Assessment Process
Senior School Entry at Year 7
As part of our entrance procedure, we will holding an experience day for all Year 7 candidates (ie Year 6 students) on Saturday 15 October, which all candidates are invited to attend. It is highly recommended that Year 7 candidates attend this day to sample a day at New Hall. It will also provide an opportunity to experience the quality of teaching at New Hall and to get to know other prospective candidates who may also join Year 7 at the same time. The purpose of this day is for students to feel comfortable before their examination day and to have a clear idea of what it would be like should they attend New Hall in Year 7. There will also be a meeting for parents to attend which will provide information about matters such as the entrance process and scholarship and bursary awards and the option of a tour.
a) All Year 7 candidates
Entrance examinations in English (multiple choice and a written paper), Mathematics and Verbal Reasoning are held in mid-January for both boys and girls. Sample sheets, the examination entry form and scholarship application form are sent at the beginning of the Michaelmas Term prior to the year of entry, to those who registered to sit the Year 7 assessment. Students registered after this time will be posted these forms/sheets with their registration acknowledgement. The forms should normally be returned at least three weeks prior to the examinations. A report/reference is then requested from the current Headteacher, which is an important part of the assessment process. All candidates will be interviewed, by a senior member of staff on the assessment day. For this interview candidates need to prepare a short presentation or performance (approximately 3 minutes) on a topic of their choice. Those candidates who have asked to be considered for a Special Talent Award should talk about their talent at this interview. A separate time will be organised for special talent candidates to demonstrate their talent where applicable.
b) Year 7 scholarship candidates
Candidates who wish to be considered for a scholarship must complete the scholarship entry form included in the pack. Candidates who wish to be considered for an academic scholarship will be asked to give 2 presentations, the first a three-minute presentation on a topic of their choice if they are also applying for a special talent award, they should talk about their talent at interview and the second a five-minute presentation on a given topic. A letter will be sent to all candidates who wish to be considered for an academic scholarship a week before the assessment to inform them of the topic for their presentation. Assessments for drama, music and sport scholarships are held on a separate day.
Senior School entry at Year 9
The examination entry form and the scholarship application form are sent to all Year 9 candidates who have registered prior to September when they join Year 8. The forms should normally be returned at least three weeks prior to the interview and assessments, which usually take place in late January/early February.
New Hall Year 9 Assessments
All candidates will sit papers in the following subjects: Verbal Reasoning, Mathematics and English. Sample English and Mathematics papers are sent out in advance to all students who have registered. Following these examinations, candidates will be interviewed by a senior member of staff and will be asked to prepare a short presentation on a given topic. A report/reference is also required from the current headteacher. The interview and report/reference are important parts of the assessment process.
Common Entrance
Candidates that are being prepared for Common Entrance examinations by their current school will normally sit these in May/June prior to entry in September. Candidates who are successful in the New Hall Year 9 Assessments will be given a conditional offer of a place subject to Common Entrance examinations. The expected standard in Common Entrance is normally at least 60%.
Year 9 Scholarship candidates
New Hall offers up to 10 scholarships for entry to Year 9. Scholarships are awarded separately for boys and girls i.e. each scholarship is offered for both the Boys’ Division and the Girls’ Division. Candidates wishing to apply for a scholarship will sit additional New Hall examination papers in the following subjects: Humanities, Language (French, Spanish or Latin) and Science, unless they are being prepared for the Common Academic Scholarship Examination (CASE) by their current school. Candidates, who have been prepared for CASE (set by the Independent Schools’ Examination Board (ISEB) at their current preparatory school, will take these examinations at New Hall in February, on a date set by the ISEB. Assessments for drama, music and sport scholarships are held on a separate day.
Entry Requirements for Sixth Form from September 2011 Onwards
To join the Sixth Form, students will need to achieve a minimum of 2 A*/A grades and 4B grades overall at GCSE. For the chosen A Level subjects:
• An A*/A grade at GCSE is desirable; a minimum of a B grade is required
• For Mathematics, an A*/A grade at GCSE is required
• For French and Spanish, an A*/A grade in the GCSE writing paper is required
• For new subjects offered only at A Level, we will consider the relevant GCSEs, such as the History/English grade for Government & Politics, or the Biology/English grade for Psychology, with at least a B grade expected in the related subject/s
Prospective Sixth Form students are encouraged to attend the Sixth Form Admissions Evening Thursday 20 October at 7.00pm, where they will have the opportunity to talk to staff from all A Level subject areas and to current Sixth Form students.
