Admissions Process
Please also visit the Application Process page and review the Steps to Apply.
To start the process of applying to Brent, click on the red circle within the Admissions pages of this website that shows “To start your application, click here.” It is on the right side of each Admissions page when viewed on a desktop computer. When you have created an account, you will see the graphic below. Click the image to enlarge:
When applying to the following school year:
As of the first business day in November, the following school year is added to the drop down menu of the application. November and December are ideal months to upload the needed documents. The documents are explained in the graphic above and the Application Requirements page within the application.
When Brent’s Admissions Office receives all needed documentation, families are then invited to pay the Application Fee and schedule the on-campus tests and interviews for mid January or after. There are no online or remote options for these appointments.
There is no deadline to apply, but completing the process mid January – April is often recommended. Families can best plan for their future when they receive the acceptance decision from Brent’s Principal within the first half of our admissions season.
(Accepted, Wait Pool, Hold and Not Accepted are explained here.)
If applying to transfer into Brent’s current school year:
Brent Manila does not have a deadline to apply. New students most often enroll in early August (Quarter 1) when our school year begins, but qualified students can also transfer to Brent in October (Quarter 2) and January (Quarter 3) if seats are still available.
Brent’s application and document uploading process can be started and completed at any time when applying to transfer after our classes have started. When Brent’s Admissions Office receives all needed documentation, families are then invited to pay the Application Fee and schedule the on-campus tests and interviews. There are no online or remote options for these appointments.
Third-Party Affiliations Disclaimer
Brent International School Manila is not affiliated with any external agents, tutoring services or schools who claim to have special consideration with enrolling students at Brent Manila. The official decision for all applicants—Accepted, Accepted to our Wait Pool, or Not Accepted—is determined solely through our own comprehensive review process.
An applicant’s entrance test experience is based on his/her age, academic history, level of English, and recent report cards.
Kindergarten applicants complete a short math activity, a short reading activity, write their first name, and draw a picture.
Those applying to Grades 1 and 2 take a short math test, read 20 words, read a few sentences out loud, and provide a short writing sample.
For Grades 3 and above, applicants who are fluent in English take a math and a reading test (each one includes 20 multiple choice questions; taken on a computer), and they provide a writing sample.
For students in Grades 3, 4 and 5 who are not fluent in English, a shorter math test is completed with paper and pencil. They do not need to pass an English test, but their skills are evaluated to determine if they are a beginner, intermediate, or advanced with reading, writing, listening and speaking.
Formal tests are not given to children applying to Nursery and Pre-Kindergarten. The Admissions Committee likes to see that these youngest applicants can focus for a few minutes on the conversation or activity, and follow some simple directions. General behavior and developmental readiness are most important at these young ages. There are no required academic skills to enter Nursery or Pre-Kindergarten, but during the interviews it is noted if the child has been exposed to colors, shapes, and numbers 1-5. Children might be in diapers at the time of the interview, but it is expected that diapers will no longer be needed by the time of enrollment (during the school day, 8am to 11:20am).
Brent’s Admissions Committee reviews several factors when considering grade level placement for applicants.
- Date of birth of the applicant. For placement with peers, and noting the age the student would be by the time of graduation from Grade 12.
- The grade level the applicant most recently completed, or is currently enrolled in. Also, if they have not yet been in school.
- The curriculum an applicant is coming from. British Year 2 = Brent’s Grade 1, for example.
- The school calendar months an applicant is coming from. Australia’s January to December vs. Brent’s August to May, for example.
- The timing of enrollment. August and January are the most common months to join Brent.
- Entrance test scores. Kindergarten applicants and above take math, reading, and writing tests on Brent’s campus.
- Academic history.
- Fluency in English.
- Developmental readiness.
- Students already enrolled at Brent are also considered. Our classroom environments, as well as the education and safety of our students, must be maintained.
Brent aims to place students with age-appropriate peers, without missing significant parts of a school year. Academic and social success can then be predicted when joining Brent, and for the years that follow.
So that all aspects are appropriately considered, completing the admissions process is required for an official decision. This includes the online application, on-campus entrance tests and interviews, and the final decision from Brent’s Principal.
Brent’s Admissions Committee is most cautious with younger applicants. The full range of their abilities is not yet known, and most of their years in education are still to come. By October of the school year being applied to, ideally, Nursery applicants would be age 3, Pre-Kindergarten applicants would be age 4, and Kindergarten applicants would be age 5. Exceptions are sometimes made for an applicant with a birthday in October, November and December but it is rare. Being the youngest in the class is often not the best solution, even for advanced students. When students excel in certain areas of the curriculum as compared to their classmates, elementary teachers differentiate curriculum so that students are appropriately challenged.
