Registrar

The Oratory Preparatory School is part of the Bellevue Education group and is a coeducational catholic independent day and boarding school with approximately 370 pupils, providing an enriched education to boys and girls aged 2 to 13 years old. Set within 65 acres of Oxfordshire countryside with outstanding facilities, we nurture happy, balanced, confident and inquisitive children. 

The Role: 

The Registrar is directly responsible to the Headmaster for the recruitment of pupils to the School. Working closely with the Headmaster, Senior Leadership team, teachers and the School Office, the successful candidate will provide a seamless admissions process for all prospective pupils and their families. This role is integral to the success of the school and requires excellent customer service skills, an eye for detail and the ability to communicate effectively. 

Main duties and responsibilities: 

• Work creatively and proactively to ensure that the School achieves its annual intake targets for day pupils and boarders,  including overseas pupils. 
• Manage the admissions process from first enquiry to the pupil’s arrival at the school to ensure that it delivers excellent, warm, effective and timely professional customer service.  
• Work closely with the Marketing Manager on the development of communication, events and marketing materials for all target audiences, including Agents, Schools, Estate Agents, Partner Organisations, as well as prospective pupils and their parents. 
• Working alongside the Marketing Manager, continually seek and develop additional channels of recruitment and improvements in the recruitment process of UK and international students. 
• Develop existing relationships and form new working relationships with Agents and overseas schools, nationally and internationally, including arranging school visits and virtual meetings with the Headmaster senior staff, including the Head of Boarding, where applicable. 
• On behalf of the School, act as the Sponsor for all child student visa applications which involves liaising with the UK Visa and Immigration Service, producing the documents required in support of the application process, ensuring that key information is stored and also provided to the UKVI where necessary. In addition, liaise with Agents and/or Guardians, as appropriate, throughout the application process as well as the parents applying for a child student visa. 
• Provide regular updates on admissions activity including monthly KPI reports to the Headmaster and to Bellevue Education. 
• Organise in-school and remote assessments for prospective pupils and wherever possible, ‘taster’ experiences at the School.
• Prepare offer letters and letters declining an offer of a place, for the Headmaster’s approval. 
• Keep the school database updated regarding the status of prospective pupils.
• In conjunction with the Marketing Manager and other key staff, plan a range of events throughout the academic year for prospective families and those joining the School prior to a pupil’s entry, as well as organising events to attract interest into specific year groups ranging from Open Days, Early Years events to Social Evenings and Moving Up mornings.
• Work closely with the Business Manager to manage bursary applications and also manage all Early Education Funding submissions.
• Work particularly closely with EAL and Learning Support staff to ensure that prospective pupils with additional learning needs are fully supported throughout the admissions process.
• Where applicable, work closely with the Headteacher and other key staff at the current school of a prospective pupil to help manage an effective and smooth transition to the Oratory Prep School.
• Ensure the Council is kept up to date with admissions and leavers on a timely basis.
• Liaise with schools to request safeguarding information, where applicable, for new pupils.
• Ensure all paper and electronic records of new pupils are kept up to date including completed Joining forms, reports, proof of identity records and where applicable, school references.
• Support the Marketing Manager by providing key data and content for the School’s website and publications, print and media, ranging from the Prospectus to requests for information from a variety of organisations and social media platforms.
• Collate and provide all of the information required for the regulatory annual School Censuses, including liaising with the ISC, CES and SLASC teams.  

Person Specification:

Experience and qualifications;

• Sound educational background. 
• Experience of independent school admissions (preferable but not essential)

Knowledge;

• Thorough understanding of admissions procedures. 
• Excellent understanding of independent education at all stages. 
• Excellent understanding of first rate customer care practices. 

Skills;

• Strong organisational and analytical skills alongside the ability to manage various streams of work concurrently.
• Ability to work effectively under pressure.
• Outstanding interpersonal skills and the ability to interact well with people at all levels and build relationships. 
• Committed, loyal, discreet, working with an affinity for the School’s ethos and aims. 
• Excellent telephone manner and written communication skills. 
• Proficient in IT, including the ability to exploit the capabilities of the School’s Management  Information System and to extract and interpret useful reports. 
• A proactive and professional attitude to developing and sustaining working relationships with prospective parents and pupils. 

Attributes;

• Willingness and availability to attend open days and other admissions related events. including occasional evenings and weekends.
• Personal warmth and a genuine desire and commitment to help others and offer an excellent service with flexibility, patience and diplomacy
• Understanding of the independent school sector. 
• A team player with a positive, enthusiastic and solutions-focused attitude. 
• Reliable, well organised with good attention to detail. 
• Willingness to keep abreast of and adopt admissions best practice. 
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This is a full-time, year round position. The successful candidate must be able to commit to working occasional weekends and late evenings as and when required. 

Start date: ASAP  

Applications

Please send your applications together with a covering letter to Human Resources, The Oratory Prep School at humanresources@oratory.co.uk.

The Oratory Preparatory School  is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Applicants must be willing to undergo checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service.