Admission to The Hall depends on a prospective pupil meeting the criteria required to maintain and, if possible, to improve the educational and general standards for all its pupils commensurate with the ethos to which the school aspires.  The school must also feel reasonably sure that it will be able to educate and develop the prospective pupil to the best of his potential and in line with the general standards achieved by the pupil’s peers, so that there is every chance that the pupil will have a complete, happy and successful school career and emerge a confident, well-educated and well-rounded adult with a good prospect of a satisfying life.  These criteria must continue to be met throughout the pupil’s time at the school.

The school’s policy is to apply these criteria to all pupils and potential pupils regardless of any disability of which it is aware, subject to its obligation to make reasonable adjustments not to put any potential pupil at a substantial disadvantage compared with any pupil who is not disadvantaged because of his disability.

Boys are admitted to The Hall regardless of race, colour or creed.
Younger brothers are not guaranteed a place at The Hall, but the policy is to look favourably on a brother unless it is deemed not to be in the boy’s best interest to offer him a place.

Procedure

• Almost all boys enter The Hall at the age of 4 or 5, although boys are registered for entry in the academic year when they are 5+ and parents are given the opportunity at a later stage to choose between 4+ and 5+ entry.
• Parents should register their sons as early as possible.  Registration should take place by the time the boy has reached the age of 12 months.  The signing of the Application Form and the payment of the Registration Fee entitle a boy to be placed of the General Waiting List, but do not guarantee a place.
• Parents of pupils registered for entry at 5+ are invited to attend one of our Open Evenings, held each May, when their sons are about 3.  The Headmaster explains the admissions procedure, introduces the staff and invites parents to divide into groups for tours of the school, which are conducted by the staff.  Senior boys assist with the tours, and are present in various parts of the school to demonstrate facilities (eg. the science labs, the sports hall, the music department).  Parents return from their tour for a drink and the opportunity to talk further with staff.
• If parents are still interested in pursuing a place for their son they are asked to contact the Registrar after the Open Evening to make an appointment to meet with the Headmaster and the Head of the Junior School during the course of the Autumn Term. 
• By the end of November, parents should have decided whether they want their son to be considered for entry to Year 1 at 5+, (21 months hence) or a year earlier to the Reception classes at 4+ (at the start of the coming academic year).  There are approximately 30 places in Reception, and approximately a further 24 boys can join a year later in Year 1.
• Boys entered for 4+ entry are assessed in groups of about 6 the following January or February and places are offered towards the end of February.  Boys entered for 5+ entry are assessed in a similar way in April or May, for entry 16 months later.  Places are offered at the end of May.
• Occasionally places occur further up the school.  Parents wishing to apply for such a place should contact the Registrar, who will advise about availability, and arrangements for seeing the school, meeting the Headmaster and for the boy to take an assessment.  Offers are made on the basis of performance in an academic test, a short interview and, depending on the age of entry, a report from the present school.
• Parents wishing to accept the offer of a place are requested to give written acceptance and pay a deposit, currently £1000, to secure the place.  The boy’s name is then transferred to the Entry List.  The deposit is repaid when the boy has completed his education at The Hall.  The Governors reserve the right to increase the deposit payable without notice.
• Any deposit paid for a place, which is then not taken up, is not refundable. In exceptional circumstances it is repaid solely at the Headmaster’s discretion.
• A term’s notice, or fees paid in lieu, is required before a boy may be withdrawn either from the Entry List or from the School.
• The offer of a definite place in Reception or Year 1 is made on the understanding that there will be a place in the Senior School at the appropriate time, and the acceptance of the place implies that the parents wish their son to stay at The Hall until he moves on to secondary education (usually through the Common Entrance examination to an Independent School at the age of 13).  However, not all boys starting at 4 or 5 may prove to be academically suited to completing the course at the school up to the age of 13.
• Parents are asked to inform the Registrar of any change of their address that occurs after Registration.  They are also requested to inform the Registrar at once if they no longer wish their son’s name to remain on the General Waiting List.