Primary Admissions

Registration

This primary school registration is separate from applications to the nursery school. All families, including families already at the nursery, are required to complete this.

Registration Deadlines

• September 2025 entry: now closed
• September 2026 entry: Wednesday 30th April 2025

Once the registration form has been received and processed, you will receive confirmation in your online application checklist.

Assessment Process

All children who are registered are invited to attend a group play-based assessment in October/November preceding the desired year of entry. Although the children are assessed in an informal way, we look at their development and potential in all areas, alongside a small group of their peers (so, for example, children born in September are assessed alongside other children with September/October birthdays) by a group of The Gower School nursery and primary teachers. Following the group assessments, Miss Gowers will then invite shortlisted children to move forward to a further individual assessment, usually in January each year.

We invite all registered children to meet us as part of our admissions process so that we can get an idea of each child’s ability and potential. Teachers will spend 1:1 time getting to know the child during the group and individual assessments.

Parents are requested to meet with the Principal, Miss Gowers, to discuss their child and their requirements. This meeting takes place while the child is having their individual assessment.

We are oversubscribed and we favour applications from families whose children attend a ‘good’ (accredited) Montessori nursery. We do not guarantee places for children from our own nursery, although this is the main feeder to the school. There is also no official priority given to siblings since every child is unique.

Offer of Place and Acceptance

Offers of places are made at the end of January and parents are asked to respond within 14 days. Places are offered through our application system and the School’s Terms and Conditions and Acceptance of Place forms will become available once an offer is extended. Once a place has been offered, we require a non-refundable deposit of £2,000, as well as the completed Acceptance of Place form to secure it. The deposit is held against fees for all children who start with us and is deducted from the final term’s fees in Form Six.

Mid-Year Entry

Subject to availability within each year group and a trial-day assessment in a classroom, there is the possibility for children to join the older-pupil classrooms. Please contact the Admissions Manager with your child’s full details including name, date of birth, most recent school report and when you would expect your child to be joining the school. The School holds ‘Highly Trusted’ status as a UKBA Tier 4 sponsor.

Seven-plus entry

Applications for seven-plus (for Form Three entry into Upper School) are welcome.

Prospective pupils are invited to spend a morning at the school as a taster session. They are invited to sit papers in Maths and English the preceding January. Papers are set in line with Year Two work. They are also invited to attend an informal interview with a teacher as part of the process.

Places are offered subject to that year’s availability, as well as promise shown during the application stage. Although our teaching and learning approach in the Upper School becomes more traditional, our Montessori ethos flows throughout the school and we are therefore keen to offer a holistic, child-centred approach to the admissions process.

Begin Your Child’s Application