The Garden International School

1. Initial enquiry and information gathering. Use those contacts to request the current prospectus, term dates and to ask about open days or tours, because the website's public pages are brief and many administrative details are handled directly by the admissions office.

2. Submit the online registration / enquiry form. The homepage points parents to online registration links (jinshuju forms) for both Primary and Kindergarten and asks families to complete those forms so the school can follow up; make sure you enter a working phone number and email and note whether you want an on-site visit or an initial phone/WeChat call. Completing the online form is presented as the formal expression of interest — the site says the school will contact families after submission, so treat this step as required to be considered for a place or further assessment.

3. School follow-up and scheduling. After you submit the registration form the admissions office will contact you by phone, email or WeChat to confirm next steps — this may include scheduling a campus visit, an assessment or a short interview depending on the child's year group. Parents should be prepared to provide school records, passport/ID and any recent school reports when asked; bringing these documents to the visit or uploading them in advance will speed the process. If you prefer a particular start date, confirm availability at this stage because places (particularly in some year groups) can be limited.

4. Assessment / interview (Primary and older kindergarten applicants). Public information for this school indicates that Primary applicants are typically interviewed by teachers and may be given a written assessment in English, Chinese and Mathematics where appropriate; the international-schools-database summary notes interviews and subject assessments are used to place children at the correct level. Parents should prepare copies of recent school reports and be ready to discuss the child's literacy and numeracy levels and second‑language experience — the school operates bilingual programmes and placement aims to match the child to the right classroom. If your child has identified additional learning needs, declare this before assessment so the school can plan appropriate support during testing and placement.

5. Offer letter and fee schedule. If a place is available the school will issue an offer or an invitation to enrol; the offer letter should list the fee schedule, deadline for acceptance, and any one‑time enrolment or deposit amounts. The school's public site does not publish a full fees schedule online, so expect the detailed fee breakdown to be sent with the offer letter or provided on request from admissions — ask explicitly for a written fee schedule that shows tuition, deposits, meal/bus charges and payment dates. Because the fee information is not publicly posted, get the payment deadlines and refund/withdrawal terms in writing before you accept.

6. Accepting the place and completing paperwork. To confirm enrollment you will typically sign the acceptance form and pay any required deposit or first-term fee by the deadline given in the offer; keep receipts and confirmation emails for your records. Also complete any administrative requirements the school lists (copies of passport/visa if applicable, medical records, emergency contact details) so the student's start is not delayed on arrival day. If you need the school to help with logistics (uniforms, bus routes, start date adjustments), request these details at the time you accept so the school can prepare.

7. Orientation and start date. The school will advise on orientation arrangements for new students (sometimes a short induction day or staggered start for younger children); confirm who will meet your child on their first day and the drop-off/pick-up procedures. For Kindergarten families, follow the school's guidance about settling-in routines and bring any familiar items the child needs, and for Primary families confirm classroom placement and which languages are used in the child's class. If you cannot attend an in-person orientation, ask whether the school provides an online welcome briefing or a key-school-policies summary by email.

8. Ongoing communication. Keep the admissions email address and the school's WeChat contact saved and check for any pre-term forms (medical, dietary, bus route) the school sends; many administrative communications in Guangzhou schools are handled through WeChat, so add the official account if instructed. If you have special circumstances (visa timing, late arrival, learning support), raise them early with admissions so they can confirm whether the requested start date and support can be arranged. Documentation and deadlines are the most common causes of delay, so asking for all required lists in writing is the simplest precaution.

The school's public English pages do not publish a formal waitlist policy or an explicit “pool” system; instead the website directs parents to complete the online registration forms and states the school will contact families after submission, which functions as the school's expression‑of‑interest process. Because fees and full admissions policies are not published on the site, there is no clarity on whether completed registrations are held in a ranked waitlist or in a contact/notification pool — if you want to know your child's exact status (rank, likelihood of offer and any priority rules such as sibling priority), ask admissions directly and request the information in writing. In practice, for many Guangzhou international schools a submitted registration form places a family in the school's enquiries/selection queue; therefore parents who need a place for a specific term should register early, keep communications open with admissions (admission@tgisgz.com) and follow up by phone or WeChat if you do not receive a timely response.