Managing the waiting list
When a family lodges an application for entry in the Early Learning Centre, Kindergarten or Year 5, we waitlist the child for every subsequent year to Year 7. For example, if you apply for a place in Kindergarten, we’ll then waitlist your child for every year from Year 1 through to Year 7. The reason for this is that the intakes in the ELC and Prep are quite small, and demand well exceeds capacity.
As an example, you may apply for a place in Kindergarten, but be offered a place in Year 7. If you choose to accept this place your son will hold a place in Year 7 but remain on the waitlist for every year from Kindergarten to Year 6.
It is advisable that your application nominates the intake year that you are certain you want your child to be enrolled at Shore. When we make the initial place offers every intake becomes fully enrolled simultaneously which means an enrolment offer for an early intake cannot be deferred for your child to start in a later intake.
When the initial place offers have been finalised, you are welcome to add your child to the waitlist for earlier entry. As our waitlists are held in order of the age of the child on the day of application, your child will enter any waitlist in that position.
Subsequent place offers
Formal Intake Years
After the initial place offers have been finalised the enrolment in each intake remains stable until we request final confirmation of enrolment from the families holding definite places. We can experience cancellations from this point right through until entry in Term 1 of the intake year. The subsequent vacancies are filled from the waitlist.
Non Intake Years
At any time, and for many reasons, students may leave the school. When this occurs a vacancy is created that becomes available to families on the waitlist. This provides an opportunity for students to enter one of the non-intake years. For the Prep School these years are from Year 1 to Year 4 and Year 6. For the Senior School these years are from Year 8 to Year 11.
As entry to the waitlists for Year 8 to Year 11 is not automatic you will need to request for your son to be added to these lists.
Preparatory School vacancies are filled directly from the waitlist. We understand that our younger students can find a school move to a different environment a little daunting, so we encourage families to visit our Prep School campuses with their child to meet with the Deputy Headmaster. They then have the opportunity of viewing the campus and facilities, talk to the staff and discover the finer details of attending school at Shore.
For the Senior School we review the student numbers for Years 8 to 11 at the beginning of Term 4 every year. If we anticipate vacancies for the following year we write to the entire waitlist for that year group to invite an expression of interest in a place at Shore. As the student will be attending school elsewhere, we ask interested families to send their son’s latest school report, NAPLAN results, a synopsis of his interests in sport and/or the performing arts and any details of community service or similar activity.
Each submission is then reviewed by our Director of Enrolments, Deputy Headmaster of Operations and, if required, our Director of Boarding. Most students are invited to come to the school with their parents for an interview. A place offer is reliant on the interview.