Admissions Policy and Procedures Governing Body Policy for Entry In

Admissions Policy and Procedures

Governing Body Policy

For Entry in 2018 - 2019

Miss D Stanley, Headteacher

Admissions and Sixth Form Admissions:

Maidstone Grammar School for Girls is a selective Grammar school. The school will admit girls into Years 7 to 11 and girls and boys into Years 12 and 13.

Year 7 Admissions: September 2018 Maidstone Grammar School for Girls complies with the Co-ordinated Admission Scheme, which is administered by Kent Local Authority (Kent County Council Co-ordinated Scheme for Secondary Admissions, Academic Year 2017/18). Detailed information about the school is available in the prospectus and Essential Information Booklets which can be found on the school website www.mggs.org Girls are normally admitted at age 11. All students must have gained a selective place through the Kent PESE and placed Maidstone Grammar School for Girls on their Secondary Common Application Form (SCAF), in order to be eligible for admission. Details of the Kent PESE are available from the Kent County Council booklet ‘Admission to Secondary School in Kent 2018’. There is no guarantee of a place to applicants who meet the over-subscription criteria.

The Published Admissions Number is 180.

Entry is through the Kent age 11 assessment procedure. When the school is oversubscribed (the School’s Planned Admission Number is 180), the following oversubscription criteria will be used in the order shown:

1) Qualifying children who are looked after and previously looked after children

2) Governor places: The top 30 students on rank order of the TOTAL aggregate score on the 11+ assessment tests

3) Other qualifying children, in the order of siblings. Please note the definition below of a qualifying child for current family association.

4) Other qualifying children with Health and Special Access Reasons

5) Other qualifying children living the shortest distance from the school.

Definitions:

Children in Local Authority Care or Previously in Local Authority Care - a child under the age of 18 years for whom the local authority provides accommodation by agreement with their parents/carers (Section 22 of the Children Act 1989) or who ceased to be so because they became subject to an adoption, residence or special guardianship order under Part IV of the Act.

Qualifying A child who has been assessed as suitable for admission to grammar school. To be eligible girls should be assessed through the Kent Age 11 Selection Procedure.

Current Family Association - a brother or sister attending either Maidstone Grammar School for Girls or Maidstone Grammar School when the child starts. In this context brother or sister means children who live as brother or sister in the same house, including natural brothers or sisters, adopted siblings, stepbrothers or sisters and foster brothers and sisters.

Health and Special Access Reasons - Medical/Health and Special Access Reasons will be applied in accordance with the school’s legal obligations, in particular those under the Equality Act 2010. Priority will be given to those children whose mental or physical impairment means they have a demonstrable and significant need to attend a particular school. Equally this priority will apply to children whose parents’/guardians’, physical or mental health or social need means there is a demonstrable and significant need for their child to attend a particular school. Such claims will need to be supported by written evidence from a suitably qualified medical or other practitioner who can demonstrate a special connection between these needs and the particular school.

Nearness of children's homes to school - The distance between the child’s permanent home address and the school is measured in a straight line using Ordnance Survey address point data. Distances are measured from a point defined as within the child’s home to a point defined as within the school as specified by Ordnance Survey. The same address point on the school site is used for everybody. When we apply the distance criterion for an oversubscribed Community or Voluntary Controlled school, these straight line measurements are used to determine how close each applicant’s address is to the school.

In the event of any of the above criteria being oversubscribed, priority will be given based on distance as described above with those closest being given higher priority. In the unlikely event that two or more children in all other ways have equal eligibility for the last available place at the school, the names will be issued a number and drawn randomly to decide which child should be given the place.

If siblings from multiple births (twins, triplets, etc) apply for a school and the school would reach its Published Admission Number (PAN) after admitting one or more, but before admitting all of those siblings, the LA will offer a place to each of the siblings, even if doing so takes the school above its PAN.

Transport Please refer to KCC documentation regarding transport.

Waiting list will be held for at least the first term of the academic year in oversubscription criteria order.

Determined Statutory Consultation Area for Kent Secondary Schools: The Local Authority is required to define “relevant areas” within which the admissions authorities of all maintained schools must conduct their statutory consultation. Admission authorities for all maintained secondary schools within the relevant area must consult the admission authorities for all maintained primary, middle and secondary schools in the area. An academy must consult in the way that other admission authorities do, but cannot alter its admission arrangements without the approval of the Secretary of State. Consultations must take place at least every seven years and in any year that changes are proposed.

