Admissions Procedure

Admissions Procedure

We warmly welcome new pupils to join The Unicorn School at any time throughout the year. Our admissions process is designed to be straightforward and supportive, ensuring that we fully understand your child’s needs and that our school is the right environment for them to thrive.

To help us understand your child’s needs, we ask that you provide copies of any relevant reports, such as:

• Educational Psychologist Report
• Dyslexia or Dyscalculia Report
• Occupational Therapist Report
• Speech & Language Report
• Sensory Processing Disorder Report
• ADHD or ASD Report
• EHCP (if applicable)

If your child has an EHCP, we are legally required to meet all its provisions. Therefore, we must review this document before proceeding with the application.

After reviewing the reports, we will determine whether we believe The Unicorn School is the best fit for your child’s needs. If we feel we can support your child effectively, we will invite you for a personal tour.

School Visit 

Your individual tour will give you the opportunity to see our specialist approach in action, meet our dedicated teachers, and discuss your child’s specific needs with our Headteacher, Mr. Matthew Small.

Pupil Trial Visit

Following this, your child will be invited to spend 2-5 days at The Unicorn School, depending on their year group and the level of assessment needed. Generally, children in year 9 and above come in for 5 days, whilst children in years 4-8 come in for 2 or 3 days (if a child is not in school, they will come in for 3 days).

Assessment Fees 

• If no further assessments are required: £350 + VAT (A report is not provided after this assessment)
• If literacy/numeracy assessments are needed (diagnosis over a year old) we may perform some attainment assessments in literacy and numeracy so we can ascertain where your child is. The visit and summary of the assessments will cost £575 + VAT
• If a full diagnostic assessment is required: £800 + VAT (Parents / carers will be provided with a professional report outlining our assessment outcomes.)

We will also ask for permission to contact your child’s current school to obtain a reference; we are unable to offer places without a satisfactory reference.

Offer of a Place

Following the trial visit, our admissions team will review all feedback. If we believe The Unicorn School is the right setting, we will offer your child a place, subject to a satisfactory reference from their current school.

To accept the offer, parents must confirm within 14 days, providing:

• Enrolment Fee: £350 + VAT
• Deposit: £650 + VAT (refundable at the end of the child’s final term)
• Completed Acceptance Form

Get in Touch

We would love to welcome your child to The Unicorn School. If you have any questions or would like to start the admissions process, please contact our admissions team at registrar@unicornoxford.co.uk or call 01235 530222.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Elizabeth Carter Shaw

Head of Admissions