Admissions
How to get a place at Hillcrest in Year 7, during the school year or in the sixth form.
Three ways in
Most students join in Year 7, but there are places in other years and many students join us for the sixth form.
Year 7, September
Apply by 31 October (sample)
Apply through the council’s common application for secondary schools, not to us directly. Offers come on 1 March.
Years 8 to 11, during the year
Apply any time
Ask the admissions office whether there is a place in your child’s year. If there is, your child can usually start within three weeks.
Year 12, sixth form
Apply by 31 January (sample)
Apply to us directly, whether you are at Hillcrest or another school. Offers depend on the grades you get in August.
Year 7 entry, step by step
If there are more applications than places, places go first to children in care, then brothers and sisters, then by distance from the school (sample admissions criteria).
- Visit. Come to an open evening or a tour in September or October.
- Apply. Name us on the council’s secondary application by 31 October.
- Offer. Places are offered on 1 March; accept within two weeks.
- Meet us. Two induction days in July and a summer barbecue for families.
- Start. Year 7 starts a day before everyone else in September.
Open events
Book a place so we can plan the tours; walk-ins are welcome if there is room.
Thu 6 Nov
Open evening for Year 7, September entry
Talks by the headteacher at 18:00 and 19:00, every department open
17:30–20:00
Thu 20 Nov
Sixth form open evening
Meet subject teachers and current Year 13 students
18:00–20:00
Tue and Thu
School tours in term time
Small groups, led by sixth-form students
9:15–10:30
Dates for this year’s admissions round (sample).
Uniform and costs
Blazer with badge
$32
Two school polo shirts
$14
PE kit, top and shorts
$25
Hot lunch
$2.60 a day
Instrument lessons
Group lessons, 30 minutes a week
$90 a term
Example prices.
Help with costs
Free school meals and a uniform grant are available for families on lower incomes, and nobody misses a trip because of money. Ask the office in confidence.
The uniform shop in school is open on Wednesday afternoons; second-hand uniform is free.
Admissions questions
We live outside the catchment area. Can we still apply?
Yes. You can name any school on the council application; places go by the admissions criteria, and distance is only one of them.
Can we visit during a normal school day?
Yes. Tours run on Tuesday and Thursday mornings in term time, so you see real lessons.
What if we move to Springfield during the year?
Contact the admissions office. If there is a place in your child’s year, we arrange a visit and a start date within three weeks.
Do you have a waiting list?
Yes, held by the council for Year 7 and by us for other years, ranked by the admissions criteria.
Come and see a school day
Tours run on Tuesday and Thursday mornings in term time, led by two sixth-form students. You see lessons in progress, the labs, the library and lunch.