Choosing the right school for your child can be very stressful and time consuming. At Bradfield, we make this process as personal and as enjoyable as possible for you. In the first instance, we suggest you speak to your prep school Headmaster/Headmistress and to our pupils and parents – they will give you valuable feedback on the College.
Join a Saturday Morning Tour
Unlike most schools, we do not offer ‘Open Mornings’ or ‘Show Days’, which are planned and prepared months in advance. Instead, we offer tours (by appointment) every Saturday morning during term time and you will see how we operate on a typical working day. We believe in you ‘seeing the College as it is’ with no pretence and no fuss.
Having visited half a dozen top independent schools, the welcome at Bradfield was incomparable. From the personal emails from the Admissions department to beautifully presented, well-mannered and happy looking children and staff we found the whole experience an absolute pleasure.
Visiting parent
Under normal circumstances, each family is allocated a tour guide who will make your tour as personal and individualised as you wish. We suggest you leave your more challenging questions to the end. We trust you will receive honest and direct answers and leave with a clear picture of the facilities the College has to offer and our ethos.
You will also meet the Headmaster, a Housemaster or Mistress and hear about a personal Bradfield journey from one of our Sixth Form pupils. At the end of your tour, you will have another opportunity to ask questions over light refreshments with the Headmaster and members of the teaching staff.
We strongly believe that pupils who enjoy school will achieve more in their personal and professional lives. Seeing happy, friendly and engaging pupils around the College will, we believe, persuade you to take the admission process further.
The admissions process
When you register an interest in the College, we will respond with invitations for your child for two half hour interviews and an hour of group problem solving activities. These will take place during the Michaelmas and Lent Terms of Year 6.
The purpose of these interviews and activities is to explore your child’s potential and suitability for the College rather than to establish what they do or do not know. The interviews are formal but friendly and are not hostile interrogations. In addition, all prospective candidates will sit the ISEB Pre-Test during the course of Year 6.
There is definitely a good ‘feel’ about the school. Everyone we talked to was friendly, smart and very welcoming. The campus and facilities are really impressive too.
Visiting parent
We conclude the Admissions process at the end of the Lent Term of Year 6. Offers are made by the end of February in Year 6. We take into account the applicants’ performance in the interviews, their performance in the group problem solving activities, the reference from their Prep School and their Pre-Test results.
Why the Pre-Test at all? The ISEB Pre-Test, taken by all prospective applicants, validates the College’s scoring system of evaluation. It confirms what we have already established about the suitability of your child to join the College.
Offers are subject to achieving a satisfactory end of Year 8 exam, or PSB performance, or 55% in the core subjects at Common Entrance, or our own entrance exams for non-CE candidates. Most of our offers also include the offer of a senior house and you will have an opportunity to visit the House and Housemaster or Mistress again in June of Year 7.
A Bradfield education is about offering an all-round educational experience which allows pupils to develop their interests and passions, gain in confidence, develop intellectual curiosity and ambition and be able to communicate well in a constantly changing world. That pupils should find happiness and enjoyment in their unfolding personal and academic lives is integral to our approach to teaching, learning and education.
We would be delighted to book you in for a tour. Simply send us an email admissions@bradfieldcollege.org.uk or call us on 0118 964 4516.
