Admissions

How to apply

If your son/daughter wishes to be considered for a place in Year 7, please:

• Apply online here.
• If you live outside Dorset, you should apply via your own Local Authority (e.g. Somerset residents should apply through Somerset County Council), so please contact them in the first instance. Further information is available via Dorset County Council on 01305 221060.

Parents have a right to appeal against the decision not to offer their child a place at The Gryphon School. If you wish to appeal information can be found at Appeal a school place refusal – Dorset Council.

If you wish your child’s name to be considered should any places become available, write to School Admissions, County Hall, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 1XJ. Please note the waiting list will be held until the end of December each year preceding that of school entry and after that you will need to contact the caseworker to discuss your options on 01305 221060 or via admissions@dorsetcc.gov.uk.  Admission confirmation will be sent to you direct from County Hall.

SAST Schools Admissions Policies can be found below:

Policies – SAST – Sherborne Area Schools’ Trust
Visit the SAST website for further admissions information

During the Year:

If you have a son/daughter who wishes to join the school during the course of the academic year, please apply online through Dorset Council Here or contact Stephanie Maclaren at County Hall on 01305 228509 to request the relevant forms. Contact The Gryphon School to discuss the admission process with one of our Senior Teachers and to arrange a visit.

Sixth Form:

If your son/daughter wishes to join the Sixth Form, please see our applications process on the Sixth Form section of the website.

Year 6 Induction Process

To enable a smooth transition from primary school there are a number of key activities that take place, these include:

• Contact is made by Nicky Dodgson, with all primary schools and information is shared with her by the primary schools SEN coordinator and class teacher. This could include highlighting a student with a particular talent in music, sport or maths through to students who do not work well together or need additional support.
• A visit is made to all of our larger partner primary schools where students will be given an introduction to the school and will have the opportunity to name students they would like to be in a tutor group with.
• An extra induction day is held for students who might be the only student from their school coming to The Gryphon. Students will get to make new friends and will be asked who they would like to be in a tutor group with.
• Parent’s evenings are held which gives parents / carers the opportunity to let the school know any information about their child which will help when setting up the tutor groups. Please do share any information about your son / daughter at this point however trivial you may feel it is. It is very difficult to change tutor groups once they have been set up so the more information we have in advance the better.
• The school will then use all of the information gathered above to form the tutor groups. Although we do our best to place students with one of the names they have requested this is not always possible and we stress this to students when we meet with them.
• All students will then attend an Induction Day at The Gryphon where they will meet their new tutor and experience a variety of lessons. In the evening there will be a tutor evening which allow parents to meet their child’s tutor.