Enrolment FAQs

The Council of Barker College sets the fees for application for enrolment at Barker and reviews these from time to time. The current charges are:

Registration Fee

On application you will be required to pay a non-refundable registration fee of $385. If a child is registered before the age of one, the student's name will be registered on an expression of interest list. Once all students in that cohort have turned one Confirmed Places will be offered in order of age at date of registration and subject to the School’s priority order. For children registering after the age of one if Confirmed Places are available in the cohort they will be offered immediately on registration and asked to pay the Confirmation Fee. If no places are available they will be placed on a waiting list for entry.

Confirmation Fee

This fee applies only for entry in Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, Year 3, 5 and 7 entry and is 50% of the current Admission Fee. Payment of this $2250 fee holds a place for these entry points only and is not refundable or transferable.

Admission Fee

When a place is offered from the Waiting List, all parents will be required to pay a non-transferable nor non-refundable Admission Fee of $4500 for Junior and Middle School entry and $2800 for Senior School entry. For each student this sum is payable as a single payment on acceptance of a place and prior to the student entering the School. Students who hold Confirmed Places will only pay the balance of the 50% of the Admission Fee when they are asked to finalise their place for entry.

Tuition Fees

Fee invoices are issued prior to the commencement of each term and are payable within the first 10 days of term. Payment by Direct Debit is available and information is given to parents prior to paying their fees at the beginning of each school year. All fees and charges are reviewed annually.

Places are offered by age at date of application and by the School's priority order. If a child is registered before the age of one the student's name will be registered on an expression of interest list. Once all students in that cohort have turned one Confirmed Places will be offered in order of age at date of registration and subject to the School’s priority order.

For children registering after the age of one if places are available in the cohort they will be offered on registration and parents will be asked to pay the Confirmation Fee. This applies only for students in Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, Year 3, Year 5 and Year 7 Entry.

No, you may choose to have your child's name remain on the waiting list for their grade of entry year. Children on the waiting list, based on their application, may be invited to interview for the remaining places in the year of entry. Places may be offered following interview.

With the length of the waiting lists, it is an advantage to confirm your child's place to have the security of their entry to Barker. There is no guarantee that a student will be offered a place from the waiting list. 

You can take up the offer of a confirmed place, if available, at any time prior to the enrolment process commencing for that year group and subject to places being available in their year of entry.

Please contact the Barker Enrolments Office and they will advise if a place is available in the year of entry you require.

To hold the place once offered, a Confirmation Fee is payable within 14 days of the offer being made. The non-refundable Confirmation Fee ($2250) is 50% of the current Barker College Admission Fee, the balance of which is then payable prior to the child's entry to the School.

This fee can be paid by cheque, credit card or BPAY and details for payment are available with the Confirmation of Place contract that is sent on application.

No. A confirmed place secures your child a position in the year of your choice on application and is not able to be transferred or refunded. 

No, your confirmed place fee is not refundable or transferable to another year of entry. 

A student commencing at Barker is expected to be turning the appropriate age for that school grade by 31 March of that year - e.g. a student entering Kindergarten, is expected to be turning 5 by 31 March in the year in which they enter Kindergarten. 

If a place is available in the entry year your child has applied for, Barker will send you a Confirmation Contract for payment. Once that payment is received you will receive a letter of confirmation and receipt.

No. The School is not registered to accept international fee paying students.

Pre-Kindergarten - All students holding confirmed places in Pre-Kindergarten will be asked to accept their place by paying the balance of the Admission Fee (currently $2250) during Term 2 of the year prior to entry. Children who have particular learning needs (academically advanced &/or learning support), social, emotional and/or physical needs, or have another area for discussion, can request an interview prior to accepting their confirmed place offer. Please note - As part of the Pre-Kindergarten Orientation, an in-person conversation with a member of the Early Stage 1 team will take place in Term 4 of the year prior to entry for all students.  

Kindergarten - All students holding confirmed places in Kindergarten will be asked to accept their place by paying the balance of the Admission Fee (currently $2250) during Term 2 of the year prior to entry. Children who have particular learning needs (academically advanced &/or learning support), social, emotional and/or physical needs, or have another area for discussion, can request an interview prior to accepting their confirmed place offer. Please note - As part of the Kindergarten Orientation, an in-person conversation with a member of the Early Stage 1 team will take place in Term 4 of the year prior to entry for all students. 

