Entry at Other Times

For all these entry points we keep separate waiting lists. No definite places are available until actual vacancies occur.

Lynams

We are seldom able to take in any children at either Year 1 or Year 2. As it will require a child to leave for a place to become available, it tends to be the case that vacancies only occur late in the year (i.e. Easter onwards). Usually these places go to siblings of existing Dragon children or other priority cases.

Day places at the Dragon (Bardwell Road)

• Year 4. As this is the time when we take in many of our boarders, it is unusual for there to be many or any day vacancies. As at Lynams, these places occur late in the day and often go to priority cases.
• Years 5-8. Vacancies can occur when some children move out of the area or transfer to boarding. The picture is an erratic one. It is best to ring and ask how things look for the year for which you are interested.

Boarding Places

• Year 5. Our ability to take in extra Year 5 boarders will depend very much on the numbers taken into the previous Year 4.
• Year 6-8. We are always able to fit in some extra boarders as we go up the school. As there are always a number of Dragon day children wanting to convert to boarding, the availability of places varies a lot.

Visiting the School

You are very welcome to visit the school at any stage of the process. Please ring the School Administrator (Pat Gilgrass) to make an appointment (Tel: 01865 315541) at Lynams. For the Bardwell Road site, please ring the Registrar's Assistant (Jan Lawrie) on 01865 315405.

Registration

• All applications for admission should be made to the Registrar at the Bardwell Road address. A pupil may be registered at any time after birth. All ages are calculated as at 1st September. Children born after the 15th September are put into the following year, so they go through as the oldest in their year, rather than the youngest.
• The registration form should be returned accompanied by a cheque for £100, being the Registration Fee, made payable to the Dragon School Trust Ltd. (The registration fee is to cover the cost of administering the registration procedure, including administration of the waiting lists. This payment is not returnable unless the school finds itself unable to confirm a definite place as a result of the assessment).
• The School will then respond either by telling parents that there is a definite vacancy, or that the child has been placed on the waiting list, in which case is important that parents have a second choice school.

Assessment (for children aged 6 or over)

As these times are not the normal points of entry and vacancies can occur at any time, the assessment is arranged on an individual basis. The child is invited to come to see us for about 90 mins to do Maths and English papers. With children entering Years 6-8 we will also want to assess where they have got to with French and Latin. At the Dragon children do 4 lessons a week in both subjects from the age of 9 (Year 5). This assessment is not competitive and is designed merely to check that the children are able to cope with the general standard of work. A confidential report is required at this stage from the previous school.

Parents of those who do not reach the required standard will be informed accordingly and advice given as to whether a pupil may improve with extra coaching, in which case the School may agree to re-assess the child at a later date. Where the school feels that the child would struggle despite extra tuition and declines to offer a place, the registration fee is returned.

Pupils are promoted from the waiting list to the main list when withdrawals occur or when pupils fail to meet the assessment standards.

Deposits and Contracts

On successful completion of the assessment, parents are invited to secure the places by paying a deposit by a stated date. Those who do not do this lose their places, and these are then offered to those on the waiting list. Please note:

The deposit will be returned by a credit on the account at the end of the pupil's final term.

If a child is withdrawn after the deposit has been paid and the contract signed, the school reserves the right to charge the first term's fees unless a term's notice has been given.

General

Although every effort will be made to notify parents, please note that the School reserves the right to change the Admissions procedure without notice at any time.

The School reserves the right when compiling these lists to give preference in its absolute discretion to the children of staff, Old Dragons, siblings and any others it sees fit, where places are available.

Parents are also advised that they should keep any current school informed of any intended move to the Dragon and must observe their regulations regarding the giving of due notice. We cannot accept anyone from another independent school who has failed to meet their commitments to the previous school in full prior to joining us.

The information on this site is not part of any agreement between parents and the School. Although correct at the time of construction, certain statements may go out of date from time to time. Parents wishing to place specific reliance upon any statement in the web pages should seek written confirmation before accepting an offer of a place.