We hope these Admissions FAQs are useful for you – they are all questions that prospective pupils and their families have asked us in the past; you may find them helpful too!
Of course, if you have any questions at all about entry to Edge Grove, please do just pick up the telephone and call us for a chat (01923 855724), or drop us an email.
Just call us to find out! Whilst many of our year groups are full, from time to time, places do become available when families relocate out of the area. Call 01923 855724 to speak to our Admissions Team, or email us and we will be able to give you up to date information about available places or waiting lists for the relevant year groups for your child.
We are seeing increasing demand for places in our Nursery and Reception so we would advise you to make an early application for these year groups.
We assess for Reception places in the Autumn Term preceding entry (i.e. in September / October 2024 for September 2025 entry), and for Nursery places in the term preceding entry (i.e. in Autumn Term 2024 for January 2025 entry, in Spring Term 2025 for Summer Term 2025 / September 2025 entry).
As soon as possible! While this website can try to show you what life is like at Edge Grove, in truth, nothing can be the same as visiting us! Our pupils are the beating heart of our School and love nothing more than “showing off” their school to you.
Richard Stanley, our Headmaster, is keen to meet with every prospective family when they first visit Edge Grove, whether this is at an Open Morning, or on a personal visit.
During one-to-one meetings with the Headmaster, you will have the opportunity to discuss your thoughts and aspirations for your child’s education, and Mr Stanley will share with you his vision for Edge Grove. You will also then have the opportunity to tour the School (and Nursery if applicable) with a member of the Senior Leadership Team.
Whilst it is beneficial for children join us at the start of the academic year, we understand that this is not always possible, if you are relocating to the area etc.
We will always ensure that pupils who join us mid-year are supported with their entry to Edge Grove, giving them a “buddy” in their form, and supporting the family as a whole to become part of the Edge Grove community.
Most children join us in September, at the start of the academic year. In this case, we organise an Induction Morning / Day (depending on age of the pupils) towards the end of the preceding Summer Term, giving your child the opportunity to meet their Form Teacher and classmates.
Where we have a large cohort of children joining us (for example in Reception) we organise a number of “get to know you” sessions when you and your child will have a chance to meet key members of staff, and other families who will be starting in Reception at Edge Grove.
For children joining us in January or April, or midway through a term, any induction will be arranged on a case by case basis.
Edge Grove has a supportive and inclusive ethos, and welcomes children with additional needs, subject to them meeting our entrance criteria.
It is very important that you are frank and open with us, and disclose with us any additional need that your child may have so that our experienced and committed Learning Support Team can have time to consult with you and with any external agencies / former settings to ascertain if Edge Grove is likely to be able to support their needs.
Where appropriate and possible, our Learning Support Team provides pupils with either one-to-one or group sessions, as well as EAL support, booster groups and other interventions.
Learning Support at Edge Grove
The School Fees include all tuition, meals at School, day trips and academic enrichment events.
Instrumental music lessons, LAMDA (Speech and Drama) lessons, After School Clubs and Activities run by outside providers, and residential trips, such as trips for Years 4 to 8 during Enrichment Week, are at an extra cost, as are sports tours and trips, such as the Ski Trip, which runs every other year.
We realise that most of the children we assess for a place are very young and at no point do we put them under pressure to “perform”.
For Nursery entry, our experienced Head of Early Years will observe your child as they play and engage with activities they are familiar with at their current nursery or at home; we are looking at how the interact and focus, and whether we think our Nursery is the right setting for them.
Assessments for Reception entry are also observation-based, with Early Years teachers looking at attitude and potential rather than setting a “pass or fail” test – we realise that our prospective Reception pupils come from a wide variety of Early Years settings, which may place different levels of emphasis on writing etc versus other priorities within the Early Years framework – and this is absolutely fine!
Occasional places may be available in Year 1 and 2 and we will invite pupils for these to spend a morning with a class, during which the Form Teacher will gently assess their suitability for a place.
We will ask pupils applying for places from Year 3 upwards to sit online Maths and English tests and they will spend a morning or a day in one of our classes, so teaching staff can gauge how they will fit in at Edge Grove
We are a selective entry school and we need to be sure that each pupil will be happy and thrive in our classrooms and be able to access our broad, challenging and exciting curriculum.
Our Admissions Team will be able to advise you about the likelihood of a place coming up in your child’s year group, if there is not currently one available. We have a very good feel for how numbers may be changing, and will know at least a term in advance if any families are likely to be moving away from the area etc, thereby freeing up a place, We should, therefore, be able to give you a realistic idea of whether a place is coming up in your child’s year group, and what your position may be on a waiting list if applicable. Please register as soon as possible, and this date will be taken into consideration on the waiting list, subject to assessment and references. It is also worth visiting sooner rather than later, so that you are in a position to make decisions if a place does become available at short notice.
We will always try our hardest to accommodate siblings, subject to each meeting our admissions criteria via assessment and references where applicable.
Neither option is better or worse than the other – the most important thing is to come and visit us!
Many families do attend both types of visit, as each gives a slightly different view of the School; an Open Day will give you the opportunity to meet more pupils and staff, whereas a personal tour means you will have the chance to discuss your own family’s set of circumstances in more detail with the Head or any other relevant member of staff.
An individual visit involves a one-to-one meeting the Head and having a tour with a member of the Senior Leadership team during a normal school day, during which you can discuss your child’s particular needs and ask any questions you may not want to ask in a more public forum.
Open Mornings offer an informal opportunity to meet the Head, staff, pupils and current parents. They can be a useful introduction to Edge Grove or an opportunity to bring your child and other family members to familiarise everyone with the surroundings. Open Mornings also include the benefit of our delicious catering….
We totally understand that you may be thinking of moving your child from one school to another, and naturally want to do some research and find out if there is a place available before telling your child’s current school. Whilst we are sympathetic to this, unfortunately we cannot offer places to children for Year 1 or above (or even for Reception if it is late in the academic year) without having received a reference from your child’s current school. We will also ask to see a copy of your child’s most recent school report, as well as assessing them via a Taster Day at Edge Grove.
