CGS Admission Policy – Whole School Statement

Applications for admission are received throughout the school year. An offer of admission is made based on availability, are in accordance with the school’s policies and Greek Ministry of Education regulations. Admission criteria are based on age, academic skills, attitude to learning, and candidate’s personal profile, taking into consideration the overall dynamics of our existing classes. Based on the year level and language proficiency, testing and screening for placement purposes will take different forms, including, but not limited to, consideration of academic performance records, a personal interview, school readiness testing, literacy and numeracy proficiency testing and a review of previous special needs documentation and health records.

Within this framework, admission is based on:

• interview with the candidate
• candidate’s performance in diagnostic assessment tasks, designed according to age and grade requirements
• candidate’s previous academic records, where applicable.
• a pedagogical report completed by the candidate’s current teacher(s)/school, where applicable

A signed declaration by at least one of the parents/guardians of the candidate, which is GDPR compliant and would inform the school of all known or diagnosed special educational needs, is required. Accordingly, professional evaluations, along with details of extra educational, emotional and/or social support the candidate is receiving, should also be provided at the time of application.

Failure to provide the required documentation in due time may result in the cancellation of admission.

All applications are reviewed by the Admissions Committee, which consists of the head of the level for which the candidate is applying, programme coordinators, Head of Αdmissions office and representatives from CGS School Counseling Department (SCD).

Special consideration is given to eligible applicants who are siblings of currently enrolled students and to CGS staff and CGS alumni families. However, an offer is not guaranteed, as it is subject to standard Admissions procedure.

CGS reserves the right to decide against proceeding with the enrollment of a candidate in consideration of learning support resources’ availability and in accordance with the school’s Policies.

In case significant social / emotional / behavioral issues or learning differences arise during the enrollment process at the school, there will be close consultation with parents, and it is possible that accommodations, to allow the student to enroll at CGS may be required. Consequently, additional costs for this service may be incurred. This review may also involve requiring parents to seek external evaluation by an external body. In case the Admissions Committee determines that CGS is unable to support a student’s needs, or if parents are unwilling to proceed with the student’s evaluation, CGS reserves the right to terminate the enrollment procedure.

Once the application is complete, including receipt of school records and confidential recommendations (previous academic records, pedagogical reports, etc.), offers are formally made either via telephone or e-mail within two weeks.

Offers for admission are to be accepted or rejected by candidate families within one week of receipt by contacting the Admissions office. Once the offer has been accepted, parents will be sent an acceptance letter as well as a Registration Approval Form (RAF). In order to confirm enrollment and reserve a place for the admitted applicant, completion of the RAF and payment of the registration fee (in accordance with the school’s fees) are due within 10 days of receipt of the acceptance letter. These commitments must be made on a timely basis so that we guarantee that places are held for admitted applicants who indeed wish to enroll, or we may allocate places to other candidates in the wait pool. Partial refunds are made within specific deadlines in accordance with the school’s fee policy.

It is our policy to make initial tentative placements of students in classes for the coming year, according to a set of clear and fairly managed criteria, which include:

• Academic range and balance
• Balance between new and returning students
• Behaviour issues
• Friendships / optimal peer relationships
• Gender (in order to maintain a balance in the class)
• Size of the class
• Special needs requirements within the class
• Teacher’s professional judgement / experience / detailed knowledge of child, considering academic and personal abilities and needs

These recommendations are given very careful consideration by the teachers and will remain tentative until after the arrival and assessment of new students is completed at the commencement of the next year.

Special consideration is given to eligible applicants who are siblings of currently enrolled students and the offspring of CGS alumni. Nevertheless, admission is not automatic, and it is dependent on the number of applicants and the number of spaces available in each particular grade, as well as the qualifications of each applicant.

When the number of eligible applicants exceeds the availability of spaces for a particular grade, students may be placed in a wait pool until a place becomes available. Effort is made to keep parents of applicants in the wait pool updated regarding enrollment status and to confirm whether they wish to remain in the wait pool.

For further information on the enrollment procedure please follow the link: Enrollment Procedure

The CGS whole-school Admissions policy has been reviewed following discussions among Programme Coordinators, Principals, Head of School Counseling Department, Head of Admissions office and the Head of school. The review process was completed in June 2022.