Acceptance of offer - prep school

[WindyRoses]

We have been given our first assessment day for one of the 3 schools we've registered DD at. I think it's actually our 3rd choice, with the other 2 being preferred - however, just wanted some insight on the offers and acceptance deposits.

I presume that shortly after the assessment days, the offer is sent, which means potentially many months between the 2 schools we're looking at (one says their assessment days will be in September 2025, the other says Jan 2026!)

The acceptance deposit for all 3 is averaging around £800. We can't really justify paying the £800 for school 1 and then again school 2, as precaution in case she doesn't get accepted to school 3.
So I guess we have to almost decide when / if school 1 offers us a place that we take it there and then?, or reject, and keep fingers crossed that she's offered a space at #2 or #1? Gulp. Seems risky...

Seems daft to have so much time spaced between the schools, especially when they're all within 15 miles of each other

You are correct. You either accept school 1 and pay up or decline and take a chance on getting one of the other two. It’s the game they play. DS went to private school at 11 and his school made their offers before Christmas. However it was the only school we really wanted so were happy to accept and pay.

Eeek. Thought as much. I think school 2 is the one we're wanting, so we may use school 1's day as a practise, and reject (if) we get an offer and keep fingers crossed for 2.
Oh the stress and she's not even 3 yet. Can't imagine what it'll be like when university applications come rolling round!

So annoying when schools in an area do not try to align their assessment schedules. I feel your pain. Not sure how in demand these schools are, but a possibility is to decline the offer from the first and ask to be placed on the waitlist. If they are not oversubscribed then they might be amenable. If they aren't and it's not your first choice, then I would just use the assessment as practice so by the time you get to your first choice assessment you feel more confident.

It will be deliberate - the less competitive schools in an area often set their deadlines earliest so that they can lock in pupils (or at least, hold on to deposits).

It’s shitty but there’s no real way around it. You need to mark a call on whether you can afford to lose the deposit vs how confident you are about your preferred schools.

That makes a lot of sense, the assessment day in June is for a school that seems to have the reputation as a mopper-upper for last chance saloon.
We'll use it as a practise session and hope the extra months before the next one will help!

Be aware that the deposit is often not just the deposit but also the first term of fees- read any paperwork very carefully.

I recently went through an assessment process but it was outside of the usual admissions cycle. We were given two weeks to accept or reject the place and pay the deposit. You might find that there is a longer acceptance deadline for main admission points if you’re going for reception entry. From your other thread, this assessment day seems incredibly early.

Depends where you are but a large percentage of private schools are a long way from full right now. With many schools you could sign up the day before term started (or mid term) and still get a place. So you could just not pay the deposit and ask for a place when you know you want it.

But I know there are still lots of others, esp in cities, which fill up with waiting lists.

If they 'mop up' kids then why do they need an assessment day? Are they weeding out children with special needs or is it to give the impression of competition? If they are likely to have places left, you could gamble on that.