|
Priority
by Aptitude
The Governing Body does not believe that it serves the best interests of parents
and children for an oversubscribed specialist school to have to turn away prospective
pupils with the potential to benefit from Denbigh’s style of education
simply because they do not live in the immediate vicinity of the School.
Nor
do they believe that access for pupils with similar potential to benefit, who
live locally, should be unduly restricted.
The School, therefore, gives
some priority to pupils who might particularly benefit from the School’s
specialism in Technology.
The School Standards and Framework Act 1998 allows every school with a specialism
in a prescribed subject to give priority to up to 10% of pupils who can demonstrate
an aptitude in the relevant subject.
Denbigh
School is a Specialist Technology School:
20 places will be
available on the basis of the aptitude of the applicants for Technology.
This
will be tested by a National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) aptitude
test.
The test is to be open to those living in the Borough of Milton Keynes
regardless of which school they currently attend.
The parents of those children
who wish to apply for one of these places will need to indicate their intention
on the application form and complete a supplementary application form which should
be returned directly to Denbigh by Friday 23rd November 2007.
You will
find a copy of the supplementary application form inserted into this Prospectus.
If
you receive a prospectus that does not contain this form, a copy can be obtained
directly from Denbigh School.
Parents who make an application for one of
these places will be contacted as to the arrangements for the assessment test,
which will be carried out during December 2007.
Testing
for Aptitude:
Denbigh uses a problem-solving test to establish whether a student has an
aptitude for Technology.
These tests are independently produced by the
National Federation for Educational Research (NFER) and are non-verbal problem-solving
tests.
These tests are not directly linked to National Curriculum subjects
but have been specially designed as a way of assessing a child’s potential
to show whether they can think a problem through.
Testing:
If you complete the supplementary admission form, your child will be offered
an opportunity to attend Denbigh School on a Saturday morning in December 2007
to take the test.
You will be notified of the exact date and time of the
test after the deadline for applications has been reached and all applications
have been received.
Please note that only one opportunity will be available
to take the test and it will be important that your son/daughter is available
to take the test at the School on the specified date and time.
Marking
of the Tests:
Test outcomes are standardised by NFER.
The process balances the overall
performance of children in tests from one year to the next and ensures that no
child is unfairly advantaged or disadvantaged because of his or her age. It
takes into account the child’s age in years and months on the day they
take the test.
The Results:
We will inform you of the standardised marks of the test score. This
will be communicated in a letter for despatch on 3rd March 2008.
Results cannot be released to parents over the telephone. Test papers
cannot be viewed by parents.
|
