The entry process for the pre-prep is intended to be gentle and informal: its chief purpose is to ensure that every boy admitted has the potential to benefit from the type of education that we offer. Each boy will spend about half an hour or so with the Head of Pre-Prep who observes him playing and introduces him to some Pre-Prep activities. Parents are contacted just over a year prior to entry to arrange the session. Provided all is satisfactory in this session, offers of places are made strictly in the order of receipt of registration forms with a priority given to siblings of current pupils. Priority is also given to former NCS pupils who have left the school temporarily but are then returning, for example after a parental sabbatical abroad.  

We aim to make all our assessments as enjoyable as possible and no activities require special preparation. Parents should notify the Headmaster if they are aware or suspect that a pupil has a specific learning difference that may need special consideration. Reasonable adjustments are made in the entrance procedures for children who may have specific medical, cultural or language needs. Please see below for the school's policy with regard to reasonable adjustments and the Equality Act 2010.

For entry to the prep school (Year 3 and above), candidates are asked to take a mathematics test appropriate to their age, online reading and mathematics reasoning tests, write creatively to a given title, and answer some written comprehension questions. The assessment is usually a gathered field of candidates for competitive entry, with the number of places on offer dependent on the number of existing NCS pupils progressing from Year 2 (pre-prep) to Year 3 (prep). Offers are made on the basis of academic performance, with a priority given to siblings of current pupils. Priority is also given to former NCS pupils who have left the school temporarily but are then returning, for example after a parental sabbatical abroad.  To ensure that the school fulfils its duty to provide choristers for the Choir of New College, chorister admissions and offers are processed prior to non-chorister entry. 

The Registrar oversees the occasion, with other relevant members of staff including the Headmaster or a deputy, and/or the school's Inclusion Coordinator, to get a sense of a candidate's overall potential. The atmosphere is frienfly and relaxed and there is always plenty of encouragement for the boys to do their best. It is in the interests of all parties that they are sure that NCS is the right place for the pupil to thrive. Parents are contacted during the Michaelmas prior to the desired entry date to arrange the assessment. Pupils who will enter NCS in September are invited to meet form tutors, assistant form tutors, and current pupils before the end of the previous Trinity term.

We aim to make all our assessments as enjoyable as possible and no activities require special preparation. Parents should notify the Headmaster if they are aware or suspect that a pupil has a specific learning difference that may need special consideration. Reasonable adjustments are made in the entrance procedures for children who may have specific medical, cultural or language needs. Please see below for the school's policy with regard to reasonable adjustments and the Equality Act 2010.

If a prospective pupil is or may be disabled within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010, New College School will consider whether any reasonable adjustments may be made to remove any substantial disadvantage as compared with non-disabled pupils. The reasonable adjustments duty applies to prospective disabled pupils and will be considered at the point of admission. 

If a disabled applicant otherwise meets the NCS admission criteria, NCS will also have to consider whether they can adequately cater for that child’s needs, taking into account the reasonable adjustments duty. While conditions for admissions apply equally to all applicants, NCS will need to consider what reasonable adjustments can be made to admissions arrangements where they put a disabled applicant at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled applicants. 

The school will need to make a proper judgment based on the child’s particular needs and circumstances. If there are no adjustments that can reasonably be made to accommodate the child, a decision not to admit that child may follow. 

NCS may offer in-house screening tests and/or obtain an educational psychologist’s report to explore a potential disability and assess what additional support might assist the pupil to overcome any substantial disadvantage. What is ‘reasonable’ depends on the particular disadvantage caused to a pupil and what NCS can do to address that disadvantage. NCS will decide whether or not it can cater adequately for a child’s needs. Factors that are taken into consideration include, for example: 

• whether the adjustment will remove the substantial disadvantage 
• the cost of the proposed adjustment 
• the resources available internally or from external providers (such as the health and education services) 
• the practicability of making the adjustment 
• the need to maintain academic, musical, sporting and other standards 
• health and safety requirements 
• the interests of other pupils, including those who may be admitted to the school 
• the school’s charging structure generally. 

Whether the cost of a proposed adjustment is reasonable will require consideration in the context of NCS’s resources and available funds. It should be noted that what is reasonable for one school to provide may not be for another. Families of prospective pupils who may require reasonable adjustments should keep the Registrar and Inclusion Coordinator informed of this in a clear and timely fashion during the application process. The Registrar and Inclusion Coordinator will be responsible, where deemed necessary, for the implementation of reasonable adjustments during the application and assessment process.