Admissions Policy for 2012/13

Pupils will be admitted on transfer from Year 6 into Year 7. The Admission Number for September 2012 is 240 (two hundred and forty).

Where applications for admission exceed the Admission Number, the following criteria will be used, in the order given below, when considering which children to admit:

1. Children who are in public care under the provision of the Children Act 1989.
2. A maximum of 90 (ninety) pupils will be admitted on the basis of geographical proximity, as measured in a straight line from the Head’s office.  This criterion relates to the pupil’s recognised permanent home address and place of residence at the time of the closing date for applications to the school.  Documentation should be included to verify this address.  The offer of a place may be withdrawn if the address given is found not to be the permanent address.  The 90 places will include any applicants who could be admitted under other criteria.
3. All applicants, who have an elder sibling who is on the school roll at the time of the closing date for applications to the school and who will be on the school roll when the applicant joins the school, will be offered places.
4. If there are 60 remaining places after allocations under Criteria 1– 3 and any places allocated to children with Statements of Special Educational Needs, those 60 places will be allocated on the basis of technological aptitude* (24), musical aptitude** (24) and dance aptitude*** (12). [Please see below.]

If there are more than 60 places remaining, 60 places will be allocated as above and any remaining places will become additional geographical proximity places, under Criterion 2.

If there are fewer than 60 places remaining, all remaining places will be allocated on the basis of technological, musical and dance aptitude in the proportions 2/5 (two fifths) to technology, 2/5 (two fifths) to music and 1/5 (one fifth) to dance, any odd places being allocated first to technology and then to music.

The total number of places allocated under Criterion 4 will not exceed 60, even if some of the 60 also have places under Criterion 1, 2 or 3.

* Technological Aptitude.  All applicants seeking a place on the basis of technological aptitude will sit a test on General Reasoning.  The top 240 pupils will be recalled for two further tests to decide the allocation of the available places.  The number recalled may be increased (but not reduced) if there are several pupils with the same score, at the cut-off point.  The score of the General Reasoning Test will be added to the higher score attained in the other two: no minimum score will be required, places being offered strictly in descending order of each applicant’s total score.

** Musical Aptitude.  If there are more applicants than places, places will be offered on the basis of an audition for musical aptitude.

*** Dance Aptitude.  If there are more applicants than places, places will be offered on the basis of an audition for dance aptitude.

Pupils with Statements of Special Educational Needs will follow a separate allocation process.

The Admission Forum or the Local Authority (LA) may require the school to admit a child exceptionally, either outside the normal admission arrangements or in excess of the published admission limit, in order to protect the interests of vulnerable children and those with challenging behaviour.  These pupils will be shared between schools in ways that are fair, objective and transparent.

The School has established arrangements for appeals to an Independent Appeals Committee against non-admission. Details of admissions and appeals arrangements are published each year.

On receipt of a written request the School will place a Year 6 child’s name on a waiting list, ranked in descending order according to the over-subscription criteria above, until the beginning of the School Year in which the child goes into Year 7.  A waiting list is then maintained in accordance with the admission criteria.

Pupils may be admitted other than through the secondary transfer process, if there are vacancies in the appropriate year group.  If there are no vacancies, applicants may be placed on the waiting list (please see above) upon receipt of a written request.  The date upon which an applicant’s name is placed on the waiting list has no effect upon the allocation of places if and when vacancies arise.

SIXTH FORM ADMISSIONS POLICY

The Governors expect that applications for places in the School will be made on the understanding that students will have the intention to benefit from the facilities and opportunities that technology status affords and will make a full and committed contribution to the extra-curricular life of the School. The partnership between the School and parents is regarded as crucial to this relationship and both students and parents are expected to be supportive of the ethos and character of the School. Students are also expected to be active and responsible citizens who make a positive contribution to the communities in which they live and study.

The Admission Number for external entrants to the Sixth Form is 40 (forty).

Sixth Form entrants must meet the following criteria:

For a student taking an Advanced level course, not including an Applied subject, a minimum of 5 GCSE passes at grade B or above are required. For a student taking an Applied subject, a minimum of 5 GCSE passes at grade C or above are required. All Advanced level students must have passes in both Mathematics and English Language GCSE at grade C or above. Specific individual subject entry criteria are detailed in the Sixth Form Prospectus. There are no specific examination entry requirements for a student wishing to take an Intermediate level course.

Where there is oversubscription for the same course of study from external applicants who are forecasted by their school to meet the above stated criteria, places will be awarded first to students in public care and then to those eligible applicants who are forecasted to achieve the highest average GCSE (QCA) points score. In the event of a tie, the same geographical criterion will apply as applies with Year 7 admissions.

The School has established arrangements for appeal against non-admission. Details of arrangements can be obtained from the Sixth Form Admissions Office.