This year The Peninsula School is offering scholarship for students entering Grade 5 in 2011 and Year 7 in 2011 and the examinations will be held on Saturday, 27th February 2010 at our Mt Eliza campus.

Scholarship Selection Testing (SST) will be conducted on our behalf by The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), a well-known, independent, national research and development organization. ACER currently conducts scholarship testing of many thousands of students across Australia.

Please note that a candidate who registers for more than one school using the ACER SST program will need to sit more than one test. Each school uses a different test and scores are not shared amongst schools when different tests are used.
If two schools offer SST testing on the same day, candidates will have to choose between the schools as results from one test cannot be passed to the other school.

General Conditions

Our school offers two types of scholarships – ACADEMICand GENERAL EXCELLENCE.
Academic Scholarships are awarded to the students who perform best on the examination. General Excellence Scholarships are awarded to students who do well on the examination and who can demonstrate excellence in areas such as Sport, Music, Drama, Debating, etc. Evidence of achievement will be required from those students who are invited for General Excellence interviews, after the awarding of Academic Scholarships is completed.

The Scholarship

• The Principal may, at his discretion, decide not to award any or all of the scholarships, in the event of applicants failing to reach a satisfactory standard at the entrance examination.
• The Principal can terminate a scholarship at any time if he is not satisfied with the holder’s conduct or progress.
• Scholarships are tenable throughout a student’s time at the school, and it is expected that scholarship holders will remain at the school until they complete VCE, unless there are extraordinary circumstances.
• The number of scholarships and the level of fee remission may vary, but in general a 50% remission of tuition fees is applicable for Academic Scholarships. General Excellence Scholarships normally attract up to 30% remission. Please note that a registration and non-refundable entry fee are still payable for external students.
• A scholarship holder is required to give a lead in the academic life of the school, an undivided loyalty to the school, and to participate fully in school activities.
  

The Examination

• The examination will include a test of general reasoning, spelling, reading comprehension, written expression and maths. These tests have been intentionally selected to be appropriate and non-threatening for this age group. Most students find that the testing is challenging but not traumatising, and many even find the experience enjoyable!

• For Year 5 candidates, a free download entitled “Get Ready Go” is available from ACER at www.acer.edu.au. This booklet contains valuable information for parents and students along with some sample questions, tips and advice. This is a must read for parents of students sitting the Grade 5 scholarship exam

• For Year 7 candidates, parents can purchase “Sample Collection of Questions Vols 1 & 2” which provides familiarisation with the test questions and examination format. This booklet can be made available to candidates as an “add-on” as part of the online registration process for $22.00 (incl Postage & GST) and is shipped by ACER to candidates; or purchase directly from ACER via www.acer.edu.au for $22.00 (incl Postage & GST).

• A Sample Test is available for Year 7 online registration candidates only. This a test that can be administered at home and results made available from ACER. The cost of this sample test is $60.00 (incl GST and postage and handling) and it can be purchased via the ACER website www.acer.edu.au.

• Also available on the ACER website are Sample Questions Online for Year 7 candidates only. These questions are interactive and CANNOT be printed out and are done online. The test can be purchased online from ACER for $22.00, and can be accessed immediately.

• We usually receive the results from ACER approximately two weeks after the exam. However, it takes an additional four weeks for the scholarship process to be finalized by the School and parents should rest assured that they WILL be contacted with regard to their child’s performance in the exam.
  

Registration Fees

Online Registration $80.00 (incl GST)

Closing Date Applications MUST be made on-line and the registration site closes at 12:00 Noon. on
Friday, 19th February 2010.

After this date and time any late applications MUST be made in person at The
Peninsula School and will incur an additional late fee of $50.00.

Remote Locations Within Australia: $130.00 Overseas: $280.00

Please note that ACER will not run established ACER Examination Centres for overseas or country candidates, but can provide some assistance in setting up additional centres and in the delivery of test materials to them.
All remote applications MUST be received by 12:00 Noon on Wednesday, 17th February and unfortunately late remote applications CANNOT be accepted.

General Information

• Visit ACER’s website at www.acer.edu.au. and follow the prompts to download your Candidate’s Information Booklet. PLEASE READ THROUGH THIS BOOKLET BEFORE REGISTERING ONLINE.
• Refer to ACER’s policies regarding refunds.
• Please do not submit supporting documentation with your application. If a student is being considered for a scholarship, information will be requested at that time.
• If required, a guide for our fees in 2011 is available from our Admissions Office upon request.

To submit your application
If after reading through this information you would like to register your child to sit the scholarship examination, please carry out the following instructions –

• GRADE 5 SCHOLARSHIP - To register ONLINE click here to be hotlinked to the ACER registration site and then follow the prompts. (Please note that the online registration fee is $80.00 -GST included - and must be paid by credit card.) It will take approximately 20 minutes to complete the online registration process. You will receive an e-mail from ACER confirming your registration.

• YEAR 7 SCHOLARSHIP - To register ONLINE click here to be hotlinked to the ACER registration site and then follow the prompts. (Please note that the online registration fee is $80.00 -GST included - and must be paid by credit card.) It will take approximately 20 minutes to complete the online registration process. You will receive an e-mail from ACER confirming your registration.

If you experience any problems while registering online, please contact a member of the ACER IT technical support team: onlinehelp@acer.edu.au

Examination Day

• Your child MUST arrive no later than 8:45 a.m. to allow students time to be seated prior to the prompt commencement of the examinations at 9:00 a.m.
• GRADE 5 SCHOLARSHIP - Students should report to the Jr Gymnasium. Please note that the examination will finish at approximately 11:30 a.m.
• YEAR 7 SCHOLARSHIP - Students should wait outside the Ansett Hall on arrival and their exam will conclude at approximately 12:00 Noon. All students and parents should wait OUTSIDE the Ansett Hall. When the examiner is ready to commence, students will be ushered into the examination room and then seated after their name is called.
• As any noise can be quite distracting for the students sitting the examination, we ask that families do not return to the examination venue to collect their children until the conclusion of the exam.
• On examination day your child will only need to bring along two HB or B pencils, a pencil eraser and two blue or black pens. NO OTHER EQUIPMENT SHOULD BE BROUGHT, AS ALL OTHER MATERIALS WILL BE PROVIDED ON THE DAY.
• Please provide a snack and a drink for consumption during the break.

Open Day
Our first Open Day for the year will be held on Wednesday, 17th February between the hours of 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Take a tour with one of our student guides and experience “The Peninsula School in action”. We do not go to elaborate lengths to stage demonstrations or exhibitions, much preferring that you simply observe a “typical” day at our school; see how we operate, learn about our programmes and meet our staff and students.

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IT CONTAINS IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING EXAMINATION DAY