Year 3 - All students holding confirmed places in Year 3 will be asked to accept their place by paying the balance of the Admission Fee (currently $2250) one year prior to entry. Children who have particular learning needs (academically advanced &/or learning support), social, emotional and/or physical needs, or have another area for discussion, can request an interview prior to accepting their confirmed place offer. Please note - An in-person meeting may be requested in Term 4 of the year prior to entry to discuss any particular needs your child may have. This requested meeting would be in addition to your child’s scheduled Orientation. Further to this, the School will contact you in Term 4 of the year prior to your child’s entry to supply their most up to date school reports.

Year 5 - All students holding confirmed places in Year 5 will be asked to accept their place by paying the balance of the Admission Fee (currently $2250) approximately eighteen months prior to entry. Children who have particular learning needs (academically advanced &/or learning support), social, emotional and/or physical needs, or have another area for discussion, can request an interview prior to accepting their confirmed place offer. Please note - An in-person meeting may be requested in Term 4 of the year prior to entry to discuss any particular needs your child may have. This requested meeting would be in addition to your child’s scheduled Orientation. Further to this, the School will contact you in Term 4 of the year prior to your child’s entry to supply their most up to date school reports and NAPLAN results.

Year 7 - All students holding confirmed places in Year 7 will be asked to accept their place by paying the balance of the Admission Fee (currently $2250) two years prior to entry. They will have a pre-entry interview with their Head of House in Term 4 of Year 6 just prior to entry. Children who have particular learning needs (academically advanced &/or learning support), mental health, physical needs, or have another area for discussion, can request an interview prior to accepting their place.

In a manner which is appropriate to the child's age, the pre-entry interview covers the following:

• the child's academic performance and development to date, and the child's apparent readiness and preparedness to take part in the Barker academic program, together with our assessment of the suitability of the academic program to the student's needs
• our assessment of the child's personal characteristics and, for entry to Year 3or higher, their approach to academic work as set out in school reports
• our assessment of the capacity of the School to nurture and support the further development and interests of the student
• our assessment of the child's and their family's willingness to support the School's code of student conduct and its Christian faith and practice
• our assessment of the child's willingness to participate fully in and contribute to the life of the School, including participation in Saturday sport from Year 3 until Year 12
• our overall impression of the child's capacity to benefit from the opportunity of sharing in a Barker education.

Prior to attending the pre-entry interview, parents will be sent and asked to complete a personal information data sheet which provides the School with current contact details and other essential information. This information is collected in accordance with the school's Privacy Policy. The School requests that parents also provide two written family references from people who know their family well. If possible, the School prefers that one of these references be provided by a member of the clergy.

In addition, children (with their parents' assistance where appropriate) will be asked to fill out an information questionnaire about their interests and activities both in and out of school, and other information. Where appropriate, copies of the child's latest two school reports, and most recent NAPLAN results, and any other supporting documents demonstrating the child's attainments in both academic and co-curricular activities are also required to be submitted to the School. This information provides a complete all-round view of the student's attainments and interests.

All students entering Year 7 and some students entering Year 5 at the discretion of the Head, will undertake academic assessment at Barker in the term prior to their entry to the School, so that the School may ensure that each child is placed within the grade with a group of students whose academic development is similar to their own.

Entry to Year 10 is by waitlist only. Should a place become available, applicants will be selected for interview based on the information provided in the questionnaire, their school reports and academic assessment, co-curricular activities and demonstrated commitment to Barker's values. 

Barker is always pleased to enrol children of former students.

A confirmed place will ensure your child's place is secured in advance.

If you choose to remain on the waitlist your child will be listed by their age at date of application and will not receive any priority for placement.

The School reserves the right to offer priority to children whose father, mother or grandparents have attended the School, and to children whose families can demonstrate an active involvement in a Christian congregation if they register their child before the age of one.

If children or grandchildren of former students are not registered before their first birthday, and there are no Confirmed Places available, they will be placed on the waiting list in order of their age at date of application.

It is an advantage for children of former students to be enrolled before they turn one.

The School Council's Policy requires children of former students to complete all the normal enrolment formalities. They complete the Student Questionnaire and attend an interview at the School with their parents.

Entry into Barker is subject to the availability of places and many of these are secured years in advance. Having a child currently at Barker does not guarantee a sibling a place. Siblings do receive priority on the waiting list.

For the past few years, Barker has been experiencing very high demand for places.  In fact, there is limited availability well into the next decade. It is gratifying that so many want to join the Barker community and partake in all that we have to offer. We are truly honoured.  

However, with this comes challenges regarding pressures on our waiting list and having to deliver honest but disappointing news to families hoping to secure a place for their child. We are in the situation where many on our waiting lists, some of whom have siblings currently at Barker, will not be offered a place simply because they are all taken.