Alcester Grammar School Admissions Policy 2016
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Alcester Grammar School Admissions Policy 2016 1. General 1.1. Alcester Grammar School is a co-educational 11-18 maintained selective academy, designated as a grammar school under Section 104 of the School Standards and Framework Act (1998). The Governing Body of the Academy Trust is the Admission Authority and as such has formal responsibility for determining admission arrangements. 1.2. This policy has been drawn up to meet the requirements of the Department for Education School Admissions Code which came into force in December 2014. 2. Year 7 Entry 2.1. Introduction: Admission to this school in Year 7 will be determined by the school's oversubscription criteria and a child's performance in the Entrance Test (sometimes referred to as "the 11+" or "the selection test"). The Governing Body participates in Warwickshire County Council's co-ordinated admissions scheme for maintained secondary schools, and Warwickshire County Council's Admissions Service (Warwickshire Admissions) is contracted to administer the Year 7 admissions policy and procedures on the school’s behalf. For 2016, the Governors have determined, in line with the Admissions Code (2014), that the Published Admission Number (PAN) in Year 7 will be 150. 2.2. Eligibility and Priority for Entry in Year 7 2.2.1. Children with an Education Health and Care Plan (EHC) or Statement of Special Educational Needs naming Alcester Grammar School will be admitted first, subject to their meeting the necessary academic entry requirements. Please see section below (para.2.3.5) regarding special arrangements for students with special educational needs taking the entrance examinations for Year 7. Similar arrangements apply to in-year transfers and admissions to the Sixth Form. 2.2.2. Oversubscription Criteria: There is no guarantee of a place being available, but places up to the Published Admission Number (PAN) during the normal round of admissions will be allocated in order of Category as per paragraphs 2.2.3 to 2.2.5. In each of the Categories, the order of priority will be: i. Looked-After children and Previously Looked-After Children who meet the necessary academic entry requirements. A Looked-After Child is a child who is in the care of the Local Authority as defined by section 22 of the Children Act 1989. A Previously Looked-After Child is a child who immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, residence or special guardianship order. AGS Admissions Policy 2016 – final version, approved by the Governing Body in March 2015 Page 1 of 11 ii. Children attracting the Pupil Premium (as at the closing date of test registration, 10 July 2015) who meet the necessary academic entry requirements. The Pupil Premium is additional funding paid annually to schools under section 14 of the Education Act 2002 for the purposes of supporting the attainment of disadvantaged children. The Admissions Service will require, on behalf of the school, evidence of Pupil Premium registration and the school reserves the right to withdraw the offer of a place if the offer has been made on the basis of an incorrect, fraudulent or misleading application. iii. Children in standardised score order, and iv. To differentiate in the case of children with the same score, those who live nearest the school in straight line distance, measured in a straight line from the address point location coordinate of the home address to the centroid of the school. The centroid is a predetermined point. 2.2.3. Category 1: All children who scored above the automatic standard level set by the Committee of Reference provided that: a. the child is living (or proof is provided by Thursday 31 December 2015 that the child will be living by the start of the autumn term) within the priority circle (as defined in para.2.2.6 below) for the area, and b. the child has been registered for the 11+ test for the school by the closing date of Friday 10 July 2015 (4.00pm), completed that test and scored at or above the automatic standard level set by the Committee of Reference, and c. the parent/carer has named the school on the common application form submitted on time to their home authority and an offer from a higher preference has not been made. 2.2.4. Category 2: The highest scoring children on the waiting list (see 2.4.5 below) will be given next priority for offers in the first round of offers up to the Published Admission Number provided that: a. the child is living (or proof is provided by Thursday 31 December 2015 that the child will be living by the start of the autumn term) within the priority circle for the area and b. the child has been registered for the 11+ test for the school by the closing date Friday 10 July 2015 (4.00pm), completed that test and their score on that test was ranked highly in the waiting list (see 2.4.5) and c. the parent/carer has named the school on the common application form submitted on time to the home authority and an offer from a higher preference has not been made 2.2.5. Category 3: Applications from children living outside the priority area will be considered in this category. Children whose parent/carer registered for tests after the closing date or applied for a place to their home authority after the closing date will also be considered in this category. The same selective standards will apply, and applicants will be placed in AGS Admissions Policy 2016 – final version, approved by the Governing Body in March 2015 Page 2 of 11 order in line with the criteria in 2.2.2 above. Places will not normally be offered to Category 3 in the first round of offers but retained on the waiting list (see 2.4.5). 2.2.6. Priority circle: The priority circle for South Warwickshire Grammar Schools is based on the traditional area for application. It is based on a circle with a radius of 16.885 miles running from the American Fountain in Rother Street, Stratford-upon-Avon to the County boundary south of Long Compton. In drawing a priority area in this manner, the schools are able to comply with their duty to follow the Greenwich judgement. 2.2.7. Residency requirement: The child’s home address is the address where they will be living at the start of autumn term in Year 7. If this is different from the address used to apply for a school place, evidence will be needed by Thursday 31 December 2015 to demonstrate that they will be living there by the beginning of the autumn term 2016. Where parental responsibilities are equally shared, the home address will be considered to be the place where the child sleeps, and spends most of their time, from Monday to Friday. This is the address that will be used to apply the school’s oversubscription criteria, such as distance from the school. Where the home address changes after the start of the autumn term of Year 7, consideration will be given as to the reason why. Where it is considered that the reason for the change of address constitutes the application being fraudulent or intentionally misleading, the place may be withdrawn. 2.2.8. Evidence of Residency required: Warwickshire Admissions (Local Authority) will request on behalf of the school evidence in support of the application. The Admissions Service will write at the beginning of December 2015 to all parents who have listed the school as a preference, requesting copies of two documents to confirm the home address. Parents will have fifteen working days to provide proof of the home address. The application will be considered as late if appropriate proof is not provided within fifteen working days. The evidence required is as follows: Council Tax letter or statement for the current financial year - this must be supplied if you are the council taxpayer; or Current Housing Benefit letter; or Utility bill, bank statement, or car insurance documents dated within the last six months. Plus one of the following: Child Benefit letter for the current financial year; Child’s National Health registration card; Child Tax Credit Award Notice for the current financial year. Please note that these documents will be retained and not returned. The Local Authority will match each address with the one they have on their database. The Local Authority reserves the right to carry out random checks at any time and this may include an unannounced home visit. AGS Admissions Policy 2016 – final version, approved by the Governing Body in March 2015 Page 3 of 11 2.2.9. Moving to a new address: If the home address changes between applying for a school place and the start of autumn term in Year 7, Warwickshire Admissions must be provided with proof of the new address as detailed above by Thursday 31 December 2015. The child must be living at the new address by the beginning of the autumn term in Year 7. Applicants will also need to produce evidence that the previous home is no longer used by the family – for example proof that the property has been sold or that a rental agreement has ended. This is to show that the new address is not a temporary arrangement purely to secure a school place. If the home address changes after 31 December 2015 the new address can only be taken into account after National Offer Day on 01 March 2016. The school will also check the child’s home address at the time of admission.