Admissions FAQs
Q. Are your schools co-educational?
Across our schools, we offer an educational pathway for boys and girls aged 1 through to 18. We are fully co-educational at our Early Years sites in Cambridge, Saffron Walden and Madingley, at our two Junior Schools; Rosedale House in Cambridge and Dame Bradbury's in Saffron Walden, and at our Sixth Form.
Q. Can I visit the schools?
Due to the COVID pandemic all tours and open events are currently on hold. Please explore our virtual open day experiences on our website at www.stephenperse.com/virtualopendayexperience.
We hold a number of open events throughout the year, for which booking is necessary so that we can manage numbers. Dates for these open events will always be advertised on our website. We would recommend for your first visit that you attend an open event and listen to school leaders talk about our values and approach to education. You are then welcome to book a tour to see the school on a normal working day. The tour will include the opportunity to meet with our Head of School or a senior member of staff. For those interested in boarding (Sixth Form only), there is an opportunity to visit our boarding houses and meet with the Head of Boarding. Tours can be booked via our online admissions portal at www.stephenperse.com/bookatour. We hope you will appreciate as a very busy and over-subscribed school, we are not always able to accommodate tours of the schools outside of these published dates.
Q. What is the Dame Bradbury's assessment process?
At Dame Bradbury’s we will invite you in to see the school and your child to spend some time with us so we can get to know them and their interests. Dame Bradbury’s is selective school.
Q. How do I register my child for a place?
Our online application form is the first official step in the application
process. When submitting an application it will include a payment of a non-
refundable registration fee. When submitting the application you will be
required to enter your child's current school details and a reference request
will be sent directly to the school via the admissions portal. For any pupils
with individual needs we will ask for all supporting information at the
application stage. Once the form is completed and you have created an
account on our admission portal, all correspondence about your application
will be sent through this.
Q. Can I apply at any time of year?
We accept applications throughout the year however this is subject to
spaces being available. Entrance testing for Rosedale House, Dame Bradbury’s and Senior School usually takes place in the January before the
September start (e.g. January 2021 for September 2022 entry). However,
we understand that families are often looking for places at a new school at
other times of the year, such as when relocating for a new job, so we are
flexible wherever possible providing that there are spaces available.
For Sixth FormWe have two main closing dates for applications, these are October and February each year. However we will accept Sixth Form
applications outside of these closing dates. All Sixth Form applications will
be for the next academic year starting in September. We do not accept
Sixth Form applications for in year transfer.
Q. Can my child do the assessments while we are still abroad?
While it is obviously better to do the tests and interviews in person, if at all possible, if you have to remain overseas we can accommodate your child sitting the entrance exams in your home country. If your current school is a registered international school we are happy for the exams to take place there; otherwise we ask that you arrange for him/her to sit the papers at the British Council. This is to ensure that the integrity of our tests is preserved and
ensures fairness across the board as this will emulate the testing environment here at Stephen Perse. We will do our upmost to accommodate your travel timetables when booking your child’s assessment.
Q. Will you need to contact my child’s current school as part of the admissions process?
We do require a satisfactory reference from your child’s current school. If you do not want us to contact your child’s current school before a place is offered the offer of a place will be conditional on receipt of a satisfactory reference.
Q. Do both parents have to sign the forms?
We require a signature from both parents/guardians who hold parental responsibility, except in exceptional circumstances.
Q. Will my child automatically get a place in the next school up?
Transition is automatic through Stephen Perse however if there are any concerns then we would arrange a series of consultations with the parents, well in advance of either transition. Our Year 11 students have automatic entry to our Sixth Form. This does not apply to our 1 Year iGCSE students.
Q. My child needs additional learning support, is this something you can accommodate?
Yes, each of our schools benefits from the guidance of a Special Educational needs Coordinator (SENCO) and if your child requires support we will work with you to ensure that his/her needs are met. In the event that our specialist teachers do not have the expertise necessary to plan for your child’s continued progress we would consult with an external specialist teacher with your agreement. At the application stage you will be required to indicate if your child has SEND requirements. Please also make our Admissions Registrar
aware of this to enable her to arrange for you to meet our SENCO.
Q. Do you provide transport?
We run a morning minibus from the Park and Ride sites at Babraham,
Madingley and Trumpington as well as a minibus from Cambourne.
For Dame Bradbury's pupils we run a shuttle minibus from Audley End Rail Station to the School for children from Year 1 upwards, which leaves the Audley End station bus stop daily at 07.45. There is also a minibus from Babraham and Trumpington Park and Ride as well as outside Rosedale House. For further information regarding charges and booking please contact the Admissions Registrar.
Q. Where are the schools?
We have schools in and around Cambridge, and in Saffron Walden. See our contact pages for maps of each school's location.
Q. Do you provide transport?
We run a shuttle minibus from Audley End Rail Station to the School for children from Year 1 upwards, which leaves the Audley End station bus stop daily at 07.45.
There is also a minibus from Babraham and Trumpington Park and Ride for children from Kindergarten upwards, which leaves at 07.50 and returns from Dame Bradbury’s at 16.30.
For further information regarding charges and booking please contact the Dame B's school office.