admissions

Welcome to The Blue Coat School, a leading private school in Birmingham. We look forward to helping you with the admissions process for your child. Joining a new school can be daunting, but we aim to make the admissions process as informative, stress-free and enjoyable as possible!

The main entry points to Blue Coat are at age 3 and age 7.

Outside of these ages, children can join if places arise from current pupils leaving the school, but this is very rare and we have waiting lists for most age groups.

 

Please select the age group via the buttons below to see the admissions process for your child. 

1

VISIT US

We believe it is essential to come and visit The Blue Coat School. To enter through the gates and experience our wonderful campus, meet the staff and begin to imagine your child here.

We will happily arrange a tour for you during the School day. Tours take place between 9am and 3pm, so that you can see the School in action.

There will also be an Open Morning on Saturday 11 January 2025 if you would prefer to visit the School on a weekend.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

BOOK A VISIT

The exterior of The Blue Coat School
The exterior of The Blue Coat School

2

APPLY

We recommend applying within the child’s first month of birth for entry at age 3 (into Nursery). Please note, we cannot accept applications for unborn children.

 

The deadline for applying for Nursery2027 is Monday 23 September 2024.

 

After Nursery, usually the next available entry point is for Year 3 (age 7). Entry to the School at all other stages is subject to availability and you will be placed on a waiting list until a space becomes available.

Apply To Blue Coat School

3

Nursery Readiness Evaluation

In the Autumn preceding your child’s year of entry, your child will be invited to a Nursery Readiness Evaluation session.

 

This gives your child the opportunity to play in a small group, meet some of the teachers and become familiar with the School.

 

At this session, parents will complete an information form with a teacher regarding their child’s developmental progress to date, their personal interests and if there are any special educational needs for the School to accommodate. 

A girl playing with toys at The Blue Coat School's Stay and Play admissions event.

4

Offer Confirmed

Following the Nursery Readiness Evaluation, an offer of a place will be made if the child is physically, emotionally and socially ready to participate and progress at The Blue Coat School.

A £1,000 deposit is required upon acceptance of your offer. 50% of this deposit will be returned via a £500 deduction from your first school invoice. The remaining £500 deposit will be held until your child leaves the school.

Two girls smiling in the Nursery classroom at The Blue Coat School.

5

Welcome Events

Going to school is a big step in your child’s life. We want to make sure it is embraced with excitement and confidence. You and your child will be invited to a series of welcome events to establish a familiar relationship between children, parents and teachers before their first day of School. 

 

Parents Information Evening: This session will be led by the Headmaster and Deputy Head of Pre-Prep to give you all of the practical information about preparing for The Blue Coat School. 

 

Forest School Experience: This session is for children to come to the School and have a wonderful time exploring Forest School with other children joining their year group, whilst parents will get the opportunity to meet their child’s new Class Teacher. 

 

Moving Up Day: Children will be invited to School for half a day, to see their new classroom, meet their new teacher and meet their new class friends.

 

Parent & Teacher Meeting: The day before School starts, parents will be invited to come in and meet their Class Teacher again. 

A boy playing in the trees at the Forest School Experience, a welcome event for children joining The Blue Coat School.

6

Waiting List

As The Blue Coat School is usually oversubscribed, if your child’s application is not received before the deadline, or the school is oversubscribed with applications from within the first month of birth, you may be placed on the waiting list. We will contact you via telephone if a place becomes available after the Nursery Readiness sessions, or at a later point. 

 

You will be contacted annually to confirm that you would like to remain on the waiting list. 

A boy in Nursery smiling at the camera holding a numicon shape.

1

VISIT US

We believe it is essential to come and visit The Blue Coat School, to enter through the gates and experience our wonderful campus, meet the staff and begin to imagine your child here. 

We will happily arrange a tour for you during the School day. Tours take place between 9am and 3pm, so that you can see the School in action.

There will also be an Open Morning on Saturday 11 January 2025 if you would prefer to visit the School on a weekend.

VISIT THE BLUE COAT SCHOOL

The exterior of The Blue Coat School
The exterior of The Blue Coat School

2

APPLY

We welcome approximately 20 new children into Year 3 each September at Blue Coat. 

 

The first stage is the 7+ exam which involves maths and English tests. This will take place on Saturday 1 February 2025.

 

The admissions process ensures that children who join Year 3 will be happy learners who will thrive at Blue Coat. 

 

Admission at age 7 is academically selective, therefore, offers will be subject to the child’s score on the 7+ test. 

 

The second stage of the 7+ admissions process is an experience day for the child where they will spend a whole day at Blue Coat. This gives children the opportunity to meet fellow pupils, teachers and become familiar with the school. 

 

Parents will be invited for a meeting with a member of the Senior Leadership Team so we can begin to get to know each other.

 

The deadline for applying for Year 3 2025 in Friday 17 January 2025.

Apply

Two pupils writing at a desk in the classroom.

3

OFFER CONFIRMED

Following the experience day, observations and classroom assessments will be combined with the 7+ exam results and offers of a place will be made. 

A £1,000 deposit is required upon acceptance of your offer. 50% of this deposit will be returned via a £500 deduction from your first school invoice. The remaining £500 deposit will be held until your child leaves the school.

A boy smiles over at the teacher in the classroom with other children working in the background.