In addition, we review application to work and effort, in order to assess whether a student has the ability and appropriate attitude to cope with the independent study expected at Sixth Form level. Prior to the interview, the following processes should be completed by the student's parents or guardians:
• A registration form completed for the student and returned to the Admissions Department/Registrar with the registration fee of £80.
• A recent school report, a personal statement, details of the student's preferred A Level subject choices and predicted GCSE grades (if known) should be provided.
Students are interviewed individually by the Principal or Head of Sixth Form and recent reports noted. Where a student narrowly misses the entry grades but wishes to join the Sixth Form, each case will be assessed individually; for example, any relevant areas of gifts or talents will also be taken into account. Also, if a student achieves, for example, 9-11 Bs at GCSE but no A*/A grades, this is likely to be considered equivalent to the entry requirement stated above.
Year 12 scholarship candidates
Scholarships are normally awarded between December and February of the year preceding entry and are based on interview, GCSE mock results, written application to the principal, supporting school report and reference.
Overseas candidates
Overseas candidates are invited to apply for entry to the Preparatory and Senior School. For details of the relevant assessment process please contact the Registrar.
International assessments
All overseas students are required to sit entrance examinations at their current school, the local British Council office or at New Hall. All overseas students will eb required to sit papers in English. A Level students will also eb required to sit papers in the subjects they wish to study. We expect students applying for Sixth Form, whose language of instruction has not been English to achieve at least 6.0 IELTS.
Please note that unless there are special circumstances, we normally expect all applicants, including those living overseas, to visit New Hall as part of the admissions process. In exceptional circumstances alternative arrangements may be made. Please contact the registrar for further information.
Guardians
It is a legal requirement that international students have a local guardian who lives in England. The guardian should be someone who speaks good English and who can host you during, at the beginning and end of terms or in the case of an emergency.
This is a standard requirement in most UK Independent Schools.
As part of our entrance procedure, we will holding an experience day for all Year 7 candidates (ie Year 6 students) on Saturday 15 October, which all candidates are invited to attend. It is highly recommended that Year 7 candidates attend this day to sample a day at New Hall. It will also provide an opportunity to experience the quality of teaching at New Hall and to get to know other prospective candidates who may also join Year 7 at the same time. The purpose of this day is for students to feel comfortable before their examination day and to have a clear idea of what it would be like should they attend New Hall in Year 7. There will also be a meeting for parents to attend which will provide information about matters such as the entrance process and scholarship and bursary awards and the option of a tour.
a) All Year 7 candidates
Entrance examinations in English (multiple choice and a written paper), Mathematics and Verbal Reasoning are held in mid-January for both boys and girls. Sample sheets, the examination entry form and scholarship application form are sent at the beginning of the Michaelmas Term prior to the year of entry, to those who registered to sit the Year 7 assessment. Students registered after this time will be posted these forms/sheets with their registration acknowledgement. The forms should normally be returned at least three weeks prior to the examinations. A report/reference is then requested from the current Headteacher, which is an important part of the assessment process. All candidates will be interviewed, by a senior member of staff on the assessment day. For this interview candidates need to prepare a short presentation or performance (approximately 3 minutes) on a topic of their choice. Those candidates who have asked to be considered for a Special Talent Award should talk about their talent at this interview. A separate time will be organised for special talent candidates to demonstrate their talent where applicable.
b) Year 7 scholarship candidates
Candidates who wish to be considered for a scholarship must complete the scholarship entry form included in the pack. Candidates who wish to be considered for an academic scholarship will be asked to give 2 presentations, the first a three-minute presentation on a topic of their choice if they are also applying for a special talent award, they should talk about their talent at interview and the second a five-minute presentation on a given topic. A letter will be sent to all candidates who wish to be considered for an academic scholarship a week before the assessment to inform them of the topic for their presentation. Assessments for drama, music and sport scholarships are held on a separate day.
