The Mission, Philosophy and Statement of Objectives serve to guide the administration in determining admission and placement of students

As the School Board wishes to provide for a fair balance of nationalities in the school, it directs the Head to draw to its attention any situation in which any one national group occupies 25% of the available places within the school. The course of action to be adopted in such circumstances will be determined by the School Board at the time.

Applications for admission will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. The date on which the registration fee is received is taken as the date of application. If a waiting list for any grade is necessary, qualified applicants will be admitted on a first-come, first-served basis within the framework of the nationality balance indicated

At least one full day’s notice is given to teachers prior to a new student starting in class after the admission procedures have been completed. This ensures that all the necessary provisions will have been made and the student is expected in class.

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Pre-School admissions

Students must be at least three years of age on or before 31 August of the academic year of entrance for admission to the Pre-School.

Grade placement

Admission is granted to a student when it has been determined that the school has a vacancy and an appropriate programme to meet his/her individual needs. There is no entrance test required of students, but diagnostic and placement testing, when appropriate, may be required. In most cases such testing is administered only after registration has been completed. The final determination of grade placement will be made by the Head of School.

This placement will reflect the student’s previous educational experience, age, maturity, linguistic proficiency and academic needs. In certain circumstances students will be placed in a lower grade level to meet their educational needs.

For a student to be placed in a grade higher than the minimum age indicated, clearly demonstrable superior academic and physical maturity, coupled with social maturity must exist and be judged so by the OSC. Such advanced placement may only be given under exceptional circumstances and with the written approval of the Head of School.

Applications for Grades 11 and 12 will be assessed prior to acceptance in order to judge their linguistic and academic suitability for the International Baccalaureate Programme. In normal circumstance, students applying for admission to Grade 12 should be aged less than 20 on 1 September.

Students, especially “English as a Second Language” (ESL) students, are expected to follow a complete grade level at OSC prior to promotion to the next grade. In the case of admission after January, this may mean that students will repeat the second semester of a grade level.

English language

English is the teaching medium in the school and there is an expectation that students have, or will acquire, a satisfactory standard of English.The school maintains an ESL support programme. However, it should be stressed that non-English speaking students should gain maximum exposure to the language and if a student does not have a satisfactory standard of English at the time of application, the Head of School may refuse admission if there is no appropriate programme to cater for the student’s needs.

Class size policy

The teacher/student ratio for instruction in Grades 1-12 will be 1:20. The Head of School is authorized to increase this to 1:24 when the situation warrants. No class may run with a teacher/student ratio in excess of 1:24.

In the Pre-School, the present class size is 15 and in Kindergarten, the stipulated class size is a maximum of 20 students with a teacher and a qualified assistant in one classroom. The Head of School is also authorized to enroll additional students up to a maximum of 24 students and employ additional assistants based on his/her assessment of the need.

In Grades 1-5 and in single classes in Grades 6 -10, when numbers exceed the stated class size policy, students will be placed on a priority waiting list and notified when a place becomes available. In such cases the school will attempt to employ a suitably qualified support teacher but when this is not possible, the waiting list will be enforced.

Special education needs

OSC provides learning support for students with mild to moderate special learning needs through the services of a specialist teacher at the primary and secondary sections of the school. Wherever possible an inclusion model of services, but there may be times when students will be pulled out of regular classrooms for special assistance, depending on individual needs.
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Loco parentis

In normal circumstances a student will be residing with their parents. Only if there is full agreement with the Head of School will a guardian be accepted. If the school is not satisfied with the efficacy of the guardian, re-enrolment will not be offered by the school.

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