Admissions

All Hopescourt School pupils have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). Unfortunately, we cannot consider admissions applications for students who do not have an EHCP.

Parents can express a preference for the type of provision (specialist school, specialist centre in a mainstream school or mainstream placement with support) at their child’s Annual Review. Following the Annual Review, their child’s paperwork will be submitted to the Area SEN Team who will decide if the level of provision requested is suitable. Case Officers will send copies of the EHCP and any supporting paperwork to Surrey SEND admissions. The Local Authority will then allocate the child a school place in the appropriate provision. 

Hopescourt School will, in line with its anticipated growth plan, have an intake in Reception, and an intake in Year 7 annually.  From September 2025, the plan is for the school to have a Year 3 intake but this will cease after the 2027-2028 academic year as younger children already on roll move through the school.  

In September 2025 we will have the following pupil numbers:

• Year 7 - 22
• Year 8 - 22
• Year 9 - 22
• Year 10 - 22
• Year 11 - 11

Our first intake of primary school children will be in September 2025, in year R and year 3 only.

The school will, in the future, also offer some places for Hopescourt School pupils to study post-16 in Years 12 and 13.

In-year admissions applications should be made via your Local Authority SEN Case Officer.

If you are a Local Authority SEN Case Officer, please direct your consultations to the Surrey SEND admissions team at sendplacements@surreycc.gov.uk  

Hopescourt School’s admissions process is captured through our Statement of Provision (Admissions Policy). This can be read in full below.  If you have any queries about our admissions arrangements, please email info@hopescourt.school. 

Statement of Provision

Introductory Statement

Hopescourt School is a new co-educational special free school sponsored by Bourne Education Trust in partnership with Freemantles School. It is sited in Walton on Thames and will support autistic pupils and children with communication and interaction needs between the ages of 4 and 19. Hopescourt School is looking to equip pupils for life by offering the best of mainstream and specialist settings.  Pupils will have bespoke programmes of study with access to the breadth of curriculum akin to that in a mainstream setting. The school will provide an aspirational environment where learners can access specialist support alongside a range of subject experts so that they can thrive.

Admissions To The School

Hopescourt School will initially provide places for children and young people in the age range 4-19 with autism and communication and interaction needs (High COIN) who are working at broadly age related expectations. These numbers will rise incrementally each year to a maximum number on roll of 200 by 2028-29. This cohort is likely to be a complex group of autistic pupils working at broadly or just below age related expectations. Pupils whose autism is less complex will be either in mainstream school or in High COIN centre provision on a mainstream site. Therefore, Hopescourt students are likely to have more complex mental health problems and significant gaps in their social learning.

Hopescourt is one form entry throughout Primary (from Reception to Year 6), two form entry from year 7 to year 11 and will then be one form entry in the sixth form.

For a child to be admitted, the school must be named in the child’s education health and care plan (EHCP) by their local authority. Surrey County Council will ultimately determine all admissions into the school.

A local authority will refer a child with an EHCP to be assessed to see whether the school would be appropriate to meet the child’s needs. The school will undertake this assessment and will offer a place if this is appropriate and the school is able to provide this without it being inefficient for the other children in the school.

Parents wishing their children to benefit from our provision should ask their local authority to name Hopescourt School in their child’s EHCP.

For information on the process for obtaining a place at a special school, please visit:

Surrey County Council SEND admissions pages on Surrey County Council’s website