Devonshire House School and the Oak Tree Nursery takes children from aged 2½ years of age. Girls leave at the end of Year 6 and boys at the end of Year 8. Ours is an assessment-based admissions process. All prospective pupils who are registered with us are invited to attend assessments, of one type or another depending on the year group, which take place at the school.
The only requirement at the application stage is that we receive applications a minimum of a year in advance of the intended start date. Late applications and applications outside of the normal assessment cycle will be considered but please contact the Admissions Office in the first instance. Our school is split into three departments: Early Years; Junior School and Upper School.
Oak Tree Nursery
Places in the Oak Tree Nursery are for children aged from two and a half. Children with birthdays from September to March enter in September, and children with birthdays from April to August enter in January. All children must be fully toilet trained by the time they start in the Nursery.
There are two daily half day sessions:
and a full day session from 9.00am to 3.00 pm. Please note that the full day session is available only for children who enter in September. Admission is subject to observation during a play session. Although priority is given to siblings we always have places for new families to join the school in this age group.
Entry into Pre Reception from the Oak Tree Nursery is automatic. There are places for new children to enter Pre Reception in the Autumn Term after their third birthday, and for Reception after their fourth birthday. Entry is by assessment, generally made in January/February before proposed entry in September.
Children are seen, when possible, in a group. All children are asked to complete the same tasks and detailed notes are taken both of their approach and the results. Every attempt is made to assess potential rather than current attainment. Notice is taken of dates of birth, position in family and any disclosed special need.
Entry to Years 1 to 3
Offers are made dependent on there being a vacancy.
For entry to Year 1, aged 5, pupils are assessed in a similar manner to Reception children. For entry to Years 2 or 3, children have a longer assessment. Children will be asked to do written, numeracy and reading tests. The objective is to discover whether a child will settle happily into the School. Offers will also be dependent on a satisfactory report from their current school. Scholarships are available for children joining Year 3.
Entry to Upper School (Y4 – 8)
Offers are made dependent on there being a vacancy. For entry to the Upper School, children are invited to spend a morning in the School. During this time they will complete a written assessment in Maths and English, and possibly verbal reasoning. They will also have a chance to socialise with our pupils
Due to the limited time available to prepare children for entry to Senior Schools, we would only admit Girls into Y6 or Boys into Y8 in exceptional circumstances. Boys applying to enter the school in Y7 must be prepared to reach the necessary standard in French before they start with us. Both Academic and Music Scholarships are available to children joning the School in Year 4.
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