Woodcote House

Admissions Procedure

Any parent is welcome to register their son at Woodcote. All parents making an enquiry will be sent a prospectus, accompanied by an Entry form and letter inviting them to arrange a visit if they think Woodcote might be suitable for their son.

No prospective parent will be denied this information, although they may be advised at this early stage if the year group into which they wish to enter their son is full and a place is unlikely. Woodcote will consider a place for any pupil who is able to make the most of the opportunities offered and flourish in the school’s caring environment, including boys from overseas.

Initial visits to the school would normally involve a discussion with the Headmaster, followed by a tour with him, with a senior member of staff, or with boys. If parents feel that Woodcote is the right school for their son, they will be asked to complete a Registration Form and pay the non-refundable registration fee of £100.  Parents would then be offered a further visit with their son for a brief informal interview in the year before he is due to start. At this point, the boy may be asked to take an assessment test – at a level appropriate to his age.  A Taster Day is then offered in the term before a pupil is due to start.

Admission thereafter is on a first come first served basis and, only if a boy appeared socially or academically very far behind, would the Headmaster refuse a place if one existed. In such cases, he would take advice from the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) before doing so. Regardless of whether a pupil has any special educational needs or disability, all boys must be able to cope with the academic curriculum and high standards of behaviour expected. Woodcote reserves the right to deny entry to any boy who the Headmaster or SENCo feel will not flourish at the school or who may affect the education or welfare of other pupils. Please refer to our Disability Inclusion, Special Educational Needs and Learning Support Policy for further information about the arrangements and provisions for pupils with SEND and pupils with EAL.
Provided that there is adequate room within the school and within a boy’s year group, no other form of selection would operate. No boy will be barred from entry on the grounds of race, religion or belief.

Once a place is offered and accepted, parents would be sent joining instructions and be required to pay a refundable Entry Fee in the form of a £1,000 deposit. Further visits will then be arranged to sort uniform and to meet staff and boys. At the end of the term preceding a boy’s entry, final instructions will be sent, followed by a bill for the first term, which becomes payable by the first day of that term. Thereafter, a full term’s notice will always be required before a boy leaves.

Once at Woodcote, the school undertakes if at all possible to continue to educate a boy until his agreed leaving age, provided fees are met. Only if parents are warned formally and in writing that a boy’s behaviour is prejudicing the best interests of the school would exclusion be considered; in such cases the school would see it very much as part of its brief to seek appropriate alternatives on behalf of the parents. A boy would never be excluded on grounds of pure academics, though the school would of course alert parents if it felt there were grounds for concern. If a boy is excluded, any fees paid in advance for any remaining days of term would be refunded to parents.

September 2020