Welcome to the first steps of your admissions journey at Downside School. As Director of Admissions, I recognise that choosing a school for your child can be a little daunting. The team and I would like to support you and your family through each step, ensuring it’s a friendly and personalised one. Our aim is to guide you through the journey to help you make one of the most important decisions you will make for you and your family.
I look forward to hearing from you and welcoming you to Downside School. If you would like to book an Introductory Call with a senior specialist member of Staff in the first instance
For all admissions enquiries, please use admissions@downside.co.uk
Downside’s admissions procedure aims to ensure that boys and girls who join Downside School are able to be happy, successful and secure within its academic, cultural, pastoral and spiritual environment, whether they are boarders or day pupils.
Admission for boys and girls to Downside is normally at 11+ into the First Form (Year 7), at 13+ into the Third Form (Year 9), or at 16+ into the Lower Sixth (Year 12). Places occasionally become available for boys and girls for admission into the Second Form (Year 8) or into the Fourth Form (Year 10). We offer a one year GCSE programme for those wishing to prepare for the Sixth Form or join us to complete a handful of GCSEs.
The first step is to visit the School for either an Open Morning or an on-site or virtual visit. The Head will be pleased to meet you, and our pupils will take you on a tour of our beautiful School. If you would like to book an Introductory Call with a senior specialist member of Staff in the first instance,
Following your initial visit, if you wish to apply for a place at Downside we would ask that you register your child for entry by completing our registration form. Following registration, we invite all candidates to complete a CAT4 assessment and attend an interview. This can be done on the initial visit or a follow-up visit. Assessment and interviews take place on Assessment and Taster Days once a year, should you prefer to incorporate both.
WHAT THEN?
Successful completion of the entry tests will be followed by an offer of a guaranteed (unconditional) or a conditional place at Downside. In order to accept our offer and secure a place at the School, we require parents to sign a parental contract and to make a deposit payment. The deposit is then held by the School until the payment of the final bill on leaving Downside School.
Registration is required for entry at least 8 to 12 months ahead of the start date. All pupils will be invited to our Assessment and Taster day in January, whilst they are in Year 6, which includes a day of activities and an online CAT assessment. Pupils will enjoy meeting others joining at the same time, and getting to know our Staff and pupils which will support a positive transition to Senior School. The Head will meet each pupil at some point during the day. We will also require a school reference from your child’s current school to support their application
Registration is required for entry for entry at least 8 to 12 months ahead of the start date, to ensure we can accommodate your child as we have a limited intake at this point. Entrance to Downside will include an interview with the Head, a CAT4 assessment and a satisfactory reference from your child’s school.
Registration is required around 12 to 18 months ahead of the start date. Pupils will be invited to an Assessment and Taster Day in February when they are in either Year 6 or Year 7. The day will offer your child the opportunity to meet our Staff and pupils and others looking to join Downside, and for us to get to know your child ahead of their start. The Head will meet each pupil at some point during the day. We will also require a school reference from your child’s current school, to include their most recent baseline cognitive scores (like CAT4) to support their application. Alternatively, a visit on a day that suits to meet the Head and have a tour of the School would equally be possible to organise should your child’s application fall outside the above.
Registration is required for entry for entry at least 8 to 12 months ahead of the start date, to ensure we can accommodate your child as we have a limited intake at this point. Entrance to Downside will include an interview with the Head, a CAT4 assessment and a satisfactory reference from your child’s school.
Registration is required for entry for entry at least 8 to 12 months ahead of the start date, to ensure we can accommodate your child as we have a limited intake at this point. Entrance to Downside will include an interview with the Head, a CAT4 assessment and a satisfactory reference from your child’s school.
Registration is required around 12 months ahead of the start date. Your child is welcome to join our Sixth Form Subject Fair in October when they are in either Year 10 or 11. The day will offer your child the opportunity to meet our Faculty Heads, our pupils and see the School at work. Once your child is Registered, we would invite you back for an interview with the Head and a meeting with our Head of Sixth Form to discuss subject choices; a tour of the School and boarding house would be possible too. We will require a school reference from your child’s current school, to include their most recent baseline cognitive scores (like CAT4) to support their application. Alternatively, a visit on a day that suits to meet the Head and have a tour of the School would equally be possible to organise should your child’s application fall outside the above timings.
We proud of our diverse community at Downside, with around 40% of our pupils living outside the UK, representing over 20 different nationalities. Many of our families are British expats living abroad, who choose Downside for their full boarding community and busy and purposeful weekends. With the majority of pupils boarding, our community is an inclusive, integrated and a happy one with a House structure which provides the backbone of our pastoral care as well as a ‘home from home’ for all our pupils.
We want to ensure the experience of admissions to Downside, from overseas, as easy as possible and recognise that choosing a boarding school from afar can be daunting. We offer both virtual and on-site visits, with many wishing to have a virtual meeting and interview in the first instance and a follow up visit thereafter. The Head and Director of Admissions are available for online meetings, that take the shape of a friendly discussion with the Head, with pupil and parent/s, and an interactive virtual tour of the School and Q&A with the Director of Admissions.
Overseas pupils are fully integrated within all areas of the School creating a strong sense of community spirit and acceptance of multi culturalism. There is a pupil-led International Committee which runs a variety of events designed to celebrate national days around the world. Our excellent caterers organise international food evenings and are mindful of our pupils’ diverse taste buds which drives regular international food tastings and themed evenings which are very popular.
We offer extensive English as an Additional Language (EAL) support for all pupils whose first language is not English. Assessment at application ensures we have the information required to recommend whether pupils do or don’t require additional EAL support. All pupils are fully integrated into the mainstream curriculum, thereby offering an immersive approach which ensures our pupils make excellent progress. We also offer a recognised qualification in English as a Second Language (ESL) at a number of different levels, including IELTS for University entrance. We have a limited number of places available for pupils who wish to join us for the Summer Term, for one term only, as a taster to boarding school in the UK to help support the decision to join for a longer period. We accept pupils into all year groups apart from Year 13 for this experience.
Our one year GSCE programme is extremely popular with pupils who wish to spend the year gaining qualifications as well as those looking to prepare for our Sixth Form.
We invite all applicants, whose first language is not English, to complete an EAL assessment paper and the online CAT4 cognitive assessment to ensure we have a deeper understanding of their learning ability and can ensure they are in the correct sets for Maths, English and Sciences. In addition, we ask for a School Reference from your child’s current school to complete the application process alongside their interview.
The School remains open for international boarders over the Exeat weekends, of which there are two in the September Term and two in the January Term (Years 7 & 8 only) and none in the Summer Term. The weekend provides children with an opportunity to spend time with friends taking part in a wide range of activities and rest.
Twitter