|
Admissions Policy |
Offering Places at WAB |
Admissions Policy
WAB’s Admissions Policy is determined by the WAB Board
and implemented by the Admissions Department. Admission
WAB seeks to offer educational opportunities to all eligible
students who identify with the school’s core values, and
to maintain a co-educational school with a diverse student population
representing a range of nationalities, languages, economic and
cultural background and abilities
In cases where the student’s birth
date is very close to the cut-off date and where parents feel
the student should be in a higher grade level, the student
will be placed in the appropriate grade according to our admissions
policy, i.e. the ‘lower’ grade. Children will
only be moved from that grade after a period of observation,
and upon the recommendation of Child Study Team, composed
of teachers from the relevant lower and higher grade levels,
School Principal, Counselor and Learning Support specialist.
Any initial placement is tentative, and
the school may either advise a change of grade level or class
after the child’s abilities have been assessed or, in
certain circumstances, may withdraw the placement.
Class Size
The maximum class size is 21, except in Nursery and Pre-Kindergarten
where there is a maximum of 14 children in a class, and in
Kindergarten, where there is a maximum of 20 children in a
class.
English Language Support
All applicants to Grade 1 and above for whom English is not
the primary language at home will be assessed to determine
whether or not they should be enrolled in the English for
Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)/English for Academic Purposes
(EAP) program. This assessment will be done by an ESOL specialist
and may take the form of a file review, a review of a writing
sample, or an on-site written and oral assessment. No class
in Grade 1 or above may have more than 25% of children in
the ESOL/EAP program. (Please note that ELE students in the
Elementary School are not considered part of the 25% ESOL
quota).
The following guidelines will be used by the Admissions team
to determine which students will be assessed by an ESOL specialist:
• The primary language spoken by the child
• The language(s) spoken between parents and the student
• The language(s) spoken between the parents
• The student’s educational background
• The primary language of both parents
Learning Support
Students are eligible for admission if it is believed that
WAB can meet their emotional, social, physical and academic
needs. WAB can offer places at each grade level to a limited
number of students with mild learning difficulties. For these
students, assistance is provided by our Learning Support Center,
both in and out of the classroom as appropriate, usually in
small groups and occasionally on an individual basis.
Since WAB does not have separate classes for children with
learning difficulties, a primary consideration in offering
a place will be the student’s ability to access the
regular curriculum with limited support. WAB also takes into
account the number of other students requiring learning support
in the grade level applied for, and the level of resources
needed to support the applicant. Thus, while WAB recognizes
the value for all children of the social learning which can
occur through contact with a peer group, places cannot be
offered to students who need extensive program modifications,
an alternate curriculum or constant support. In accepting
students with learning difficulties, WAB usually also adheres
to the school admissions policy of placing students by chronological
age and educational background, so the ability to function
with a group of similarly aged students is an important factor.
WAB is also able to accept some students with minor physical
disabilities, although expertise with any type of adaptive
communications systems is not available. In accordance with
the general admissions policy, the school reserves the right
(in consultation with the parents) to conduct all necessary
assessments and obtain copies of all previous reports and
records. We will offer a provisional place only to those students
who we believe can benefit from the educational program we
provide.
Gifted Students
WAB believes that while all our students have strengths that
must be valued and promoted, there are students whose educational
needs are different from their age peers due to the nature
of their gifts. To ensure that the needs of students identified
as gifted are appreciated and supported, the WAB curriculum
provides a flexible range of options to assist gifted students
to maximize their potential. Learning experiences within the
classroom are regularly differentiated, and in collaboration
with WAB’s gifted support services, strategies such
as flexible grouping, curriculum compacting and extension
and enrichment of the core curriculum are offered, as appropriate.
In order to facilitate appropriate provision for gifted students,
WAB reserves the right to assess students’ levels of
ability and achievement. Multiple criteria are used whenever
possible.
If you have any questions please contact:
Sinead Collins - Admissions and Development Manager
Admissions Office,
Western Academy of Beijing,
P.O. Box 8547,
10 Lai Guang Ying Dong Lu,
Beijing, 100103, P.R.C.
Tel: (8610) 8456-4155 ext. 1050 or ext.
1051
Fax: (8610) 6433-3974
E-mail: admissions@wab.edu
|
