Woodhouse College Admissions & Enrolment System – Bespoke Sixth-Form Application Platform

Woodhouse College in Finchley, London, is consistently ranked among the top three sixth-form colleges in the UK. It is one of a select group of institutions to hold both Beacon Status and an Ofsted Outstanding rating, making it one of the most sought-after places to study A levels in London and the surrounding regions, including Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Essex.

The Problem

As one of the highest-performing sixth-form colleges in the country, Woodhouse receives an exceptionally high volume of applications each year. Their admissions process involves specific validation requirements, grade thresholds and programme-specific criteria that cannot be met by standard off-the-shelf systems.

Woodhouse needed a customised online application platform tailored to their exact academic requirements. They also required a seamless GCSE-based enrolment system that would allow successful applicants to submit their August GCSE grades, verify that those grades met the entry criteria for chosen A-level subjects, and adjust their subject choices if necessary.

Finally, the College wanted the whole process—from initial application to confirmed enrolment—to integrate automatically with their internal Management Information System (MIS) to eliminate manual data entry and reduce administrative workload.

The Solution

New Media Aid designed and built a secure, bespoke web-based admissions and enrolment platform that has supported Woodhouse College since 2004. The system manages the entire lifecycle of a student’s journey into the College:

1. Online Applications

• Applicants create an account and submit a detailed online application.
• The system automatically sends reference requests to the applicant’s school or headteacher.
• Staff have a secure admin interface for shortlisting, reviewing and managing applicants.

2. GCSE Results & Online Enrolment

In August, once GCSE results are released, applicants return to the system to complete a fully online enrolment process:

• Students enter their GCSE results into the platform.
• The system automatically checks whether grades meet the entry criteria for the student’s chosen A-level subjects.
• Applicants can adjust their A-level choices based on their actual results and programme-specific requirements.
• Validation rules ensure fair and consistent decisions across the entire applicant cohort.

3. Automatic MIS Integration

All students who meet the College’s entry criteria and confirm their wish to enrol are automatically transferred into the main college MIS system ready for timetable creation and academic onboarding. This automation removes manual data entry, reducing errors and saving hundreds of administrative hours each year.

A Long-Term Partnership

Over nearly two decades, we have maintained and expanded Woodhouse College’s suite of bespoke internal systems, including:

• Admissions and reference management
• Online GCSE-based enrolment
• Automated MIS integration
• Internal staff tools and intranet systems

These systems continue to support Woodhouse College’s mission to provide an exceptional educational experience for students across London, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Essex and beyond.

A Reliable, Scalable Digital Backbone

The bespoke admissions and enrolment platform delivers:

• A fully digital admissions workflow tailored to academic requirements
• Accurate GCSE-based subject validation
• Seamless transition from applicant to enrolled student
• Automated MIS population with zero manual data entry
• Robust security and compliance for sensitive student data

This system remains a mission-critical part of Woodhouse College’s operations, ensuring a smooth, accurate and efficient process for thousands of applicants every year.