, practical advice.

Pupils join can join our school at any point, however we do have 3 main entry points:

Bluebird Nursery (age 2+ or 3+)
Reception (age 4)
Year 3 (age 7)

We have one class per year in Nursery and Pre-Prep (Reception to Year 2), so we recommend entry at either Nursery or Reception to secure a place in Pre-Prep as classes often reach capacity. We then extend to two classes per year group from Year 3 to allow more children to join the Prep School, but as this is a popular time to join with families so we encourage you to register your interest early.

Children generally join us in September, but if spaces are available in a particular year group we are happy to consider pupils for entry at any time of the year. We welcome children of all abilities, subject to being confident that we can cater for their educational, physical and emotional needs.

We currently offer on-site school visits with the Head of Prep School, Mr Alex Hopkins and Deputy Head, Mrs Juliette Heal. These 'Walk and Talk' tours take place during the school day and should last approximately 1 hour.

If you then wish to continue on the admissions journey, we will ask for your child’s latest school report/learning journey. Depending on your child's age, we will then invite them in for a one or two day taster experience. For children either entering or already in Prep, we will ask them to sit a Maths and English assessment. Please click on the Taster Days tab below for further information.

The 5 steps below outline the typical process and timeframe you’ll follow if you’d like your child to join us at the start of an academic year in September, but this is not prescriptive. Please do contact the Admissions team to discuss your requirements further, or to make an appointment with the Headmaster.

"Pupils relish the opportunity to take on leadership responsibilities and contribute positively to the school community."

ISI Inspection Report

Step 1 - Registration

Following your visit to St Margaret's, if you wish to pursue a place, the first step is to register your child by completing our registration form and returning it to our Admissions team, with a non-refundable registration fee of £75.

REGISTRATION FORM

Step 2 - Admissions List

Our Admissions team will place your child’s name on the appropriate class list and acknowledge safe receipt of your form and payment.

If all spaces are taken, your child’s name will be placed on a waiting list; either way you’ll be kept informed. Places are allocated based on the date your registration is received.

Step 3 - Taster Days

We welcome children of all abilities to St Margaret's, subject to being confident that we can cater for their educational, physical and emotional needs.

Taster Days enable us to informally assess your child and make sure s/he will thrive with us. The nature of the Taster Day depends on the year group your child will be joining:

Bluebird Nursery: familiarisation visit with parents to meet staff and explore the Nursery
Reception: review of most recent learning journey and a familiarisation visit
Years 1 & 2: review of learning journey and/or school report, two consecutive Taster Days
Years 3 and above: review of latest school report, two consecutive Taster Days, assessments including English and Maths

Step 4 - Acceptance

Upon successful Taster Days, our Admissions team will ask you to confirm your acceptance of the conditional offer by paying the acceptance fee of £500. This will be deducted from your final invoice at the end of Year 6, unless your child leaves prior to this, in which case it is non-refundable. If you don’t wish to accept your conditional place, it will be made available to another pupil on the waiting list.

Step 5 - Confirmation of Place

You’ll hear from us with confirmation of a guaranteed place very quickly after the Taster Days.

In the unlikely event that we are unable to offer your child a guaranteed place, we will refund your acceptance fee in full.

You'll appreciate that we are not able to hold places open indefinitely, so if your plans change following the acceptance of your child's place, you can defer for up to one academic year. However, in year groups which are reaching capacity, a place cannot be held open for more than one term from the original start date.

If there is a waiting list for the year group your child is entering, once you have accepted the place, we will ask you to pay a non-refundable fee (50% of the prevailing annual fees), in order to guarantee the deferred place is held open for one term from the original start date.