ADMISSIONS TO YEARS 7 TO 11
Introduction
Great Marlow School is a Foundation School and the Governing Body of the School is the admission authority.
The number of pupils on roll in September 2005 was 1189 including 140 following post 16 courses.
Governors have carried out an annual review of the admissions arrangements in line with the Code of Practice which came into force with effect from 31 January 2003 and having regard to the LEA consultation and proposed timeline for co-ordinated admission arrangements.
Admission at Age 11
Pupils will be admitted at the age of 11 years. The number of intended admissions for Year 7 commencing September 2008 will be 216.
Admissions Criteria
Where applications for admission exceed the number of places available, the following admissions criteria will be applied in the order set out below, to decide which children to admit.
1. Children who have a Statement of Special Educational Needs which names the school, after consultation with the School.
2. Children in Public Care for whom there is an agreement between a designated officer acting on behalf of the County Council as Corporate Parent and the Governing Body of the School that the school will more appropriately meet the child’s needs than their catchment school.
3. As a Specialist School in Technology, children who demonstrate an aptitude in the
specialism of the school. The number of children admitted in this category will be up to 10% of the admission number of the school.
4. Children whose normal home address is within the catchment area of the school.
The catchment area is bounded on three sides by the Oxfordshire border, the River Thames and the A404. The northern boundary runs from the Oxfordshire border north of Stokenchurch, between Waterend and Stokenchurch running north of the M40 but south of Studley Green and Piddington then south to include Lane End and east to join the A404 at Monkton Farm. A map of the area is available from the Local Education Authority.
5. Siblings of children who will still be in attendance at the school on the date of admission.
A sibling is a brother or sister, which for admission purposes means brothers and sisters of whole or half blood, or any other child (including an adopted child) who permanently resides at the same address and for whom the parent also has parental responsibility. A pupil in the School will only count to provide a priority to a sibling if he or she will be attending the School in Year 7 to 11 at the time of admission of the sibling. Applications on the basis of sibling link only applies for admission of a child to Year 7 and does not apply to late admissions and/or admissions to other years.
6. Children who have attended a catchment area primary school for at least 3 years.
7. Children who have attended a link feeder primary school for at least 3 years. The current link feeder school is Chepping View.
In the event of over-subscription, once the admissions criteria have been applied, then any further places will be awarded according to the distance between the family’s normal home address and the school’s nearest entrance gate: closest first.
The shortest appropriate route will be measured according to the Buckinghamshire County Council’s Geographical Information System. The distance measured for the shortest appropriate route will be determined by using a combination of two databases:
§ The Ordnance Survey Central Alignment of Roads (OSCAR) data, which us updated twice a year. This is a fully structured digital road dataset of Great Britain, including all motorable and selected private roads
§ In addition, a data file of footpaths, where the County Council is satisfied that the routes have a proper made up surface such as tarmac or concrete.
DETERMINING ‘NORMAL HOME ADDRESS’
This should be a child’s permanent address at the time of completing the application form and is also the address at which parents are living.
Parents who anticipate moving to an address within the catchment area will be asked to provide clear written proof that they will be fully resident by the beginning of the term in which their child will be admitted. They will specifically be asked to provide evidence of either:
§ Confirmation that the house purchase is legally binding (eg that contracts have already been exchanged and firm date for moving has been established)
OR
§ Having taken out a lease agreement of at least 12 months duration on a property in which they and their family will be fully resident and which is appropriate to their family’s needs.
In determining residence Governors will not normally expect either:
§ Families to retain a second residence elsewhere which is their main residence
§ Only part of the family to move unless as part of divorce or permanent separation arrangements in which case Governors will reserve the right to make enquiries and see additional information to verify the situation
§ Children to move to a residence other than their parent/carer unless as part of fostering or care arrangements
DEFINITION OF PARENT
The application forms should be completed by a person who is the child’s parent. The definition of parent is as defined in the Education Act 1996. If two parents live at different addresses, the parent the child lives with for most of the week should fill in the form
MULTIPLE BIRTHS
In the event of only one place being available within the admission number but the next child on the list being one of twins, triplets or quadruplets all of the siblings will be admitted.
