St Andrew's Cathedral School

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Enrolment process

At St Andrew's Cathedral School we passionately believe each and every child matters. Not for what they bring, but for who they are. We encourage you to come on a tour and see for yourself.

Enrolling your child

We warmly invite you to consider St Andrew’s Cathedral School. 

We understand that choosing a school for your son or daughter is a significant decision for any family. Our friendly Enrolments team is highly experienced in assisting families to navigate this very important decision. 

To get an understanding of our unique city school we offer tours and events throughout the year so that parents and potential students can see us in action on a normal school day. During your visit, you will have the opportunity to meet the Head of School, or a member of the School Executive, hear from students directly, and see a snapshot of a day in the life of our school community.

Please note that due to high demand, bookings are essential. If you are urgently seeking enrolment for next year or have any questions at all, please submit an enquiry and our Enrolments team will be in touch.

Enrolment process

Set out below is a guide to enrolling your child at St Andrew’s Cathedral School. Further details are contained in our Enrolment Policy.

Intake years

Entry into a year group is subject to available places, with intakes at Kindergarten, Year 3, Year 5, Year 7 and Year 11. Entry to other year groups will be considered, if there is a vacancy.

Please submit your enquiry and our Enrolments team will be in touch to advise if spaces are available.

1. Book a tour

We offer School Tours throughout the year so that parents, carers and potential students can visit our unique city campus and see our school in action.

Choosing a school for your child is a very personal decision and there are many questions you will want to ask. It is also important to see the students, observe ‘real-life’ lessons and feel the pulse of daily life within a school. 

Bookings are essential.

We look forward to welcoming your family to St Andrew’s Cathedral School.

2. Apply to enrol

Fill in an Application Form for your child(ren).

St Andrew’s Cathedral School is a day school for girls and boys from Kindergarten through to Year 12, right in the heart of Sydney. For Gawura enrolment information, click here.

Entry

Entry into a year group is subject to available places, with intakes at Kindergarten, Year 3, Year 5, Year 7 and Year 11. Entry to other year groups will be considered if there is a vacancy.

Students entering Kindergarten must be five years of age by 31st July, the year they commence. All Kindergarten children will be assessed for school readiness during interview and before they are offered a place.

Applications

Applications will be waitlisted once the online Application Form is completed and submitted, and all requested supporting documentation and reports have been received, along with the non-refundable Application Fee of $400.

A separate Application Form must be submitted for each child.

Entrance for new students is preferred at the commencement of an academic year. Entrance at other times of the year is considered on a case-by-case basis, depending upon individual circumstances and available places.  

Family law matters

The School is unable to involve itself in any family law matters. In the case of all families, including divorced or separated families, it is the School’s assumption and understanding that prior to contacting the School, both parents are in agreement to the application and possible enrolment of their child.

Unless otherwise stated in Family Court Orders, both parents are required to sign the Application Form as well as the person responsible for paying the fees, and should a place be offered, both parents must sign the Enrolment Contract, including the Conditions of Enrolment.

Online Application Form

When you fill in your online Application Form you will also be required to upload some, or all, of the following supporting documentation:

  • Child’s Birth Certificate
  • Child’s Recent school reports and NAPLAN report
  • Child’s Immunisation Certificate
  • Court Orders or Parenting Plan, if applicable
  • Child’s Citizenship or Residency documents
  • Parent/s ID documents

The form will take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete. You can save your progress and return to it at a later date.

To start your Application, please click on the Apply Now button below and enter your email address.

You will also need to provide a password and verify your email address by clicking on a link that will be sent to you via email before you can start filling out the online Application Form. The online Application Form requires an electronic signature from both parents/carers (unless the applicant is from a sole parent/carer family) and an online credit card payment of the non-refundable $400 Application Fee ($450 for students on an Overseas Student Visa) before it is considered to be complete and submitted to the Admissions Office.

Using your email address, you will be able to save your progress and come back to the Application Form at a later date to continue if required. Your email address also becomes your username for your St Andrew’s Cathedral School enrolment dashboard. Your St Andrew’s Cathedral School enrolment dashboard is where you can track progress, update contact details and complete any outstanding tasks related to the enrolment application/s such as providing updated documents.

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3. Waiting list

Once we have processed your Application Form and the Application Fee, we will confirm your child’s place on the waiting list, in writing.

Our waitlist is a queue of applicants that are on standby waiting for an enrolment place to become available. All Applications are waitlisted in the School’s enrolment’s system for the calendar year and grade of entry requested. It is not the School’s practice to disclose an applicant’s position on the waitlist.

Placement on the waiting list does not guarantee an interview or an Offer of Enrolment.

While the School does its best to accommodate all enrolment requests, it is unable to guarantee a position to any student, as often student applications far exceed available places.

