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Admissions

From Open Days to personal tours, we’re here to help you understand what makes us unique. Our admissions journey couldn’t be simpler.

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Visit our school

Open Days

We put the open in Open Days. Our approach is to give you an honest picture of everyday life at The Downs. Talk to our pupils, meet our staff, and experience our school in action.

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Join our school

Register your child

We’d love to welcome your child to The Downs Preparatory School. If you’ve come for a visit and know The Downs is a great fit for your family, then it’s time to fill out a registration form.

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meet our teachers

Get to know us

Watch our video to discover the unique reasons why some of our team fell in love with education and with our school. It’s these people (and all our staff) and their stories that make The Downs truly special. So over to you, team…

Reception admissions process

Each part of our Reception admissions process is designed to help you and your child feel supported on this important journey, starting school for the first time. If you're child is in Year 1 or above, click here to view our Year 1 - 8 admissions process. 

Whether you want to spend time talking to teachers one-to-one or see what learning looks like at The Downs, Open Days are a great way to get a sense of what we’re all about. However, don’t worry if the next Open Day doesn’t fit your schedule, just get in touch and we can book you in for a personal tour.

The clue’s in the name… fun for all the family. These informal mornings focus on familiarising children with our Reception set up. You’ll meet key staff members and get stuck in to a variety of playful activities. This is a really warm and welcoming way for you to dip your toe into The Downs community spirit.

Once you’ve visited and made the important decision that our school will be a great fit for your child, it’s time to register. Just complete our registration form, pay your £150 registration fee, and you’re all set. If a year group is full, we’ll pop you on our waiting list and you’ll be the first to know when a place comes up.

Register now

We reach out to seek feedback from your child’s current nursery or preschool. This process gives us the reassurance we are able to meet the needs of every child who attends The Downs.

It sounds very official, because it is! We offer places to children on a first-come-first-served basis.

The ball’s back in your court. To accept our offer you’ll need to complete our acceptance form and pay a £750 deposit. This full amount will be refunded when your child leaves The Downs.

We offer a number of familiarisation mornings (usually in June), where children will meet their classmates and their teacher, as well as getting to know the Reception classrooms and of course the wonders of our grounds. This all helps set them up for a great start in September.

This is one for the parents – a chance to meet your new community and get all the information needed to support your child into school. You’ll meet key staff members, learn about the way we support the children in September and have the chance to ask any questions.

A beautiful event held on our lawn, arranged by our Reception parents, it gives children and their adults a chance to spend time together and get to know each other before the first day of term.

Years 1-8 admissions process

If your looking to move your child part way through their school journey, we do everything we can to make the process as smooth as possible. So that by the time they start, they can hit the ground running.

Whether you want to spend time talking to teachers one-to-one or see what learning looks like at The Downs, Open Days are a great way to get a sense of what we’re all about. But perhaps the next Open Day doesn’t fit your schedule. Not to worry, just get in touch and we can book you in for a personal tour.

Once you’ve visited and made the important decision that our school will be a great fit for your child, it’s time to register. This involves completing a form and paying the £150 registration fee. If a year group is full, we’ll pop you on our waiting list and you’ll be the first to know when a place comes up.

Register now

This is a chance for children to get to know us, meet other students and get involved in the huge array of activities we have on offer. With a well-matched guide we’ll look to tailor the day to reflect your child’s individual interests. Your child will get a true feel for a day in the life at The Downs

An informal assessment      

We are non-selective at The Downs, but we will ask children joining in Years 1-8 to take an informal assessment in English and Maths which gives us a good picture of how we can support them.

Parents meet Headteacher, Debbie Isaachsen

  • A bit of a debrief from the taster day and a chance for you to ask direct questions.

Discuss the next steps

  • A potential offer is made and we talk about what happens next.

It sounds very official, because it is! We offer places to children on a first-come-first-served basis.

The ball’s back in your court. To make it official you’ll need to complete our acceptance form and pay a £750 deposit. This full amount will be refunded when your child leaves The Downs.

For new starters – starting with us in September – there’s an invitation to join our headteacher and other key members of staff, the day before term starts. 

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Head's welcome

Say hello to our headteacher

Find out whether Mrs Isaachsen was ever naughty at school and other fantastic anecdotes, this is a chance for our children to do the asking and our headteacher to do the talking.

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Our top six reasons

Why you'll love The Downs

We believe there's a million reasons why you should choose The Downs, but we've whittled it down to six just to save you time!

Explore our top six
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