4

SCHOLARSHIPS

At The Blue Coat School Birmingham, we offer several scholarships to children entering Year 3 each year, awarding both academic and musical excellence. 

 

Both internal and external pupils are eligible to apply, however, external pupils must meet the requirements of the 7+ admissions criteria before a scholarship can be awarded. 

Find out more about Scholarships

A boy playing the violin in The Blue Coat School Chapel.

5

BURSARIES

The Blue Coat School has a bursary fund which supports up to 30 children at any one time. There are children benefiting from 100% fees discount, along with a number of smaller awards. Bursaries are means tested and will take into account things such as your total household income, equity, number of siblings etc.

 

A 100% Bursary will cover all school fees, a uniform allowance, plus two extra curricular activities e.g. a club or an instrumental lesson in school.

 

Bursaries are available to children from Year 3.

 

Please note, applications for children entering Year 3 in September 2024 have now closed. Applications for younger children who will be applying for Year 3 from 2025 onwards are welcome to apply.

Find out more about bursaries

Two girls walking down the corridor and smiling at the camera.

6

WELCOME EVENTS

Moving schools is a big change in a child’s life. To ensure they embrace the change with excitement and confidence, both you and your child will be invited to a series of welcome events. 

 

Welcome to Prep: This information session, delivered by the Head and Deputy Head of Prep, is for parents of pupils joining the school in Years 3 to 6. It will provide you with all of the practical information about joining The Blue Coat School. 

 

Moving Up Day: Every pupil in School takes part in Moving Up Day, including new pupils joining the school. This gives them the opportunity to go to their new classroom, get to know their new Form Tutor and for new pupils, meet their class friends. 

 

The most exciting part of Moving Up Day is the House Sorting Ceremony. On this day, all children entering Year 3 find out which of the six Houses they will be in. 

 

Welcome Afternoon 

The day before School starts, all Year 3 pupils, new and returning, are invited into School for the afternoon to prepare for the new academic year.

A girl sits in front of the sorting hat at the House Sorting Ceremony.

7

WAITING LIST

Children who do not receive an offer at this stage can be added to the waiting list.

 

You will be contacted annually to confirm that you would like to remain on the waiting list. 

A girl looks over at a boy as they share feelings cards in a pastoral session in the Lighthouse.

1

APPLY

The two main entry points to The Blue Coat School are aged 3 for Nursery and aged 7 for Year 3. For this reason, we recommend applying as soon as possible after birth, or once your child enters Year 2.

 

Outside of these two key entry points, there are rarely spaces within the School. Therefore, your application will be added to the waiting list should a place become available. 

Apply

Three girls walk along with their arms around each other and laughing.
Three girls walk along with their arms around each other and laughing.

2

WAITING LIST

We will contact those on the waiting list as soon as a place becomes available, but this does not always happen within an academic year. However, if a place becomes available mid-year, we do encourage children to start as soon as possible and not wait for the start of the next academic year.

 

There is no numerical order to our waiting list. Should a place arise in a given age group, priority is given to any children who have siblings currently at the School, followed by children with siblings who have provisional places to join the School in future years. 

 

If there are no siblings to consider, allocation is then based on how soon families have applied after birth. 

 

There is therefore no need to apply for the waiting list each year. If no places arise in a given year then we will let you know and will check whether you would like your child to remain on our waiting list for the following year. 

 

Children on the waiting list under the age of 6 will be invited to take the 7+ Entry Test for admission into Year 3.

A girl stands with colour rings on her fingers and a boy sits next to her playing at the desk.

3

ADMISSIONS PROCESS

For entry into the School outside of Nursery and the 7+ Exam, children will be invited into school to complete an age-appropriate entry test for maths and English. Parents will also be invited to meet with the Headmaster. 

 

If the child meets academic expectations, they will receive an offer to join subject to references from their current school. 

 

A £1,000 deposit is required upon acceptance of your offer. 50% of this deposit will be returned via a £500 deduction from your first school invoice. The remaining £500 deposit will be held until your child leaves the school.

A girl singing from a hymn book in The Blue Coat School Chapel.

Fees

Pre-Prep fees include morning snacks, lunch, school from 8am until 3.30pm (or 1.10pm for part-time Nursery children) and tuition according to the standard timetable. As well as the provision of most educational materials, textbooks, technology, scientific and sports equipment. From Reception, the fees also include weekly swimming lessons in the School’s 25-metre pool.

Prep fees include: snacks, lunch, before and after school care from 8am to 5.45pm and tuition according to the standard timetable. Swimming lessons, the provision of most educational materials, textbooks, a personal iPad and access to other technology, scientific and most sports equipment is also included.

VIEW FEES

Three girls walking away from the camera with their arms around each other.

Bursaries

The Blue Coat School, Birmingham, was founded as a Charity School in 1722.

To this day we continue to financially support children to attend The Blue Coat School with bursaries of up to 100% of school fees. These are awarded each year to children entering Year 3 in September.

APPLY FOR A BURSARY

VISIT US

We warmly welcome you to visit the School before applying so you can experience our wonderful campus, meet the staff and begin to imagine your child here.

Visit Us

CONTACT ADMISSIONS

We hope this page has provided you with a helpful overview of the admissions process. If you have any queries before you apply, we welcome you to contact our Admissions Office on 0121 410 6807 or admissions@thebluecoatschool.com to find out more about life at Blue Coat, availability of places and the admissions process. 

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