Age-Grade Placement

Out-of-grade placements are considered very carefully, and on a case-by-case basis, using the following guidelines. 

Above-grade placements are only considered for students born between September and December who wish to apply for Grade 9 or above.

Below-grade placements are considered in K2 to Grade 11, for students born between May and August. Applicants for below-grade placement typically have an educational history of below-grade placement at their current school.

Infant School (K1–Grade1) out of grade placement requests, we require a full application submission and review process to be able to assess the applicants’ suitability, including conducting any assessments identified in the application review process. Please note that above-grade placements will not be considered under any circumstances for any of our Infant School grades (K1, K2, Grade 1).

Typically a below-grade placement will not be considered to support a child’s English Language proficiency development or to provide the student additional time to meet grade-level expectations.

All out-of-grade placement requests for Boarding applicants are carefully reviewed in relation to the student’s suitability for the Boarding environment.

There are two ways to request an out-of-grade placement: 

1. If the below- or above-grade placement being requested is within our guideline parameters (outlined above) you can request consideration through the online application system before submitting (paying for) your application. This ‘pre-submission’ means we can advise you on whether or not we will accept the application to join the proposed grade and progress to assessing the application within the entry criteria for that grade.

2. In the case of Infant School (K2–Grade1) below-grade placement requests, we require a full application submission and review process to be able to assess the applicants’ suitability, including conducting any assessments identified in the application review process. Note that we do not consider a student for entry to K1 if they do not meet our age-grade boundary requirements. Before opening an application for an Infant School out of grade placement, please email Admissions to explain your request and we will guide you through the process. 

3. If the below-or above-grade placement being requested is outside of our guideline parameters, please email Admissions to explain why you would like your child to be considered for an out-of-grade placement. For example, that the below- or above-grade placement would be in line with your child's educational history, or grade placement in their previous school. Once we have reviewed your request, we will then advise if, and how, to proceed with an application.

We ask all families to provide school reports for the past two years to support the request. This means we will be looking for reports which support the request to join the grade being proposed within the holistic learning programme which all students in that grade engage in. 

Approval to submit an application for out-of-grade placement is not a guarantee that the applicant will be offered an out-of-grade placement.

A final decision will only be made after a full review of the application, which may include assessments and an interview.