Assessment Process

As a selective school, once we have your registration form we will make arrangements with you for your son to meet with us. Our selection process is designed to identify boys who are able to benefit from our balanced and well rounded education and to make a positive contribution towards the life of the school. We hold our main assessment session every year around November/December (for the following September entry). If you miss this assessment session please do contact us as there may still be availability in some year groups, our Admissions Team will be able to let you know. We can arrange for your son to be assessed on an ad hoc basis if this is the case.

For your reassurance, we do not seek to make assessments competitive and they do not require any advance preparation. If need be, we can always invite your son back to spend more time with us so that he feels more comfortable. The primary purpose of the assessment is to ensure that boys will be happy once they have started at Homefield. Here is an explanation of what happens during the process by year group:

Assessment for boys looking to enter Reception:

Your son will be invited along for about half an hour, to one of our Reception classes to meet our staff. Boys will feel as though they are coming for a play session and will be made to feel very comfortable by our staff, while their accompanying parent/carer wait nearby. We ask that you send along a copy of your son's latest nursery report (if he has been attending one) before you come. The purpose of us meeting with him is to see how he is developing and that he is within age-related expectations. Please note that we do not look to exclude boys at this very tender age, we are simply looking for potential. The assessment process for entry in to our Reception setting is particularly gentle.

Assessment for boys looking to enter Years 1 & 2:

If your son is a little older then he will be invited along to meet with our Lower School team for around 45 minutes to an hour. The assessment is more structured but still age appropriate and conducted in a very informal atmosphere. Boys attending will feel more like they are in a classroom working alongside a teacher; they can ask questions or for help at any time. During this time boys will do some simple maths, writing, reading and verbal reasoning. Scores are standardised so that we can take into consideration a boy's age, whether autumn, spring or summer born. Boys will also be asked some informal questions about themselves by the Head of our Lower School so we can get to know them a little better while they are here. We ask that you send along a copy of your son's latest end of year full school report before the day and a sample of writing done in school. Please note that our assessment process at this age is seeking to identify potential. We are looking for well-rounded boys with a genuine interest in education in the broadest sense of the word, with interests that stretch beyond the confines of the academic curriculum.

Assessment for boys looking to enter Years 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7:

As your son gets older, the process becomes more formalised. He will be invited to sit a Cognitive Ability Test (CAT) which will be completed here in school on a laptop. Depending on your son's age the assessment will either be 60 or 90 minutes long. Our Deputy Head Academic will meet with him too to get to know him and find out about his interests. We ask that you send along a copy of your son's latest end of year full school report before the day and a sample of writing done in school. Again we are looking for well-rounded boys with a genuine interest in education in the broadest sense of the word, with interests that stretch beyond the confines of the academic curriculum and who are academically secure.

Offer of a place:

Providing your son meets our entrance criteria, an offer of a place for him will then be made. On acceptance of an offer, we ask for an immediate deposit of £500 and for our admissions paperwork to be completed. The acceptance deposit fee is non-refundable if your son subsequently does not join Homefield Preparatory School. However, if he does join us then this sum will be returned to you at the end of your son's last term at the school after outstanding expenses have been cleared.