Admission Policy

By virtue of the Provision of Section 5 of the South African Schools Act, No. 84 of 1996 (hereinafter referred to as the "South African Schools Act"), the School Governing Body of Despatch Preparatory School has determined the Admission Policy of learners to Despatch Preparatory School to be as follows:

1. APPLICATION FOR ADMISSION TO DESPATCH PREPARATORY SCHOOL

1.1 The School Governing Body has approved and adopted the Application for Admission Form to which this Admission of Learners Policy is annexed.
1.2 Applications for admission will not be considered unless made by one of the following persons:
1.2.1 both the parents of the learner in the event of both parents being alive; or
1.2.2 the parent of the learner in the event of a parent being deceased; or
1.2.3 the guardian(s) or other person appointed by Court Order to act as custodian of the learner.
1.3 Incomplete application for admission forms and application for admission forms which are not accompanied by the pre-requisite documentation will not be considered.
1.4 The application for admission is to be made to the Principal of Despatch Preparatory School by the end of May in the year preceding the year of enrolment applied for in respect of Grade R and Grade 1 learners.
1.5 The application for admission other than a Grade 1 learner is to be made to the Principal of Despatch Preparatory School 6 months before the date of admission applied for.
1.6 The application for admission form is to be duly signed by the person / persons making application for the admission of the learner.

2. PREFERENTIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION OF A LEARNER

2.1 Subject to a determination by the Head of the Department of Education, the School Governing Body declares the feeder zone for Despatch Preparatory to be the geographical area in and around Despatch.
2.2 The School Governing Body has determined that the language of learning and teaching at Despatch Preparatory School to be dual-medium English and Afrikaans. Consequently, applications for admission of learners who are able to accept tuition in English or Afrikaans will receive preferential consideration, subject to what is contained below.
2.3 Learners of siblings already admitted at Despatch Preparatory will receive preferential consideration.
2.4 The preferential order for admission in respect of the feeder zone criteria will be:
2.4.1 Learners whose parent(s) / guardian(s) / custodian(s) live in the feeder zone
2.4.2 Learners whose parent(s) / guardian(s) / custodian(s) work in the feeder zone
2.4.3 Other learners in order of proximity to school, subject to the further preferential considerations contained herein, including order of receipt of application.
2.6 The School Governing Body has determined that applications for admission of learners will be considered and given preference to ensure a relatively equal balance between male and female learners in each grade.

3. AGE REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSION OF A LEARNER

The age norm for a grade is to be the grade number plus six. The age of the learner at the end of the year of admission applied for will be regarded as the age of the learner when considering the age norm for a grade. Application for admission of a learner which falls outside of the age norm by two years or more will not be considered.

4. REGISTER OF ADMISSION APPLICATIONS
4.1 The Principal of Despatch Preparatory School is to keep a register of all applications for admission of a learner in accordance with the Provisions of the South African Schools Act.
4.2 Unsuccessful applications for admission of a learner are to be recorded chronologically on a waiting-list.

5. NOTIFICATION OF ACCEPTANCE OR REJECTION
The learner's parent(s) / guardian(s) / custodian(s) will be advised of the outcome of the application for admission of the learner, in writing, once the application has been considered.