The
criterion for acceptance into the school is the willingness to
put in the effort to achieve full potential, not high 'innate'
ability. Placement into classes is determined by academic attainment,
with age acting as a limiting factor. Students applying to enter
any class in the school must take diagnostic tests to determine
placement.
Students who are found to be behind academically are rarely refused.
Instead, they are offered one of several different solutions,
depending on the severity of their academic problems.
They may be:
1. Summer school: A six-week summer course offered
in July and August. Students who are academically below the required
standard can attend this course and often make up for a whole
academic year.
2. Special lessons: A student found to be weak
in one subject attends extra periods in that subject until the
level of the class is reached.
3. Full-special classes: Students are given
accelerated programs intended to prepare them to join the regular
classes. In many cases, full-special students have done the work
of two or more scholastic years in one.