We are thrilled to welcome families to Copthorne Prep and offer a range of different ways to visit our school. Physical and virtual visitor events along with private tours for individual families are a great opportunity to see our school and meet our team.
Click here to see our latest visitor events
Joining a school, particularly if it is your child’s first school, can sometimes feel a little daunting. We hope this step by step summary helps to explain what happens at each stage of the journey. Our Registrar, Kathryn Billingham-West, will be happy to assist you with any aspect of joining Copthorne Prep and can be contacted at admissions@copthorneprep.co.uk or by telephone on 01342 859954. Our main points of entry are Nursery, Reception and Year 3. For entry into all other year groups, please contact Kathryn directly.
Visitor Events
We run open events throughout the academic year and invite all prospective families to attend. They are a great opportunity to see our school and facilities as well as meeting our senior leadership and admissions teams.
Private Tours
Our individual tours are unique and tailored to you and your family. We strongly recommend a visit to Copthorne Prep to experience all we offer. Taking place during the working week, you will meet with the Headmaster and have the opportunity to see our school in action.
Through School Education to Sixth Form – Early Offers to Caterham School
Copthorne pupils benefit from early offers to Caterham School in Year 5. At all visitor events, the Headmaster and members of our senior team will be on hand to talk you through the smooth transition process to Caterham without the need to sit the 11+ exam. As a leading local prep school, we also support applications to a wide range of senior schools with expert guidance for your child.
Make an Application
The next step is to fill out our application form which can be found here. The application and payment is confirmed to you by email along with a notification that your child has joined the relevant assessment list.
For a place in our Nursery, we recommend that you apply for your child by the age of 18 months and for entry into Reception by the age of three. Children entering Year 3 in the prep school should be registered with us by the beginning of Year 2.
Taster sessions
Once registered, we will invite your child to attend either a taster session or a full taster day, depending upon their age. As part of the taster experience, we will assess the children either informally or formally depending upon the age of the child. Whilst we do not formally assess children joining us in the Nursery or starting Reception, informal observations will be carried out during the taster session (usually a morning which lasts about three hours). Children joining the school during their Reception year upwards will be invited to spend a full day at Copthorne Prep, with their peer group, during which some assessment work will be carried out in reading, writing, spelling and mathematics. We will also request a report from their current school or nursery if applicable.
Formal offer
Subject to the availability of places, a satisfactory taster day session and report from your child’s school or nursery, a place will be formally offered by letter.
