Joining Clayesmore

Get in touch as soon as you are ready to do so. If we have places for the year of entry you are looking for we will invite you and your child to see the school and to meet the Head , Mrs Jo Thomson. You will have a tour during which you will meet some teachers and pupils as you make your way around. The next step will be to fill in a registration form and pay a registration fee to secure a place on the entry list.

We will ask for a reference from your child's current headteacher and need to see previous school reports. 

Children joining in Year 9 from Prep schools usually take Common Entrance exams which are then sent to Clayesmore for marking. However, many prep schools have moved away from preparing students for Common Entrance in some subjects and this is fine with us. We will liaise with your child’s current school about the most appropriate ways for us to understand your child’s academic strengths and weaknesses.

Before making an offer of a place all prospective pupils will take, at Clayesmore,  a short entrance test in both English and maths. These help us gauge their areas of strengths and weaknesses and are used to advise on whether we are a suitable school for your child and then for future 'setting' purposes.

Students applying for academic scholarships or for a place in the Sixth Form take a wider range of entrance exams.

If you are happy with the outcome of the tour and meeting with the Head, and if the school is happy to progress based on all the information available, we will formally offer your child a place at Clayesmore. 

Both parents (or guardians) will be asked to sign a Parent Contract to accept the offer and you will be asked to pay a deposit of £1000. (£500 if you are moving up from Clayesmore Prep). The deposit is refundable against your final fee invoice, less any outstanding disbursements, though happily many parents choose to donate the remaining deposit to school fundraising projects.

If you have specific questions about the curriculum, how we teach, about sport or any other aspect of the school, the Admissions Office will be able to put you in touch with people who can answer your queries. 

We encourage and welcome questions about all aspects of the school and want you to feel fully informed about everything Clayesmore can offer your child. Do get in touch today!

We have an outstanding and committed team in our Teaching and Learning Centre who work with pupils to ensure they are being supported in every possible way with their academic, personal and social development. We are happy to consider students with a special educational need for a place in the school. However, in order for us to do this properly we require parents to be transparent about their child’s needs and for them to supply all educational assessments which have been undertaken in the preceding five years.

It is important to note that Clayesmore is a mainstream school which requires all pupils to assimilate into their year group easily, productively and with academic achievement in mind. While we have excellent and well-known credentials in SEN, this is not a core provision of the school. 

If you wish to speak with our SENCO to discuss your child's educational needs, please let the Admissions team know.

Clayesmore has recently introduced a new school uniform which has been happily embraced by our pupils throughout the school. The new uniform will be fully adopted through the school in the 2022/23 academic year.

Prep and Senior pupils have a very closely aligned uniform, making it easy for Year 8s to transition to Year 9 without having to purchase too many additional items - unless new sizes are required. Pupils are required to have a blazer (and tie for boys) for our "Sunday Best" events, where full, formal uniform is required to be worn.

The uniform is purchased via the SchoolBlazer website, who are also able to include name tags on all clothing items and can deliver to your home or school for boarders. New families will receive information about this when they join.

Sixth Form students have a dress code to which to adhere. They are required to have a navy "Sunday Best" suit for formal occasions. This can consists of trousers or a skirt, a jacket and white shirt. This suit must be purchased via the School Blazer website. For everyday wear, students are able to wear a business-style navy or dark grey suit of their choosing, with a navy jumper in colder weather, and conservative business style shirt. Shoes should be comfortable black leather.

The school does not operate a second hand uniform shop, but parents often seek to sell uniform when children have outgrown it and this is best monitored via the year group What's App feeds and Facebook forums.

We operate a gender flexible uniform policy at school and do not force children to wear gender specific items - we are happy to discuss options with you if you feel your child would prefer to have a different choice within the range of uniform on offer.