In general, assessment will take the following form:

a) Lower School Entrants
Work to assess reading, writing and spelling ability, mathematical ability (using mathematics tracking for the relevant year).

b) Middle School Entrants
Work to establish reading and spelling age as well as current ability in Mathematics (using current term’s NNS paper).

c) Senior School Entrants
Work in English (reading and writing) and Mathematics at a level appropriate to that of the group they would be joining plus verbal and non-verbal reasoning testing. SATs results from KS2 & 3 tests together with CATS or MidYis data and any GCSE assignments carried out will also form an essential part of the entry process. This information will determine the ability set which the student will join if offered a place.

In all cases the behaviour of a prospective student will be observed during the day visit to establish that the school is capable of catering for his or her needs satisfactorily and that his or her admission to the school is compatible with the learning of others.

A place will not be offered to any prospective student until all required information relating to behaviour and academic results to date has been received from the student’s previous school and assessed to the school’s satisfaction. The support of parents will be sought as necessary to obtain the required information from current or previous schools.

Admission to Hill House School is also based on the following criteria:

• The completion of a signed declaration by all prospective parents, which informs the School of all known Special Educational Needs of the prospective student(s) concerned
• A parental agreement for their child(ren) to attend Learning Support lessons as decreed necessary by the School
• Hill House School reserves the right to refuse entry into Reception to Year 10 or to refuse further progression up the school if the School's structure, in the opinion of the Principal and teachers, does not meet the educational, pastoral and social needs of the student concerned.

Hill House School will not accept applications for admission as follows:

• When application for a September place is made during the summer holiday period. In this instance, with all schools on holiday, it is not possible to assess a prospective student fully or to obtain the necessary information from previous schools. Any such application would be considered at the start of the new term.
• Students in KS4 applying for a place later than the first term of Year 10, except where: parents are relocating to the Doncaster area; the options offered by the school are compatible with those which are already being studied, and evidence can be produced of an acceptable standard of GCSE assignments to date. In such cases, entry will be considered up to the end of Year 10.