HOW TO APPLY FOR A PLACE IN YEAR 7 – SEPTEMBER 2008
Copies of the School Prospectus are available at the start of the Autumn Term.
The school holds an Open Evening in late September for parents and prospective pupils. Visits are also arranged for a number of dates in early October and details of these will be published at the beginning of the Autumn Term.
Under the co-ordinated arrangements applicants will be required to complete the LEA application form contained in Buckinghamshire County Councils ‘ Guide for Parents’. If you have not already got a copy please contact the Admissions Team at Buckinghamshire County Council (contact details below).
The closing date for receipt of applications by the LEA for admission into Year 7 in September 2008 is 24th October 2007.
If your child currently attends a Buckinghamshire County Council school you should return your completed forms to your child’s current school. If your child is attending a school that is not a Buckinghamshire County Council school then you should return your forms directly to your own Local Education Authority.
Admissions Team Tel No: 01296 383250
School Organisation Fax No: 01296 383016
County Hall Email: admissions@buckscc.gov.uk
Aylesbury
Bucks HP20 1UZ
Admission to Appropriate Year Group
Applications should be made direct to the school. Applications will be accepted if there is room for them in the appropriate year group based on the Published Admission Number for the respective intake.
Appeals
If the school is unable to offer a place parents have the right of appeal to an independent appeal panel and details of the appeals procedure will be sent at the time of notification of the schools inability to offer a place.
Waiting Lists
Children who have not been allocated a place for Year 7 may have their name placed on the waiting list. The waiting list will be ranked in accordance with the school’s over-subscription criteria as detailed above. Late applications will be added to this waiting list dependent on the criteria they fulfil.
The waiting list will be maintained until the autumn half term of the relevant year.
Waiting lists will not be held for other year groups.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
In dealing with applications for admissions Governors will have full regard to the equal opportunities legislation.
All enquiries about admission should be made to Mrs C Stagg at the school – Tel No; 01628 483752.
ADMISSION TO 6th FORM
ADMISSION NUMBER
The number of intended admissions to Yr 12 in September 2007 for those being admitted to the school for the first time will be 25.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Applicants to the 6th Form should normally achieve 5 A-C GCSE grades to study at AS/VCE level. In addition there are specific requirements for individual courses.
There are courses available for students who do not achieve 5 A-C passes at GCSE and these courses also have individual requirements.
ADMISSIONS CRITERIA
1 Children who have a Statement of Special Educational Needs which names the school, after consultation with the School.
2 Children in Public Care for whom there is an agreement between a designated officer acting on behalf of the County Council as Corporate Parent and the Governing Body of the School that the school will more appropriately meet the child’s needs than their catchment school.
3 Children whose normal home address is within the catchment area of the school.
The catchment area is bounded on three sides by the Oxfordshire border, the River Thames and the A404. The northern boundary runs from the Oxfordshire border north of Stokenchurch, between Waterend and Stokenchurch running north of the M40 but south of Studley Green and Piddington then south to include Lane End and east to join the A404 at Monkton Farm. A map of the area is available from the school.
4 Those living outside the catchment area for the school
In the event of over-subscription, once the admissions criteria have been applied, then any further places will be awarded according to the distance between the family’s normal home address and the school’s nearest entrance gate: closest first.
The shortest appropriate route will be measured according to the Buckinghamshire County Council’s Geographical Information System. The distance measured for the shortest appropriate route will be determined by using a combination of two databases:
§ The Ordnance Survey Central Alignment of Roads (OSCAR) data, which us updated twice a year. This is a fully structured digital road dataset of Great Britain, including all motorable and selected private roads
§ In addition, a data file of footpaths, where the County Council is satisfied that the routes have a proper made up surface such as tarmac or concrete.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
For further details of the application process and application timetable, please contact the School. A 6th Form Options Evening is held each year in the Spring Term.
Where a sixth form applicant has been refused a place at the school, parents will be advised of their right of appeal against the decision of the Governing Body to an Independent Appeals Panel.
The right of appeal will apply to students currently attending the school but seeking entry to the sixth form and to external applicants.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
In dealing with applications for admissions Governors will have full regard to the equal opportunities legislation.
All initial enquiries regarding admission to the sixth form should be made to Head of Sixth Form at Great Marlow School – Tel No: 01628 483752. |