Joining Reception Class
Children start school at the start of the academic year during which they will turn 5.
Children for Reception Class should be registered with us at any point before the Christmas preceding the September they are due to start. Applications received later than Christmas will be accepted as long as places are still available.
Registration is by completion and return of a School Application Form, along with the registration fee, which can be paid in cash, by cheque or by bank transfer. Please see our fees page for the registration fee and bank details.
On registration, children’s names will be added to our list of applicants and the children will be called to attend a familiarisation assessment visit during the Spring Term preceding entry. There are no formal academic assessments during this visit but we check where children are in their learning as well as their social skills and behaviour. Following this visit, the Head of the Prep School meets parents to provide feedback on the day and advise about a place being offered.
Given the age of the children, we understand some may not be at their best in the new environment and may not settle well during the familiarisation assessment visit and in these cases, we are happy to make arrangements for the child to come in again on a different day.
Places are formally offered in writing by the Headmaster, normally with a requirement to respond within 28 days or by a date specified in the letter. To accept a place, parents must complete, sign and return the Parent Acceptance Form, which is sent with the offer letter and which then forms the contract with the School, along with the fee deposit (see the fees page for details of this).
If the Reception year group is over-subscribed, parents are informed of the situation at the time of their child’s familiarisation visit and place offer letters are sent simultaneously. Places are then secured by those who formally accept them (as above) first.
Children whose places have been accepted are then invited to the School again to attend our Familiarisation Day for all of September’s new starters, which takes place annually in June. Joining information for parents is provided on this day and there is also the opportunity for parents to visit the Uniform Shop, either to purchase pre-used items or have their child try on sample sizes of Schoolblazer.com garments to help with their ordering of uniform.
Joining Reception from The Peterborough School Nursery
Parents of Pre-school children are also required to complete and return a School Application Form, although payment of the registration fee is not required since they have already paid a fee to join the Nursery. School Application Forms are available from the Nursery Manager, who will remind parents of the need to register their child for Reception Class at the appropriate time, or the School Admissions team.
Nursery children also attend a familiarisation visit to the current Reception Classes during the Spring term. They are brought up to School in small groups, wherever possible on days when they normally attend the Nursery.
Following this visit, the Head of the Prep School contacts parents, usually by phone, to provide feedback on the day and advise about a place being offered.
Places are then formally offered in writing by the Headmaster, normally with a requirement to respond within 28 days or by a date specified in the letter. To accept a place, parents must complete, sign and return the Parent Acceptance Form, which is sent with the offer letter and which then forms the contract with the School, along with the fee deposit (see the fees page for details of this).
If the Reception year group is over-subscribed, parents are informed of the situation at the time of their child’s familiarisation visit and place offer letters are sent simultaneously. Places are then secured by those who formally accept them (as above) first.
Late applications are accepted as long as places are still available. After registration, arrangements are made for the child to be taken to School for a familiarisation assessment visit with the current Reception Class on a day when they usually attend Nursery, although this visit would be arranged individually rather than the child attending with a group of children. The rest of the process is the same as for children who applied earlier.
Nursery children moving up to Reception Class also attend the Familiarisation Day in June. If they attend Nursery on the designated day, Nursery staff bring them to the School and collect them after lunch. The parents’ joining information is handed over when the parents collect them from Nursery. Parents of children who are not in on the Familiarisation Day are asked to bring them in so they can attend. Parents are welcome to drop off the children at Nursery, rather than School, so they can be taken up with the other children and any parents are welcome to make an appointment to visit the Uniform Shop on this day if they wish.
New To Reception Parents’ Meeting
Towards the end of the Summer term, parents of children joining Reception Class are invited to attend an information evening meeting with the Reception Class teachers, who take the parents through the practical and educational arrangements of daily life at School, list any equipment required by the children and help with any questions.
Reception Parents’ Coffee Morning
On the first day of term in September, once they have dropped off their children, new Reception parents are invited to stay for a coffee and chat in the Refectory. We understand the emotional pressure and anxieties of a child starting school and know it is important for parents to be able to relax and talk through their feelings with other Mums and Dads.