For applicants to Grades 1 and above, the cut-off is having a birthday by December 31. It is not used to simply promote applicants to a higher grade if they qualify by age, but so that they are not required to repeat a grade level if they were successful in their previous school. Age 6 by December 31 for Grade 1, Age 7 by December 31 for Grade 2, etc. Since earned credits are required to graduate from High School at the end of Grade 12, all eight semesters of High School are required for students in Grades 9 through 12.
If an applicant seeks enrollment at Brent significantly after the start of our school year without having started the grade level applying to, a placement at Brent in the same grade level already completed at their previous school can be expected. This can occur with applicants from Australia, Korea and Singapore due to different academic calendars. This lengthens a student’s time in a grade level, but provides an opportunity to more easily adjust academically and socially to a new school and country.
Please visit the Enrollment Process section for complete information.
- Creating an account, providing documents, and scheduling the test and interview appointments does not change the status of the applicant. A seat in a grade level is not reserved in these early steps of the admissions process.
- A family might inquire and be informed that seats are available, but on the day of test and interview appointments learn that the grade level is full. Seat availability fluctuates and can be difficult to predict.
Company Dependents: Admissions can reserve an available seat for an applicant before the test and interview appointments if the company will be billed for the tuition payments and can provide Admissions with a Guarantee Payment Letter on their letterhead. A reserved seat does not, however, assure acceptance. Company Dependents still need to qualify for acceptance. If a seat is not available, the student will be added to the Wait Pool and informed if a seat becomes available.
Student Life
Kindergarten through Grade 12 students attend Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 2:35pm.
There are two exceptions to the above information. 1) For all students, Thursdays are a “late start” day, with classes beginning at 8:40am so that teachers can attend curriculum meetings. The school day ends at the regular time on Thursdays. 2) On Friday, classes end at 2:00pm instead of 2:35pm.
Offices are closed on the weekends.
Brent’s Uniform Department (Basement) sells the required regular uniforms, PE uniforms and House Shirts.
Girls wear a plaid skirt and a white shirt with Brent’s logo on the pocket for regular classes (1,600 pesos for the set). Boys wear khaki pants and a maroon polo shirt with Brent’s logo on the pocket (1,700 pesos for the set).
PE uniforms are the same for girls and boys: Maroon athletic shorts and a white T-shirt with Brent’s logo (1,200 pesos for the set).
House shirts are worn for special activities (570 pesos each). New students are assigned to Azure, Emerald or Gold House at the time of acceptance. Siblings are placed in the same House.
Brent branded jackets and hoodies and other merchandise are also sold. These are optional purchases. All classrooms and indoor spaces are air conditioned, so if a student is cold a Brent jacket or hoodie should be purchased.
Varsity Council sells Brent Pride shirts in the Activities Office (2nd floor; 560 pesos for short sleeves; 610 pesos for long sleeves). Pride shirts, and other Brent merchandise, are optional purchases.
For students joining the school year late, Brent’s ROARS Welcome Team gets involved. ROARS stands for Reaching Out to All Recent Students. The program is slightly different from one school level to the next, but in general homeroom teachers and guidance counselors work with members of Student Council to select “buddies” for the new students. Recognizing that joining any school after the year has started can be a cause of nerves for new students, Brent works at pairing up new students with a student who is an active member of Brent’s community. Having a student to eat lunch with, and ask questions of–knowing the student volunteered to do exactly that–helps our new members feel welcome and connected.
After-school activities are an important part of the Brent experience. Students are encouraged to join a club or sport to further their development as a well-rounded individual, as well as make friends outside of class.
A link to our After-School Clubs is here.
Brent supports students in mind, body and spirit. In addition to the rapport between faculty and students, this support is scheduled weekly through the set academic curriculum, physical education classes, and occasional religious activities. All students are required to go through Brent’s established curriculum.
Brent’s religion curriculum is non-evangelistic. Students practicing Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam and other religions participate in our Christian-based curriculum without experiencing discrimination.
Lower School religion courses meet once a week and are gospel based. Weekly chapels are lively and are structured around themes such as responsibility, friendship, and honesty—values that the general population agree on as important, regardless of religious orientation.
Middle School religion courses study the main religions of the world, with the understanding that well-educated people should have this knowledge, in addition to Christianity. Weekly chapels are also lively and theme based.
Upper School students attend religion classes for a semester of grades 9, 10 and 11. Courses focus on the influence of the Old Testament in the foundational ideas of Western Civilization (grade 9), exploring the life and teachings of Jesus and the spread of Christianity (grade 10), and encouraging students to think critically and cogently about current moral and ethical issues, considering various religious and secular approaches (grade 11). Upper School students also attend a weekly chapel.