All admissions enquiries and applications should be made to the Registrar. Classes fill up very quickly and early registration is advisable: a child may be registered at any time after birth. The Registrar is able to advise prospective parents of the situation in a particular year group.

Visits

Prospective parents are encouraged to visit Duncombe during a normal school day to see the school in action and to meet the Head. Each term there is also an Open Morning which is an opportunity to tour the school on an informal basis. Please contact the Registrar to make an appointment for a personal visit or for more information.

Registration

Parents wishing to register their child should complete the Enrolment Forms (located in the back of the prospectus or downloadable from the Resources page of this website) and return them with a cheque for the registration fee, made payable to Duncombe School. The registration fee covers the cost of administering the registration procedure, including the waiting lists and is not returnable.

The school will respond by confirming that the child's name has been placed on the admission list for the relevant term and year, or if the year group is full, on the waiting list. The school reserves the right to give preference to siblings.

Admission to Treetops

Children may join Duncombe from the age of two years and attendance may be part-time or full-time until the Reception stage (the school year in which they turn five). They embark on a planned programme of education starting in Treetops (the Early Years department) and which continues through to the end of Year 6 when they leave Duncombe and move on to senior school. The transfer from Treetops to the Main School is usually seamless; staff are in constant contact with parents and any concerns about progressing to the Main School will be addressed well in advance.

For entry to Treetops after the age of two, the child is invited to spend a morning with the relevant class. The class teacher will observe and informally assess him or her to ensure that he or she will integrate happily.

Two terms before the specified admission date or following a satisfactory informal assessment, the offer of a place will be made. Parents will be required to complete and return an Acceptance Letter and a Home-School Agreement and to pay a deposit by a specified date to secure the place. The deposit is refundable, less any outstanding items, at the end of the child's final term at Duncombe.

For the parents of children starting in Early Kindergarten, an Admission Meeting takes place early in the term prior to entry, and a series of Parent and Toddler afternoons are held in the second half of the term to familiarise the children and their parents or carers with the school, the staff and their future classmates. If a child joins Treetops after the Early Kindergarten stage, he or she is invited to spend a further morning with the class shortly before the date of entry.

If a child is withdrawn after the deposit has been paid, the school reserves the right to charge the first term's fees.

Admission to Main School

For admission after the Treetops stage, the child is invited to spend a full day with the Year group. During the day he or she will be assessed informally by the class teacher (and if relevant, subject teachers) and Duncombe will request copies of the two most recent school reports. Following discussion between the Head and the staff, the offer (or not) of a place will be made. Occasionally the child may be asked to return for a formal assessment before the decision whether to offer a place is taken. The admissions policy aims to ensure that Duncombe will provide the most appropriate education for the new child and that the existing pupils will not be affected adversely.

On receipt of the offer of a place, parents are required to complete and return an Acceptance Letter and a Home-School Agreement and to pay the deposit by a specified date to secure the place. The deposit is refundable, less any outstanding items, at the end of the child's final term at Duncombe.

If a child is withdrawn after the deposit has been paid, the school reserves the right to charge the first term's fees.