Admissions & fees

The main criteria for any young person joining us are - does the person want to be with us – are they keen to be part of our learning community - and are they likely to benefit from being with us? If these criteria are satisfied after an initial meeting, we invite prospective students to join us for a trial week at the College. This allows them to experience SML first-hand and helps everyone to know if it's the right choice for the student.

Morning or Afternoon Sessions

We operate two sessions for two different communities of students. Students can either choose to attend morning sessions or afternoons.

Morning Sessions run 09:15am to 12:45pm

Afternoon Sessions run 1:30pm to 4:30pm

Trial Weeks for Students

We run trial weeks for up to three students at a time most term-time weeks only. These weeks are free and without obligation on either side.

Once an application has been accepted the student may join us at the start of the next new term.

Fees

We believe that all children, irrespective of parents’ means, should be able to access the opportunities of our Self Managed Learning College and if parents are not able to afford the fees there are possibilities to get assistance either from a local charity or from the College’s Hardship Fund, providing up to 75% fee reduction respectively. If you’d like to know more about these please get in touch.

Fees from Jan 2024

Fees are £2,000 per term to be paid up front.

Where the parent is paying the College directly, there is a reduction in fees which is outlined below:

Fees for morning sessions

Full academic year (3 terms) of September to July:
£1650 per term in advance, or 11 monthly payments equivalent to £1680 per term

Fees for afternoon sessions

Full academic year (3 terms) of September to July:
£1450 per term in advance, or 11 monthly payments equivalent to £1480 per term

Principles, Rules & Procedures

A returnable deposit of £750 is required, which is held by the College until the student leaves . It is separate from the fees. It is either refunded, if there are no debts to the College, or it can be donated to the hardship fund for bursaries.

Invoices for termly fees are issued in advance and must be settled in full by required payment date.

Invoices for annual fees need to be settled before the start of the academic year in September.

Unpaid invoices will attract a ‘warning letter’ and 8% interest per month may be charged. If no attempt to respond to the warning letter is made within 10 days your child’s place could be offered to another interested parent. Where there is no response or payment, the finance team will follow procedures for debt collection which may be via a debt collection agency or solicitor’s action.

Parents who have registered with the Local Council, Trust or a local school for payment of fees – please note that we can invoice the Council, Trust or the school for you, but that you remain responsible for fee payment.

Having a full intake of students is essential for keeping costs to a minimum as the College runs at a loss if all places are not filled. For this reason we require one full term’s notice in writing for ALL students should you decide to withdraw. If this is not received you will be charged for the next full term even if your child is not attending.

There may be a need for additional expenditure if, for example, your child wishes to participate in trips or access extra learning resources. Enrolment onto accredited courses such as GCSEs and Arts Awards will also incur extra cost. All additional costs are optional.

Contact

If you'd like to know more about our programme in Sussex and the SML approach please email office@smlcollege.org.uk for a copy of our free e-booklet that explains everything in more detail. We host regular open days, and when we have availability, we can sometimes host 'drop in' sessions for individuals to have a look around and meet members of the community. Please call for details on 01273 987629