Admissions Process
Our Admissions Process is detailed in our How To Apply Guide.
There are a number of entry points to St James, as well as occasional entry to a year group subject to availability:
2+ Admission to our nursery is non-selective and children can join at the age of two. Places are offered in order of registration, whilst ensuring an even spread of birth dates, an even number of boys and girls and our sibling priority policy. Places are offered approximately 2 terms before the child is due to start.
All our nursery children are with us 5 sessions a week and we encourage this to move to full day sessions the term before they join the Reception class. There is automatic entry from our nursery to Reception at St James Prep.
4+
Reception 2024 Places: There are still some places available for 2024 entry. Please contact Admissions admissions@stjamesprep.co.uk about availability.
We recommend that you register your child for entry into Reception when they are between the ages of one and two years old. We contact all parents who have registered for a place to join our Reception class one year prior to entry. There is no formal test. We require a satisfactory report from your child’s current nursery school if applicable, and all children must attend a Taster Morning with their parents before a place is offered. Priority for our Reception class is given to our nursery pupils and siblings of current pupils.
7/8+ A number of children join St James Prep in Year 3 and Year 4 so that they can benefit from our 11+ provision while also having the option to continue to our Senior Schools should they wish. We like to think this is the best of both worlds. Please contact admissions@stjamesprep.org.uk if you would like further details on the 7+/8+ admissions process.
Occasional Places
Entry to Years 1 – 6 is dependent on places becoming available during the course of the academic year. You are most welcome to register your child for an occasional place in any other year group.
Any child entering the Prep School in Year 2 upwards will need to spend a day at school and take a formal assessment in mathematics, verbal reasoning and English before a place is offered.
To register your child for a place at St James Prep & Nursery school, please complete our online registration form and pay a non-refundable fee of £125 per child.
Payment of the registration fee should be completed by bank transfer (details provided in the online form).
Registrar
Ashleigh Bagnall
Email: admissions@stjamesprep.co.uk
Call: 0207 348 1793