Occasional Places at Prep Schools: How In-Year and Mid-Phase Entry Works

Occasional places at prep schools are vacancies outside the standard entry points of 4+, 7+ and 11+, and each school states for itself which year groups may have them and when a child can start. The usual first step is to register interest with the school's admissions office, sending your child's current school report and any standardised assessment results. Assessment then depends on a place becoming firmly available, so the admissions page of every school on your list is the document to check before you apply.

What is an occasional place at a prep school?

An occasional place is a vacancy in a year group outside a school's standard entry points, offered when one becomes available. Westminster Under School gives its standard entry points as 4+ (Reception), 7+ (Year 3) and 11+ (Year 7), and says that outside these it does not actively recruit, although there may occasionally be places for pupils to join. Highgate School lists occasional places as an entry route alongside 4+, 7+, 11+ and 16+ (Sixth Form).

Alleyn's Junior School and Alleyn's Oakfield describe formal entry points at 4+, 7+, 9+, 11+ and 16+, which go through the formal admissions process, and treat occasional vacancies as a separate route. A child who is between those points, for example in the middle of a phase, therefore applies through the occasional route, and the school's own page sets out how that route works.

Why do occasional places become available?

Occasional places become available when a current pupil leaves or when pupil numbers allow a school to add children to a year group. Alleyn's Junior School and Alleyn's Oakfield state that an occasional vacancy arises when a current pupil leaves. Highgate School states that, depending on pupil numbers, it sometimes offers additional places into selected year groups. Because both causes sit with the school, no family can predict when a place will open, so the practical step is to register interest with each school you like.

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Which year groups can have occasional places?

The year groups differ by school and by year, because Westminster Under School says availability is published year by year and differs by year group. For the cohorts it lists, its page shows no occasional places in some year groups and possible availability in Years 4, 5 and 6. A Year 8 place is only for a child who already holds a Year 9 place at Westminster School.

Highgate School says it sometimes offers additional places into selected year groups, so the year groups open to your child are a question for its admissions office. Because each school sets its own list, the year groups shown for one school say nothing about another, and where a school lists a year group as possible, the admissions office is the contact to ask whether one is free.

How do you register interest, and what should you send?

Registering interest means contacting the school's admissions office with your child's details, and the route differs between schools. Westminster Under School asks you to email its Registrar with basic details, and says it will not contact your child's current school at that stage. Alleyn's Junior School and Alleyn's Oakfield ask parents to register interest through an online form. The details Westminster names for the first email are listed below.

• Your child's current school
• Their most recent school report
• Any standardised assessment results, such as CATs

What can the assessment for an occasional place include?

The assessment can include electronic testing, written tests in English and Mathematics, a school tour and interview, and a reference from the current headteacher. Westminster Under School sets these out as its second step, which begins if a place becomes firmly available and also asks for a recent school report. The electronic testing may be followed by written tests in English and Mathematics taken in person, which resemble work done by current pupils, and the tour and interview are with a senior member of staff.

Highgate School says each child is asked to attend an assessment or an interview across all its entry points, and Alleyn's says it invites children for assessment and/or interview, as appropriate, when a vacancy arises. Westminster adds that a child must be of an academically equal standard to current Under School pupils and suited to a stimulating, questioning, fast-paced environment. The format therefore varies, and the school's own page is the guide.

Westminster states that children who sat the 7+ or 8+ there normally must sit the 11+ instead. That wording shows that a child who sat a standard entry test at a school may be directed to the next standard entry point, so ask the admissions office to confirm the position for your child before you apply for an occasional place.

For one-to-one preparation for an occasional-place assessment, read about our 7+ tutors for English, maths and reasoning, or tell us about your child and the schools on your list and we will reply with tutor recommendations.

Can a child join an occasional place mid-year, or only in September?

It depends on the school, because Westminster says pupils join only in September and do not join mid-year, whilst Highgate School says it sometimes offers additional places during the academic year. Latymer Prep School says it does not generally hold formal occasional place assessment days. Because schools differ, the admissions page of each school is the place to confirm when a child could start.

How do waiting lists and occasional vacancy lists work?

A waiting list holds candidates who sat the formal assessment and were not offered a place, and an occasional vacancy list holds candidates who have registered interest. Alleyn's states that some candidates who are not offered a place may be placed on a waiting list and reconsidered on their assessment results if a vacancy arises. The list remains active until the September after the assessments, when remaining candidates can join the occasional vacancy list.

A candidate on the occasional vacancy list is contacted for a fresh assessment if a place becomes available before the next formal assessment point. The same assessment process and standard apply at both Alleyn's schools, and a candidate who wants both sits once with one registration, with places allocated by school preference. Alleyn's states that decisions on places are final, with no right of appeal, and other schools' pages may set out different arrangements, so ask each admissions office whether it keeps a list of this kind.

What should a family moving into the area do?

A family moving into the area can start by reading the occasional places wording on each school's admissions page, then contacting every admissions office with the same set of documents so that each school receives identical information about your child. Westminster Under School and Alleyn's state requirements that differ in detail, so each school's own page decides what applies.

• Gather proof that your child can live and study in the UK, which Westminster says must be supplied.
• Let your child's current headteacher know that a reference may be requested.
• Ask each school whether it keeps a list for later vacancies.
• Note each school's reply on year groups and joining month so that you can compare them.

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