Initial Number - this number is used internally by the system but can be rolled forward to the pupil record as the official roll number. If your data manager needs to access the record behind the scenes this is the key piece of information

Surname/Firstname - the firstname (forename) is the first forename as on the birth certificate. There is space under Other names for two further forenames.

Called - the forename by which the pupil is to be known. This will be the name, for instance, which a teacher would use to refer to a pupil on a report. It is not and should not be a nickname. (See note above under the Finder form on Standard name format).

DoB - Date of Birth – as with other dates it can be entered in any reasonable format but will be displayed as dd/mm/yyyy.

Gender - the sex of the pupil (Female/Male)

Boarder - the resident status of the pupil – options can be set locally but are typically Day, Boarder, Weekly Boarder. Optional field.

Proposed Date in - the date the pupil hopes to join the school – it is a good idea to standardise this to the first day of a month, normally the first day of September. This can make searches easier as there is no need to look up the exact date of the start of the Autumn term.

Into Year - the pupil year that the pupil hopes to join – the names of these vary from school to school. Typically an 11 year old will join Year 7.

Join age - the pupil’s age on the day of joining (Proposed Date in) – calculated automatically and displayed in years and months.

Nationality - an optional field

Testimonial taken - tick box showing if a testimonial has been received for this child

Feeder School - the school the child is currently attending selected from the existing list. (See paragraph below on Feeder Schools)

Religion - optional field – officially regarded as sensitive data under the Data Protection Act so the school must have an official policy regarding its use.

Cohort - usually the year the pupil would leave the school if they stayed till the end of the Sixth Form but it is entirely up to the school how and whether this field is used.

Agent - The name of the agent or agency which has handled the application for the client. Not required by all schools.

Marketing information
Marketing information can be recorded under a main heading and a sub-heading and there are tools for analysing this data. If you wish to analyse the source of your pupils it is essential that you record data here. There are lookup tables available to extend these lists and a growing number of analytical tools to use on it. (See Marketing Information).

Entrance examination information
See under Entrance Examinations for information about this.