The relevant statutory consultation areas continue to be the designated districts and adjoining parishes detailed below:

Thanet Thanet District plus Herne Bay, Chislet, Preston, Ash, Sandwich and Worth parishes. Dover District plus Folkestone, Hawkinge, Swingfield, Elham, Barham, Adisham Dover Wickhambreaux, Chislet, Monkton, Minster, Ramsgate. Canterbury City plus St Nicholas at Wade, Preston, Ash, Wingham, Goodnestone, Aylesham, Nonington, Shepherdswell with Coldred, Lydden, Elham, Stelling Minnis, Canterbury Stowting, Elmsted, Chilham, Dunkirk, Boughton under Blean, Selling, Sheldwich, Hernhill, Graveney with Goodnestone, Faversham, Ospringe,Luddenham. Swale Swale Borough plus St Cosmas and St Damian in the Blean, Whitstable. Shepway District plus Capel-le-Ferne, Lydden, Barham, Bradbourne, Smeeth, Shepway Aldington, Orlestone. Ashford Borough plus Brenzett, Lympne, Sellindge, Stowting, Elmsted, Petham, Ashford Chartham, Dunkirk, Selling, Sheldwich, Lenham, Headcorn, Frittenden, Cranbrook, Benenden, Sandhurst. Maidstone Borough plus Hartlip, Newington, Borden, Bredgar, Doddington, Milsted, Kingsdown, Eastling, Charing, Egerton, Smarden, Biddenden, Frittenden, Cranbrook, Goudhurst, Horsmonden, Capel, Wateringbury, Paddock Wood, East Peckham, East Maidstone Malling, Larkfield, Ditton, Aylesford, Burham, Wouldham, Snodland, Leybourne, Ryarsh, Kings Hill, West Malling, Trottiscliffe, Offham, Mereworth, Platt, Plaxtol, Borough Green, Ightham, Wrotham, Stansted & Fairseat. Gravesham Borough plus Dartford Borough, Snodland, Ryarsh, Trottiscliffe, Stansted Gravesham & Fairseat, Ash-cum-Ridley, Hartley, Fawkham, West Kingsdown, Horton Kirby, Farningham, Eynsford, Swanley, Crockenhill. Dartford Borough plus Ash-cum-Ridley, Hartley, West Kingsdown, Fawkham, Dartford Eynsford Swanley, Crockenhill. Sevenoaks District plus Dartford Borough, Stansted & Fairseat, Wrotham, Ightham, Sevenoaks Southborough, Borough Green, Tunbridge Wells, Plaxtol, Pembury, Shipbourne, Speldhurst. Tonbridge and Malling Borough plus Sevenoaks District (excluding Swanley, Tonbridge Farningham, Horton Kirby, Fawkham and Hartley), Tunbridge Wells Borough, Yalding. Tonbridge and Malling Borough plus, Boxley, Maidstone, Barming, Meopham, Ash- Malling cum-Ridley, West Kingsdown, Kemsing. Tunbridge Wells plus Sevenoaks District (excluding Swanley, Farningham, Horton Tunbridge Kirby, Fawkham and Hartley), Tonbridge, Hildenborough, Hadlow, East Peckham, Wells Shipbourne, Ightham, Plaxtol, Borough Green, Mereworth, Wateringbury, Yalding. Tunbridge Wells plus Marden, Staplehurst, Headcorn, Biddenden, Tenterden, Cranbrook Rolvenden.

In Year Entry: 2018 - 2019: Applicants wishing to join the school at a time later than the normal admissions age should apply via the In Year Casual Admissions Process. This can be done via the link below: http://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/schools/school-places/move-to-a-different-school

Once a completed In Year Casual Admission Form (IYCAF) has been received applicants will be tested by the school to obtain evidence of ability to keep pace with the work of this selective school.

The Published Admissions Number and over-subscription criteria apply as above. In the event of the Year group being over-subscribed, a waiting list will be held, ranked according to the oversubscription criteria.

In Year Entry Testing Process Students applying to join Maidstone Grammar School for Girls during the academic year will be required to sit internal tests to assess the applicant’s suitability for education in a selective environment. Students will be required to visit the school for one day to sit a selection of tests as detailed below:

Cognitive Ability Tests to include: Maths, Non-verbal reasoning and Verbal reasoning followed by a short English Essay.