Senior School entry at Year 9
The examination entry form and the scholarship application form are sent to all Year 9 candidates who have registered prior to September when they join Year 8. The forms should normally be returned at least three weeks prior to the interview and assessments, which usually take place in late January/early February.
New Hall Year 9 Assessments
All candidates will sit papers in the following subjects: Verbal Reasoning, Mathematics and English. Sample English and Mathematics papers are sent out in advance to all students who have registered. Following these examinations, candidates will be interviewed by a senior member of staff and will be asked to prepare a short presentation on a given topic. A report/reference is also required from the current headteacher. The interview and report/reference are important parts of the assessment process.
Common Entrance
Candidates that are being prepared for Common Entrance examinations by their current school will normally sit these in May/June prior to entry in September. Candidates who are successful in the New Hall Year 9 Assessments will be given a conditional offer of a place subject to Common Entrance examinations. The expected standard in Common Entrance is normally at least 60%.
Year 9 Scholarship candidates
New Hall offers up to 10 scholarships for entry to Year 9. Scholarships are awarded separately for boys and girls i.e. each scholarship is offered for both the Boys’ Division and the Girls’ Division. Candidates wishing to apply for a scholarship will sit additional New Hall examination papers in the following subjects: Humanities, Language (French, Spanish or Latin) and Science, unless they are being prepared for the Common Academic Scholarship Examination (CASE) by their current school. Candidates, who have been prepared for CASE (set by the Independent Schools’ Examination Board (ISEB) at their current preparatory school, will take these examinations at New Hall in February, on a date set by the ISEB. Assessments for drama, music and sport scholarships are held on a separate day.
Entry Requirements for Sixth Form from September 2011 Onwards
To join the Sixth Form, students will need to achieve a minimum of 2 A*/A grades and 4B grades overall at GCSE. For the chosen A Level subjects:
• An A*/A grade at GCSE is desirable; a minimum of a B grade is required
• For Mathematics, an A*/A grade at GCSE is required
• For French and Spanish, an A*/A grade in the GCSE writing paper is required
• For new subjects offered only at A Level, we will consider the relevant GCSEs, such as the History/English grade for Government & Politics, or the Biology/English grade for Psychology, with at least a B grade expected in the related subject/s
Prospective Sixth Form students are encouraged to attend the Sixth Form Admissions Evening Thursday 20 October at 7.00pm, where they will have the opportunity to talk to staff from all A Level subject areas and to current Sixth Form students.
In addition, we review application to work and effort, in order to assess whether a student has the ability and appropriate attitude to cope with the independent study expected at Sixth Form level. Prior to the interview, the following processes should be completed by the student's parents or guardians:
• A registration form completed for the student and returned to the Admissions Department/Registrar with the registration fee of £80.
• A recent school report, a personal statement, details of the student's preferred A Level subject choices and predicted GCSE grades (if known) should be provided.
Students are interviewed individually by the Principal or Head of Sixth Form and recent reports noted. Where a student narrowly misses the entry grades but wishes to join the Sixth Form, each case will be assessed individually; for example, any relevant areas of gifts or talents will also be taken into account. Also, if a student achieves, for example, 9-11 Bs at GCSE but no A*/A grades, this is likely to be considered equivalent to the entry requirement stated above.
Year 12 scholarship candidates
Scholarships are normally awarded between December and February of the year preceding entry and are based on interview, GCSE mock results, written application to the principal, supporting school report and reference.
Overseas candidates
Overseas candidates are invited to apply for entry to the Preparatory and Senior School. For details of the relevant assessment process please contact the Registrar.
International assessments
All overseas students are required to sit entrance examinations at their current school, the local British Council office or at New Hall. All overseas students will eb required to sit papers in English. A Level students will also eb required to sit papers in the subjects they wish to study. We expect students applying for Sixth Form, whose language of instruction has not been English to achieve at least 6.0 IELTS.
Please note that unless there are special circumstances, we normally expect all applicants, including those living overseas, to visit New Hall as part of the admissions process. In exceptional circumstances alternative arrangements may be made. Please contact the registrar for further information.
Guardians
It is a legal requirement that international students have a local guardian who lives in England. The guardian should be someone who speaks good English and who can host you during, at the beginning and end of terms or in the case of an emergency.
This is a standard requirement in most UK Independent Schools.
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