How Year 7 places are allocated

If a school gets fewer applicants than it has places, all applicants are admitted. If there are more applicants than places, the school's admission policy is used to decide which children are admitted.

• The local authority decides which children are admitted to community schools.
• The governors of Academies, Foundation, Trust and Voluntary Aided schools decide which children are admitted to these schools.

Co-ordinated admission arrangements

To ensure that you are allocated a place for your child at only one school, we coordinate the admissions procedure with schools and neighbouring local authorities.

This means that information about applicants is shared between schools and other local authorities. The local authority only provides information which is needed to operate the admission arrangements.

Academies, Foundation, Trust and Voluntary Aided schools use the school's admission policy to determine which children will be offered places. If your child meets the admission criteria for a place at more than one of your preferred schools, the local authority uses your school preference order to decide which school your child is offered.

In these circumstances your child will be offered a place at the highest preference school which offered a place. Schools are not informed of your preference order.

If the local authority cannot offer a place at any of the schools you have stated as a preference, a place will be offered at the nearest school with places available at the time of allocation.

If you apply online, you will receive your offer by email on 1st March. If you apply by post we will send offer letters out by 1st class post on 1st March.

Appeals procedure

If you are not satisfied with the school your child has been allocated you can appeal against the decision to an Independent Appeals Panel. When you receive your offer letter it will include details of the appeals procedures. Find out more about school admission appeals.