Fairmont High School, Durbanville South Africa

Preamble

Applications for admission to Fairmont High School must be made to the Principal by the parent(s)/guardian(s) of the learner. The Principal shall admit any learner provided he is satisfied that the learner meets the admission criteria below, that in general terms the appropriate standard of attainment has been met, and that the learner will be amenable to school discipline as applied at Fairmont, and display levels of behaviour and self-discipline such that s/he is likely to help create, maintain and enhance rather than disrupt an orderly and disciplined school environment, the teaching process of the school, or the learning of other learners.  Fairmont aims to provide an environment where race, culture, religion and economic standing are not an impedi­ment to the access of, or progress, in any aspect of school life.
No pupil who qualifies for admission according to the admission requirements outlined below will be refused admission on grounds of race, culture, religious belief or financial circumstance.  Kindly refer to “Non Citizens of South Africa” on Page 9. This shall apply within the parameters that Fairmont High School is a designated school for boys and girls where the medium of instruction is English. Learners admitted to the school need to be sufficiently proficient in English so as not to prejudice their ability to progress academically.
It is regarded as unreasonable to disrupt family relationships by arbitrarily splitting the schooling of siblings. In the absence of telling and objective reasons related to the applicant why this should not happen, an applicant who, at the time of making application has a direct sibling enrolled in the school, will receive consideration when it comes to placement.
It is regarded as similarly unreasonable that a learner should arbitrarily be forced by the school’s Admission Policy to travel to an institution which is not the closest school to where s/he lives with his/her parent(s)/guardian(s).  Consequently, in the absence of telling and objective reasons why this should not be so, primary preference will be given to those applicants who live with their parent(s)/guardian(s) in closer proximity to this school than any other high school.

All applicants and their parent(s)/guardian(s) must consult the School’s Prospectus with special note of the following:

• School’s Code of Conduct
• School Rules
• School Uniform Requirements
• Deviation from School Uniform Policy
• Procedures, Rights and Responsibilities
• Substance Abuse Policy
• Policy in relation to Bullying
• Social Media and Cellphone Policies
• Information with respect to Financial Assistance

The following criteria apply for admission:

• The precise application of the admission criteria shall remain within the discretion of the School Governing Body.
• Preference will be given to those applicants who live with their parent(s)/guardian(s) in closer proximity to this school than any other high school.
• There will be no admission tests written by applicants.
• Proof of scholastic achievement and current grade must be provided for academic planning reasons, i.e. a copy of the most recent report.
• The age of the pupil must be within two years of the average age for the grade.
• Learners must be prepared to receive physical education, unless specifically exempted.
• The learner is obliged to comply with the School Rules, the Code of Conduct and other Policies listed above and contained in the Prospectus.
• Two (2) certified copies of the applicant’s Birth Certificate must accompany the application.
• Certified copies of parent’(s)/guardian’(s) Identification Documents are required.
• Proof of permanent residential address in the form of a copy of both sides of the most recent Municipal or electricity account must be submitted. No other accounts will be accepted.
• The most recent statement of account of the previous school is required for financial planning purposes.
• A record of the learner’s Code of Conduct from the previous school may be requested prior to acceptance.
• A person who wishes to attend Fairmont for the first time at the beginning of any given school year must apply at the school on the date published on the admission letter or obtained from the school’s Admission Secretary.
• Late applications will be considered only under exceptional and special circumstances.
• Residential addresses should be that of either a parent or a legal guardian, and documentation to prove legal guardianship needs to be provided. The learner should permanently reside at that address.
• Based on the number of educators, the school’s facilities and the choice of subjects offered at the school, the school shall accommodate no more than 1250 learners at any time. All classes shall normally consist of 25-30 learners and should rarely exceed 30 learners per class.
• No learner will be admitted to the school without a prior interview or attendance at an enrolment evening. This applies to all grades.
• Applicants who have been successfully screened will be informed after the enrolment evening or an interview whether they have been successful in gaining admission to the school.
• Fairmont reserves the right to verify by visitation or other means that the residential address given on the application form is that of the applicant’s parent(s)/guardian(s) and that the applicant resides at that address.
• Admission will not normally be granted to pupils entering Grade 12.
• If an applicant has siblings at the school or has direct family members as alumni, these factors may be taken into consideration during the admissions process.
• It must be specifically noted that enrolment at Primary Schools in the area does not provide automatic progression to Fairmont High School.
• A proven record by the applicant in one or more fields of sound discipline, leadership, academics, sport, arts, culture and community service should be stated in the application.
• The school will not normally accept a learner from outside the area naturally served by the school if acceptance of such a learner would result in the exclusion of the learner from the full school programme where travel makes it impossible to participate in the extra-curricular activities of the school.

