Alice Smith School provides an English curriculum in an international setting, for students aged 3 to 18. The school has two campuses, Primary (ages 3 to 11) and Secondary (ages 11 to 18). We are a non-selective, not-for-profit school which ensures that your child can meet their full potential in the best learning environment.
Choosing the right school for your child is an important decision. Here at Alice Smith School, we appreciate that this can be a daunting prospect and we aim to provide you with all of the information necessary to make the right choice for your child. The best way to do this is to download your personalised prospectus, visit us, or take our virtual tour.
It is the policy of the school to place students within their appropriate age group wherever possible, taking into account consultations with parents. Students will be placed according to their age on the 31st of August, in any given year, as shown below.
Please check the admissions availability by year group. If the waiting pool is open, applications are being accepted and places may be offered, however this will be dependent on vacancies becoming available and this can not be guaranteed.
When it comes to selecting an international school, especially one offering a British education, it can sometimes be difficult to understand what ages are in what grades. This is why we’ve developed our international student age-grade conversion calculator to help you discover exactly what Year your child will be in and what the key steps are to join Alice Smith.
We look forward to meeting you soon!
There are three stages to to our admissions process:
ApplicationAssessmentAdmission
The first stage is to complete our online Application Form.
Following your submission, please ensure you receive an acknowledgement via email to confirm that the submission was successful. We look forward to receiving your application.
Please contact our Admissions team if you need assistance.
Enrolment is not automatic. Alice Smith School is not selective however students will need to demonstrate the capacity and capability to benefit from our curriculum. All applicants are required to complete an assessment (which varies according to the age of the student) prior to the offer of a place. This is to ensure their needs can be met within our school setting, in an age appropriate class. Secondary applicants are required to provide evidence of prior academic attainment.
Candidates are assessed on an ongoing basis, within one month of the application being received. This assessment will ascertain whether a child should be offered a place or placed in the waiting pool if a place is not immediately available. Assessments are valid for twelve months from the date of completion, although follow up assessments may be required, especially if a place is not taken up within that time.
Occasionally, students may be asked back for a follow-up assessment in order to confirm that a place can be offered.
Applicants who do not have English as their first language may also have a short interview, either in person and/or by an online interview, with an English language specialist or an assigned person from the Learning Support Unit to assess that their level of English is adequate to access the school curriculum. Depending on the students’ age, a piece of unaided writing may also be requested. Students who are accepted but require specialist English language support will be offered a full place at the school on the condition that they join an MLL (Multilingual Learner) programme and with this support, achieve a sufficient level of fluency over time. If the student is withdrawn from the paid support programme before the Learning Support Team agree they have reached the proficiency required the students school place will be withdrawn. Additional fees are charged for MLL support.
Where English is not the first language for the parents or guardian of the student, a declaration will be required that they are able to participate fully in activities relating to the student’s education which are held in English or arrange for a translator, at their own cost, to accompany them at such events.
Where a visit to the school is not possible Alice Smith will request a piece of unaided writing, the child’s most recent report and a reference. The school reserves the right to make a conditional offer if the child’s age prevents sufficient information to be provided.
Students with known behavioural issues and/or special educational needs are considered on a case by case basis. Parents of such children are required to provide the school with detailed information and records to assist in the process. Parents are also strongly advised to discuss possible application prior to making a formal application to ensure that the school is in a position to meet the needs of the student.
Failure to accurately and fully declare relevant details, at the time of application, may result in parents being asked to subsequently withdraw their child because the school is unable to meet his or her needs. This is a situation that we are anxious to avoid, particularly as it may impact adversely on the child’s self-esteem and future learning.
Whilst we make every effort to enrol siblings, there may be occasions where this is not possible.
Requests for applicants to be ‘out of year’ will be dealt with on a case by case basis, with the campus principals having the ultimate decision.
Specific assessment results will not be shared with parents.
The school can only consider an offer after having received all the documents issued at the point of application. A delay in submitting documents may delay any offer. These documents will be reviewed by relevant team members. Where there are no complications, from the point of completion of all documents, an offer will be extended within a week from the Senior Leader.
The outcome will be one of the following:
If a place is available, an offer letter will be sent out. If the year group is full, the student will be placed in a waiting pool and an offer letter will be sent when a place becomes available.
Before a place can be offered, further assessments may be necessary to ensure that we can cater for the student’s needs. In the meantime, the applicant’s place will be kept in the waiting pool whilst those assessments are being carried out.
Place is not offered and you will be informed of the reasons.
The school reserves the right to make a conditional offer. The nature of the conditions and any consequences will be discussed and clearly stated in writing. Parents will be required to sign to acknowledge their understanding and agreement of the stated conditions, prior to the student starting, and comply with this agreement. A school place can be withdrawn if these stated conditions are not adhered to. The agreed conditions will be reviewed at least termly throughout the duration of the conditional offer.
If siblings apply at both campuses, the Admissions teams will await the outcomes on all applications before offers are made.
For successful applicants, a formal offer letter, stating the fees payable and the terms and conditions of the offer will be made in writing provided a place is available. If there is no immediate place available in the respective year group then the applicant will be placed in the waiting pool.
Acceptance of the offer and payment of indicated fees must be made prior to the student starting school and before the lapse date shown on the offer letter.
If the commencement date of the student is before the Half Term break (as determined by the School on a yearly basis), the parent will be billed a full term tuition fee and building fund levy. If the commencement date of the student is on or after the Half Term break, the parent will only be required to pay one half of the fees for that term and building fund levy.
We look forward to meeting and welcoming you to the Alice Smith community.
Admission to The Alice Smith School is open to children of members of The Alice Smith Schools Association solely on the basis that they are assessed as being able to fully benefit from attending the school.
In general, a student will fully benefit from attending Alice Smith School providing they:
The admissions policy is designed to ensure that the students who attend the Alice Smith School have the capacity to thrive within, and benefit from, all the school offers. The admission procedures vary, depending on the age of the student.
Each decision made is based upon the individual student’s merits and needs.
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