Frequently Asked Questions regarding admission to Secondary School
Every school publishes its own prospectus which it will give to parents on request. In the prospectus parents will find information about the school's
Information about examination results will be available from secondary schools each November. You can contact a school direct
Community Schools
These are schools which are established, maintained and controlled by the Council. The majority of schools in the borough are community schools. The Council is responsible for all admissions to community schools.
Voluntary Schools
Some schools were established and are owned by a voluntary body. Usually it is a church body, either Church of England or Roman Catholic, but this does not have to be the case. The governing body of a voluntary school has a majority of its governors appointed by the church authority or foundation which provides the school. The purpose of these foundation governors is to look after the interests of the founding authority. This would, for example, seek to preserve any religious associations which the school has. Voluntary Aided Schools are responsible for all their own admissions arrangements. Admissions decisions are taken by the governing body. Voluntary Controlled Schools, like community schools, have their admissions handled by the Council.
Transfer from primary to secondary education takes place in the September following a child's eleventh birthday. In October parents of children in enter council name schools who are due to transfer in the following September will receive a letter from the Director Education and Children's Services along with an application form and notes of guidance which explain how to fill it in.
The admissions authority, which is the local education authority for community schools and the governing body for voluntary aided schools, has a duty to operate its published admissions procedures fairly and equally for all applicants. So that this can happen, it is important that all the information which parents provide in support of an application is accurate and honest. This ranges from the child's normal place of residence through to information about any exceptional medical or social circumstances which the authority is being asked to take into consideration. If any of this information is shown to be false, for example if a child is not normally resident at the address given on the application form, then the offer of a place may be withdrawn at any time. Parents who get a place for their child as a result of false information are taking away from another child who is more deserving of it.
Parents of children living in the areas of other local education authorities who wish to apply for secondary places in enter council name schools are advised to apply in writing to the Admissions Officer, Education and Children's Services at the address given below for applications for community schools.
Parents resident in enter council name who wish to apply for places in schools maintained by other authorities should apply to the authority concerned (see list of all neighbouring authorities below) and, at the same time, notify the Education and Children's Services Directorate in enter council name that they are seeking a place elsewhere.
Parents living in the areas of other local education authorities and whose children are attending a enter council name primary school, are advised to also apply for places in schools maintained by their local education authority. Doing so will not reduce their chances of being offered a place in a enter council name school, but will ensure their child is not left without an offer of a school place.
Parents who wish their child to transfer to another school at any time other than the normal stages of 11 plus or 16 plus should first of all discuss it with the headteacher of the school concerned, before completing an application form. Parents applying for places in voluntary aided schools should write to the Headteacher direct. Parents applying for places in community and voluntary controlled schools other than in the normal intake year will be offered a place in the nearest school with a vacancy in that age group.
Parents have the right to express a preference for the school they would like their child to attend. All schools must admit children up to their admission limit which is published in this brochure and in each school's own prospectus. Wherever possible places are offered in the school which the parents prefer. However, if there are more applicants for a school than there are places available, there has to be a way of deciding which children will be admitted.
Priority 1. Children who are normally resident in the catchment area of a school *(see note below)
Priority 1a. Children who have been unsuccessful at obtaining a catchment area place at priority 1.
Priority 2. Applications on medical grounds. Medical grounds must relate to the individual child's medical condition.
Priority 3. Applications on social grounds, or on grounds of having an older brother or sister at the school at the same time;
Priority 4. All other applications allocated on the actual distance measured in a straight line from the child's home to the school.
(*) Please note, in the event that a school is over-subscribed from within the catchment area the over subscription criteria will be applied to the catchment area children using the following principles:
Places are offered in February. Parents will then be given four weeks in which to accept or decline the offer.
At the end of the four week period the offer of a place, including a catchment area place, will be withdrawn from any parent who has declined the offer or who has not responded. Those places will then be offered immediately to children on the waiting list.
All applications received by the closing date on the form are treated equally. Any late or amended applications will be considered after these, unless there are particular circumstances which prevented the application being made earlier.
If parents are refused the school of their preference, including if this is the catchment area school they will be entitled to stay on the waiting list of the school they have a preference for. Please note places will only be offered off the waiting list on a monthly basis following the initial offer date. Please note that a child's waiting list position can move up or down.
The places which are offered in February are provisional offers only. It is important that parents provide the local education authority with any information relating to changes in circumstances, as soon as they occur. If you have been offered a catchment area place or a place on distance and you change address this offer of a place can be withdrawn as a result.
The admissions authority does have the power under the Education Act 1998 to set aside these arrangements and refuse a place if the admission of additional children would prejudice the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of resources. These Admission Arrangements apply for one year only. The admissions policy is reviewed on an annual basis. This includes any catchment area arrangements.
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