Can you get a rejection after a taster day at private prep?

[RedWaterlilly]

DD (in Reception) had a taster day 3 weeks ago at a private prep. Before she was offered a taster day I had an interview with the Head teacher, I had to provide DD's latest school report (plus her previous nurseries) and I believe they've asked for references from her current state school.

I've not heard from them since then so I have no idea how DD did apart from what DD told me (she loved it).

I've emailed the school last week but they said they've not had a chance to look into the admission applications.

It's really keeping me awake at night as we love this school and have no other options unless we want to travel quite a bit further. I thought it would be quite straightforward. Could I child get a rejection after a taster day? They had about 10 places in Reception (across 2 classes) when she went for the taster day a d there was one other girl having a taster day at the same time.

But didn’t you start pretty much this exact same thread a few days ago?

What is the point of another? Nothing anyone says here will make any difference. Either the school will accept your daughter or it won’t.

Varies I suppose.
When DS had his taster day there was a girl there doing the same. We were both waiting outside The Heads office for them and the teacher who brought them back said to the other Mum thanks for coming, we will be in touch whereas we were asked to go into the Heads office and offered a place on the spot. DS isn’t exceptionally academically but he’s very outgoing and charming, plus his sister was already there and VERY academic so that might have made a difference.
Of course the other child may have been offered a place too later, I have no idea who she was.
The school you applied to will have its own procedures so not hearing yet doesn’t really mean anything either way

Sorry?

The point of the tester day is to find out if the school is a good fit for the child and vice versa. The tester day is probably more important and significant than a previous school report.

The school could definitely say that they don’t think your child is suitable and not offer a place. When my daughter was 6 she went into a private prep for a tester day and I was told when I picked her up that she would be offered a place. They had already seen reports and had a reference from her old school though and it took another week or so for the formal offer to be sent out.

I feel like I’ve read this before too. If you haven’t posted twice there’s someone else in the same boat (maybe the other girl’s mum, who knows!). But yes you can get a rejection, because aside from obvious discrimination, privates can do what they like and if there are 10 places and more than 10 applicants then obviously not everyone will get offers. However, they should have been clear about what the admissions process is, when you can expect to hear, if there’s a waitlist etc.

they said they've not had a chance to look into the admission applications.

Sounds fishy to me - they’re usually all over admissions as that’s their basic source of revenue! When my DD transferred to a different prep school, she went in for an assessment rather than a taster day. I was told the admissions team would be in touch and I got a phone call the following day to offer her a place. I’d be inclined to phone and see if you can speak to someone.

Thank you, sorry I've not see the other thread! I'm sure I'm not the only mum with a child who had a taster day this month.

Not sure on this school policy, they do seem a bit slow in general, I'm assuming they are very busy.

Taster Day can mean slightly different things.

In some schools it’s another name for a trial or effectively interview day. It determines if an offer is made and usually includes some assessment, even if very informally done.

In other schools, parents have reserved a place and paid a deposit possibly years before. The taster is more like an acclimatisation day.

In some schools it’s a bit of a marketing exercise to enthuse children who might be visiting several schools to make them love that particular school….although no doubt the school are keeping an eye out for anyone who especially impresses or stands out negatively.

Some of this depends on how competitive the school is. Some Preps have empty places or aren’t over subscribed and will take almost anyone who will pay. Others can afford to be much more selective as they are very over subscribed.

Usually, their communication is very good. They tend to be speedy in getting back to you and making offers as they usually want you to commit and pay a deposit. Slowness could mean they aren’t so efficient or it could be a sign that they have more applicants than places and your child just might not be one of their very top choices. It’s hard to know.

I guess I’d have asked when I should expect to hear. Some schools have a longer turnaround if they are interviewing or doing taster days over a longer period. They want to see everyone before making decisions. Others let people know almost immmediatly. We don’t know what the timescale is with this school. You could have asked this when the trial day happened, or when you recently made contact. You probably feel you don’t want to make further contact now to ask just that question. However, if you haven’t heard by the end of the week, a quick email asking that question wouldn’t be out of place. Check back in any communication you’ve had about the process, just in case they have said more about timescales and you’ve missed it.

Hope you get the place if it’s the school you really love.

www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4729110-to-ask-how-long-to-wait-to-get-an-offer-from-private-school?reply=123413194

Because you are applying for an in-year place which will start mid-reception, rather than for a September place when the main intake would have been, I’d expect an answer sooner.

The fact there are 10 vacant places in Reception is odd. It suggests the school isn’t that popular. I’d have thought that they would be biting your hand off and offering you a place for after half term, if they want your child. So the delay is a bit peculiar.