Student’s scores should place them in the top 25% of the ability range in all four tests. Details of the In Year transfers diagram can be found in Appendix 1.

Sixth Form Admissions: Year 7 Planned Admission Number: 180

There is a mixed Sixth Form at MGGS. Priority will be given to existing students transferring from Year 11 who meet the entrance criteria. Admission to the Sixth Form will be as a result of applicants achieving a minimum grade 5 in English Language and Mathematics. In total students need to have achieved at least six GCSEs of which at least four subjects are at grade 6 (or grade B). In addition students must meet subject entry requirements. Students meeting only the minimum entry requirements for the sixth form are likely to find the choice of subjects which they can access is restricted.

The admission number for external candidates will be approximately 50 but this figure may be exceeded in the event that this and the number of internal students transferring into Year 12 is less than the overall figure for the year group, which is 200.

All applications to join the sixth form should be made using the Kent-wide online application process.

Full details are available in the sixth form prospectus and essential information booklet. All candidates should be able to provide evidence from their current schools of their ability to work effectively and successfully in an academic environment.

All offers are conditional on students meeting the grade criteria specified and will only become firm offers upon confirmation of actual GCSE results. Offers made will also take into account the capacity in the subjects chosen. Some courses may become oversubscribed even though the overall admissions number has not been reached. Where appropriate a reserve subject would be considered.

Over-subscription Criteria: Internal candidates: We give priority for places to students currently in Year 11 at our school, provided they have met the entry criteria.

External Candidates: Following the admission of internal students transferring from Year 11, all remaining places will be allocated to students who have met the entry requirements for the particular course of study. Where there are more students seeking places than the number of places available, the oversubscription criteria above will be used.

In the event of a tie breaker situation, the nearness of an applicant’s home to school will be the decider.

If in the event that more than one applicant has the same distance from home to school (as measured by the local authority), then a random selection will be applied. After a place has been offered the school reserves the right to withdraw the place in the following circumstances:

a. When the parent or student has failed to respond to an offer within a reasonable time; or

b. When a parent or student has failed to notify the school of important changes to the application information; or

c. The admission authority offered the place on the basis of a fraudulent or intentionally misleading application from the parent or student.

Offers Offers will be made on the basis of predicted performance at GCSE, with the requirement that the above grades are achieved in the final examinations prior to entry to the Sixth Form and the student’s chosen subjects being accommodated on the timetable, in feasible group sizes.

All offers made during Year 11 are conditional on students meeting the grade criteria specified and will only become firm offers upon confirmation of actual GCSE results. This admissions policy applies to students seeking admission to Year 12 at Maidstone Grammar School for Girls. We do not accept students into Year 13.

Appeals: Parents have a statutory right of appeal, should an application for a place be refused, by writing to The Admissions Manager, care of the school.

Year 7 Appeals (Normal admissions round) and Late Year 7 Appeals Any appeal must be lodged within 20 school days of notification that entry to the school was unsuccessful.

The appeal will be heard within 40 school days of the appeal being lodged.

The appellant will be given 10 school days’ notice of their appeal and will include the deadline for submission of any further evidence not sent with the initial appeal papers.

Decision letters will be sent to parents and carers within 5 school days of the hearing.

Years 7- 11 In Year Appeals Any appeal must be lodged within 20 school days of notification that entry to the school was unsuccessful.

The appeal must be heard within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged.

The appellant will be given 10 school days’ notice of their appeal and will include the deadline for submission of any further evidence not sent with the initial appeal papers.

Decision letters will be sent to parents and carers within 5 school days of the hearing.

Sixth Form Appeals Conditional upon Exam Results Any appeal must be lodged within 20 school days of notification that application was unsuccessful.

The appeal will be heard within 30 school days of confirmation of GCSE results.

The appellant will be given 10 school days’ notice of their appeal and will include the deadline for submission of any further evidence not sent with the initial appeal papers.

Decision letters are sent within 5 school days of the hearing.

Appendix 1- In Year Transfer Diagrams Appendix 2 – Admission forms for entry to Years 7-11

History Log Last Revised Revised By Ratified By Next Review Time Scale Governors Date

September 2014 Headteacher 18th March 2015 September 2015 Annually September 2015 Headteacher 25th November 2015 September 2016 Annually January 2016 Headteacher 16th March 2016 January 2017 Annually September 2016 Headteacher September 2017 Annually