Application & Enrolment Process

We try to make our admissions process as simple and as clear as possible. We know that choice of a school for your child is one of the hardest decisions any parent will make, and we also realise that our parents will have many questions.

There is a straightforward application process that we recommend for all parents: 

1. Have a look around our website. Get a feel for the school, and work out if our values are aligned with yours, and if we offer the education that you wish for your child.
2. Visit us! This is an essential part of the process, and we recommend that you do this as soon as you can. On this page, at the bottom of this page is a link to our registration page for any upcoming Open Days or for a private tour, but we are happy to show you around at any time. Just contact Nicole Chen, our Admissions Manager, at [email protected], and she will arrange for a time that suits you. If you are based overseas, get in touch and we can arrange to have a chat.
3. If you know anyone else who sends their child to Pinehurst, ask them for their views about our school. Most of our parents choose to send their children to us because of word-of-mouth recommendations: if you don’t know anyone who has sent their child to us, we can put you in touch with a current parent who will be happy to share what they think.
4. Complete the application form above.

 Once the application process is complete, we move into the enrolment stage. This varies by year group.

Year 1 / New Entrants

New Entrants start school at Pinehurst at the start of the term closest to their 5th birthday and are invited for an interview approximately two terms before their expected enrolment date. If you wish to join our Primary School, this is the time when you have the best chance of being offered a place. In other year groups, places are very limited.

The deadline for application for New Entrants is two terms before they are due to start school. At the moment, this means that our deadlines are:

Term 3, 2025 – Application to be submitted by 6 December 2024
Term 4, 2025 – Application to be submitted by 11 April 2025
Term 1, 2026 – Application to be submitted by 27 June 2025
Term 2, 2026 – Application to be submitted by 19 September 2025

While we would love to personally meet with each and every family that has applied, the high volume of applications has made it logistically challenging. Nevertheless, we still believe that each family is unique and special, and we want to get to know you better. To help us better understand your family and your child, we kindly request families to share a short video with us. This video will provide a glimpse into the family's world and help us connect with you on a more personal level. It will allow us to see the wonderful individuals behind the application forms and get a better sense of the families.

Our Principal and Deputy Principal of Primary will review every application alongside the family video. From there, we will select families for in-person interviews. Families will be notified via email if they have been selected for in-person interviews. Those not selected for an in-person interview will be placed on our waiting list and may be contacted should an opportunity for an interview arise at a later date. After all the interviews have been completed, which usually takes around two weeks, we will contact every parent at the same time. At that point, we will either offer you a place at the school or place you on our waiting list.

Instructions for the video submission will be sent to all applicants after the application deadline.

Year 2-6 Applications

We process applications for Year 2-6 as they are received in the Admissions Office. We have quite long waiting lists in all of these years, and the chances of being accepted into the school are quite small as a result. Some children are on the waiting list for a number of years. We do, however, still encourage you to have a look around the school, and to submit an application if you wish your child to join us. Places do arise from time to time.

If a place becomes available, we will interview students at the top of the waiting list. We will always ask for school reports for these interviews, which are usually run by the Principal of Primary. We may also ask for references, but there is no entrance test. In the interview, we will ask the student and the parents some questions, and they will have the chance to ask us any questions they have.

We will make any offers in Years 2 to 6 within two days of the interview.

Year 7 and 9 Applications

Year 7 and 9 are our main ‘points of entry’ into Pinehurst College. Every year, we welcome around 30 new students into Year 7, and 15 new students into Year 9.

The application deadline for 2026 entry is 31 May 2025.

This year, in response to the growing number of applications, we have updated our enrolment process. Enrolment procedures will begin in mid-April and continue until the end of Term 2. We will be in touch with all applicants to give them detailed instructions on how to proceed. To help us better understand each student, we kindly request all students to submit a short video with us, talking about their school life and extracurricular activities. Additionally, all students will be invited to participate in an entrance test.

Our panel will carefully review each application, considering both the student's video submission and test results. From there we will invite selected students for in-person interviews. Students not chosen for an interview will be added to our waiting list and may be offered an interview should an opportunity arise later. After completing the interviews, usually by early July, we will contact all parents at the same time. At that point, we will either offer them a place at the school or place them on our waiting list.

Applicants for Year 7 and 9 that miss the deadline, will be placed on our waiting list and may be contacted should a space become available.

Year 8 Applications

We usually have a waiting list in Year 8. If you apply for your child to join us in this year group, he or she will be placed on the waiting list, and we will interview him or her as soon as a place becomes available.

Year 10 Applications

We usually have a waiting list in Year 10. If you apply for your child to join us in this year group, he or she will be placed on the waiting list, and we will interview him or her as soon as a place becomes available.

We do, though, have places become available from time to time at this year level, and we are always happy to consider exceptional circumstances or students who will offer something exceptional to our school community. Please contact us if you wish to discuss this further.

Year 11 to 13 Applications

At this level, we consider all applications on merit, and will interview any students that we feel may benefit from a Pinehurst education. It is unusual for us to take students in Year 13 unless they have completed Year 12 in the Cambridge curriculum, but we take a small number of Year 12 students every year who demonstrate the aptitude and commitment to benefit from a Pinehurst education. From 2022, we expect to have a very limited number of Year 11 places available, but we still encourage you to contact us for a discussion.

Selection Criteria

A final note: we are frequently asked about the selection criteria we use, both to make offers in Year 1 and Year 7, and when we take students from the waiting list.

We have a set of formal priorities that we apply first: siblings of current students and past students, as well as students of staff members, and those whose families have a strong prior connection to the school are prioritised.

After that, we are looking for students who will benefit from a Pinehurst education, and who will contribute to the school community. Academic ability is part of the selection process, as are sporting ability and musical aptitude, as well as less definable traits of leadership and character. We look at the whole student.

We realise, of course, that we aren’t able to offer places to all those who we would like to offer places to, and we never enjoy saying “no” to people. We will always, though, do our best to be fair and clear, and to be open in all of our communications.

For any questions about application and enrolment processes, please feel free to contact Nicole Chen, our Admissions Manager on (09) 414 0960 ext 614 or by email at [email protected]