The £100 reg fee is simply that….a fee to cover the admin of your application. There is no guarantee of anything beyond they will look at your application and child.

OP, can you think of any reasons why the school might not be biting off your hand, to take your child? If it’s mid year, there aren’t likely to be loads of other applicants wanting a place after Easter. Is there anything about them or anything their current school might have mentioned that’s making them think twice? You can’t discriminate on the grounds of disability but some schools will be more reluctant to take some children than others.

Hope it all works out.

I'm really not sure why wouldn't they be biting my hand. I'd have expected an answer sooner too. It's quite a posh school although I don't think everyone going there is super rich, it's a mixed bag.

We are quite modest people (don't drive fancy cars, don't spend a lot on expensive stuff) but can afford private schooling iyswim (no mortgage, lots of savings).

DD presents quite well, is very likable, articulate and relatively bright.

Have they definitively told you that there are 10 spaces up for grabs? Just checking in case you’ve made an assumption based on something like reception have 2 classes of 12 but further up the school there’s more like 20-25 per class, because they could be planning on merging the classes, so it’s nothing like 10 places available. It’s just huge number of spaces to have available part way through reception, suggesting the school is way under capacity, so I’d not only be concerned about profitability but I agree it’s really odd that they’re not biting your hand off to enroll DD, presuming you’re not utterly deluded about what she’s like of course!

That’s weird OP.

We moved to a Prep mid-year. It was a verrrrry slow process, 2 months from initial enquiry to starting first day, but most of that was the admin lady being lazy/busy.

But, it speeded up after the taster day. We had taster day on Monday and were told then that we would have a decision within 48 hrs. They called Tuesday morning to offer a place and she started 7 days later. So I’m not sure what to suggest except you need a verbal conversation with the head of admissions to find out what’s going on.

If they have ten spaces available mid year, then it sounds like there may be an issue with the financing viability of the school. That could result in shortstaffing, which might help to explain the delay. I would proceed with caution. Maybe have a look at their latest published accounts?

Definitely odd that they aren’t super responsive. At my DC’s prep school children came for taster days as it was a two way process. The children/ parents got a chance to size up the school before committing thousands in fees and the teachers had the opportunity to suss out behaviour, undeclared SENs etc. Sometimes the parents or the school decided not to take it any further.

Might the school be looking to restructure or even close? Ten vacant places in Reception would ring alarm bells for me as they aren’t getting the numbers in they planned for. Are you hoping to start in the summer term?

My suspicion is that they’ve offered the place elsewhere (eg to a sibling with priority) and are waiting to hear whether that family are accepting it. When our school’s waiting list gets silent and mysterious it is often because the parent of a sibling-link child is dithering.

This, definitely. They're struggling.

One of ours took about two weeks to get back to us with the offer of a place.
On the other hand, another well-known school totally blanked my request in October to book a taster day, then when I emailed in December to follow up they said all the places had gone for the year, then last week I got a mass email from them about their next taster day. So.... at some point they were lying. I'm not taking it personally, my child is fabulous and I know it.
I wouldn't be emailing anyone to chase up so soon after, though, you don't want them to think you're "that" parent. Do you have any other local options?

When we visited the school in the beginning of Jan they said there are 22 places in each Reception class, but they had 16 kids in one class and 17 in the other (so that makes 11, excuse my maths). I didn't think of it negatively, I was pleased with the small classes.

My DD had very good reports from her school and nurseries plus she's very chilled and well behaved and I'm assuming they offered her a taster day based on that rather than what I told them about her.

Thank you. No, I won't be following up, one email should have given them the message that we are keen.

It is very upsetting at the time. I remember with our first children. Just hope for the best and it will probably be fine even if she goes somewhere else. One of our girls (grown up now) had a group assessment first which went well and then a one to one interview. It was clear both were part of the assessment and if you failed the group thing you didn't get the interview.
Our second child did not get into the same school at 5 but got into a very similar one at 7+ and it all worked out fine in the end.

16 + 17 is too many to merge, even with a couple of leavers, but is few enough to accommodate at least a couple more, so you’re probably not wrong on there being spaces and those aren’t numbers that would particularly concern me re finances. Good luck and hope you get good news soon!

Thank you x

They can reject her, yes, but there doesn't seem to be any reason why they would. I wouldn't worry about it, I'd just think that their admin is slow/shit. Probably they don't have enough staff as they don't want to pay them.

@ReamsOfCheese There are a few other options, not very local though. But I don't think I'd want to put DD through another taster day if she gets a rejection here. She loved it and wants to go to that school now.