The partnership between the parents and the School is a very important part of any child’s learning journey – and it starts with full disclosure of all information pertaining to your child’s educational, social, physical or emotional needs.

The School reserves the right to not offer any student an interview or a place at the School or to defer the offer of a place to any student at its discretion, but particularly when the parents, having been aware of the student’s educational needs, decline to disclose those needs or withhold relevant information pertaining to the student.

4. Interview

A formal interview is an opportunity for the School to learn more about your child and for you to learn more about the School.

As there are more applicants than positions available, not all applicants proceed to an enrolment interview.  

Depending upon the grade of entry and subject to places being available, Year 7 enrolment interviews commence approximately two years to three years prior to entry, while all other year groups are held the year prior to commencement.

All applications are considered, regardless of the date of application. When selecting applicants for interview, the School gives consideration to the following factors:

  • Student merit including record of attendance, effort, engagement, behaviour, involvement in co-curricular activities and other relevant details from the student’s previous school reports
  • Academic, musical or sporting ability;
  • Evidence of leadership and good character;
  • A student’s willingness and ability to contribute to the wider life of the School;
  • Best fit for the child and cohort;
  • Family relationship with the School, including sibling of a current student, parent attended the School or child of a permanent staff member;
  • Church involvement;
  • Class size and ability;
  • Pastoral considerations;
  • School readiness (see Kindergarten age below).

During interview, the behaviour and effort that your child has demonstrated on their learning journey will be discussed, alongside areas of interest both inside and outside of the classroom. It is a great opportunity for students and parents to ask lots of questions regarding the ethos and day-to-day running of the School and for the School to progress down the path of understanding your child better.

Places are offered at the discretion of the Head of School, and an interview does not guarantee an offer of a place.

Where additional needs have been disclosed by the parent, the School will make an initial assessment of the child’s learning needs, at this point. This interview therefore becomes the start of a collaborative planning process between the parent, child and the School, and additional meetings or information will be exchanged throughout the enrolment process. This process may include the provision of specialist reports, a member of our specialised learning team visiting the child at their current school for an observation and/or the home, to assist in assessing the learning needs of the child. Due to this process, it may take additional time before/if an Offer of Enrolment can be made.

5. Offer of a place

After the interview, your child may be offered a place at the School. If offered, the Offer of Enrolment is issued online, including the Enrolment Terms and Conditions.

All Offers of Enrolment are issued online and made at the Head of School’s discretion.

When determining the offer of a place at the School, the School gives consideration to the  interview selection criteria outlined above and the availability of places in year groups and classes.

6. Confirmation of place

For the Offer of Enrolment to be accepted, the Enrolment Terms and Conditions need to be signed and submitted online, along with payment of the non-refundable Enrolment Confirmation Fee.

If successful, you will receive an Offer of Enrolment from St Andrew’s Cathedral School via email, where you will be directed to accept the offer online. To secure your place, an Enrolment Offer Acceptance must be signed online within 10 working days of receipt by agreeing to the Enrolment Terms and Conditions, signing it electronically, and paying the Enrolment Confirmation Fee of $4,000 (plus $10,000 bond for students on an Overseas Student Visa). Both parent/carers (unless the applicant is from a sole parent/carer family) are required to sign from separate devices or desktop computers. The primary point of contact will use their email address to log-in to the enrolment dashboard to accept the offer while the secondary point of contact will be sent a unique link and identify themselves by providing name, email address and applicant’s DOB to electronically sign the Enrolment Offer Acceptance.

After signatures of both parent/carers and payment of the Enrolment Confirmation Fee is completed, the offer of a place is considered to be accepted by St Andrew’s Cathedral School, and PDF copies of the acceptance will be sent to the School and to the parents.

Failure to accept the Offer of Enrolment in the required time may result in the position being re-offered to another child awaiting entry to the School. The non-refundable Enrolment Confirmation Fee is additional to tuition and other fees, and is not credited to the first term’s fees.

When parents accept the Offer of Enrolment, there becomes a legally binding contract between them and the School.

7. Orientation

During Orientation all aspects of life at St Andrew’s Cathedral School, both academic and co-curricular, will be explained. There is a dedicated new parent information site available, with all the information parents will need to know, to start school well.

We understand that starting at a new school can be daunting for any child, and our staff are highly experienced in managing a smooth transition for new students. Orientation events are held for new students in most year groups in November in the year prior to commencement. Orientation provides our new students and their families with the opportunity to meet each other, as well as some of our current students and staff. 

During Orientation, information will be provided to parents and carers covering all aspects of life at St Andrew’s Cathedral School, both academic and co-curricular. There is a dedicated parent information site that contains all the logistical information parents will need to start school. The information is also released directly to parents and carers which includes how to sign up for sport and musical groups, booking a uniform appointment with our Uniform Shop, text book and stationery lists and canteen details.