Administration of the Admissions Policy

In order to achieve the foregoing, should the school be oversubscribed, the measures listed below will be implemented during the management of the enrolment process.

• Please be reminded that the precise application of the admission criteria shall remain within the discretion of the School Governing Body.
• A closing date for applications will be set within the time frame of the WCED policy.
• Applications received by the closing date will be given preference over late applications.
• Applicants who live with their parent(s)/guardian(s) in the natural service area of the school and for whom Fairmont High School is the ‘nearest high school’, will enjoy precedence over those residing outside the natural service area (“nearest” refers to travelling distance, not direct distance).
• An applicant whose age varies by two years or more relative to the statistical age (average age) norm of the grade cohort will not be accepted into the school.
• The capacity of the school to provide adequately for the educational needs of the applicant (including but not limited to the language needs and other special needs) will be considered before offering a place to a learner. This will be considered in order not to jeopardize the academic interests of the learner.
• Initial applications will be processed and a response forwarded to parent(s)/guardian(s).
• Applicants who are not successful will be informed of reason(s) in writing.
• Only after the applications received by the closing date have been dealt with, will the school consider late applications and then only if there are still places available in the school.
• All successful applicants from the designated area and their parent(s)/guardian(s) will be given the opportunity of attending an enrolment information evening and, if requested, an interview with the Principal and/or his representative.

In considering applications, a potential learner will in the first instance be expected to:

• Convince the school that s/he is able to cope academically with the specific pressures and unique demands of the school, and it will be a condition of final acceptance that an applicant must have passed the grade immediately below the grade into which admission is sought.
• Want to be educated in a co-educational school environment, be supportive of the Ethos of the school and be willing to contribute in the critical areas of school life, i.e. academically as well as in sport, culture, societies and/or service.

 After learners in the “feeder” area have been accepted and should it be such that a process of selection has to be applied as a consequence of the number of applicants exceeding the number of remaining available places in the school or grade for which application is made, applicants outside the “feeder” area will be considered and placed in the following order, except where placement in the school would not be in the best interests of the learner concerned:

• Applicants who are direct siblings of current pupils.
• Applicants whose proven record is such that they are clearly willing and able to contribute meaningfully to the advancement of the school’s educational programme, as gauged in the applicant’s application.
• Applicants whose proven record is such that they are clearly willing to add value to the school and are able to benefit educationally and in other respects from the education offered by the school as gauged in the applicant’s application.
• Applicants who are siblings of immediate past pupils of Fairmont High School.
• Applicants who are sons/daughters of alumni of the school.
• Admission will not normally be granted to pupils entering Grade 12.

Capacity

The capacity of the school is 1250 learners, distributed approximately 250 per grade. The capacity of the school is based on:

• The number of classrooms in the school
• Bathroom and toilet facilities
• Emergency exits
• Corridor width for the safety of learner movement
• Hall size for school assemblies
• Field space for sport
• The size of the classrooms in the school
• Capacity of staircases for the safety of learner movement

The need to provide an educational milieu which includes a subject choice based on educationally valid principles and the broad educational stimulus which is dependent on having designated, exclusive and appropriately-developed space for:

• A Library
• Art and Design rooms
• Science, Biology and Computer laboratories
• Consumer Studies kitchens
• A Technology Centre
• Music rooms
• A School Hall
• A physical fitness and wellness centre/gymnasium
• A Learner ‘Forum’ (e.g. Tuckshop, Students’ Centre, Multi-purpose Centre or similar)

The need to support the educational process on an administrative front by providing designated, appropriately furnished, relevantly equipped and exclusive space for:

• A staff common room
• A ground staff room
• A staff workroom
• A counselling centre
• Offices and working spaces for management, administrative and support staff

Final total number of admissions

Should the final number of learners requiring acceptance into the school at any one time vary from the above on the basis of specific enrolments and the subject choices of individual learners in a particular year, and should this in any event exceed the cal­culated capacity in any one grade, then the ratification by the School Governing Body of a motivated explanation from the School Management Team for such excess will be required.