Admissions Policy For The School Year 2013/2014
Newport Free Grammar School fully implements the open roll policy embodied in the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. Any pupil of secondary school age (11-18 age range) may apply for admission to the school, regardless of the place of residence. The school accepts pupils of all abilities but especially welcomes those interested in benefiting from its high expectations and standards.
Section A: Entry into Year 7
A common application form for admission to schools in Essex will be printed in the Secondary Education in Essex booklet, which will be distributed to the parents of all Year 6 primary school pupils in Essex. This will enable parents to apply for up to four secondary schools in ranked preference order, and will be the only form on which parents can apply for a school place. This application form must be returned to the Local Education Authority (LEA) by the stipulated closing date. Application can also be made online by the same closing date. Those who do not live in the county of Essex should apply to their LEA for a similar form and return it to the same LEA, nominating Newport Free Grammar School as one of their preferences, if that is their choice. The closing date for such applications may not necessarily be the same as that for Essex. Applicants will be required to produce proof of the stated home address with their application. The school also requests that all applicants fill in an information sheet so that the school can more easily make contact at any point in the admissions process.
Applications received after the closing date will be accepted by the LEA but will be treated as late applications and handled in accordance with the coordinated admissions scheme published by Essex County Council in the Secondary Education in Essex booklet.
The LEA will write to all parents on 1st March 2013 offering a place at the allocated school.
The intention is to admit a maximum of 168 Year 7 pupils in the year commencing 1st September 2013, and in subsequent years. In November 2011, 594 applications had been received for Year 7 entry in September 2012.
Where applications for admission to Year 7 exceed the number of places available, the following criteria will be applied in the order of priority set out below to decide which children to admit:
1 Looked after children*
2 Boys and girls residing in the Parish of Newport.
3 Boys and girls residing in the following parishes:
Arkesden; Berden; Chrishall; Clavering; Debden; Elmdon; Langley; Quendon; Rickling;Wenden Lofts; Wicken Bonhunt; Widdington; Wimbish.
4 Brothers and sisters (including step or adopted siblings, living in the same family household) of present pupils who are expected to be attending the school at the time of admission.
5 Any remaining places will be allocated to all other applicants in proportion to the number of those applicants from each of the nine areas shown on the attached map.
Where in any of the criteria, there are fewer places available than there are applicants of equal priority, places will be allocated with reference to the proximity of the child's home to the school, with those living nearest the school, as measured in a straight line, having first priority. Distances are calculated by the Local Authority, as defined in the Secondary Education in Essex booklet, by use of a Geographical Information System which accurately measures the straight line distance from the home address to the school.
The above procedure will apply from 1st September prior to the year of entry until the end of the first week of term in September 2013. In the case of oversubscription a waiting list will be held in the event of places becoming available throughout the year. From the end of the first week of the autumn term the year group will be deemed an existing year group and applications received from this date will be treated under arrangements as described in Section B.
Section B: Entry into existing year groups
Where applications for admission to Years 7 – 11 inclusive of the current year 2012/2013 and subsequent years are made and the year group is full, applicants’ names will be placed on a waiting list for the respective year group. In the event of a place(s) becoming available, it(they) will be offered in accordance with the criteria in Section A above.
These criteria (both in Sections A and B) will be applied regardless of gender so that the numbers of boys and girls in the school or in any particular year will not necessarily be balanced. The criteria will also be applied regardless of ability or disability.
No pupil will be admitted if, in the Governors' opinion, such an admittance would prejudice the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of resources.
Special cases
1 Children with statements of special needs naming the school will be admitted.
2 The Governors reserve the right at their discretion to admit children from Carver Barracks at any date even if this means exceeding the number intended to admit, provided always that any such admission is not to the detriment of the efficient running of the school.
Post-16 Admissions
1 No student will be admitted to the school post-16 unless academic requirements, set out annually in the school’s Sixth Form prospectus, have been met.
2 The number of sufficiently qualified applicants which it is intended to admit into Year 12 from other educational institutions is 30.
3 In the event of the number of such applicants exceeding 30, preference will be given to those best suited academically to their chosen courses, using predicted GCSE grades as the indicator. Any provisional offers made on this basis will be confirmed to those whose actual GCSE grades meet the requirements referred to in 1. above.
Appeals Procedure
In the event of an application being unsuccessful parents/guardians have the right to appeal to an Independent Panel against the Governors' decision. Should parents/guardians wish to appeal against the Governors' decision, they may write to the Clerk to the Governors at the school address within 15 working days of the date of the letter communicating the Governors’ decision, clearly stating the reason for objecting to the Governors' decision.