Wombourne High School
Consultation 2026/2027
2025/2026 and 2024/2025
Consultation on admission arrangements 2026/2027
Consultation On: Consultation on changes to the admissions arrangements for Sixth Form provision at Wombourne High School, part of the Invictus Education Trust.
Consultation Date: The consultation period will run from Thursday 19th December 2024 to Thursday 30 January 2025
Deadline to Respond: All responses must be received by Noon on Thursday 30 January 2025.
Ways to Respond:
•Via email: consultation@wombournehighschool.co.uk
•Via visiting the school office
•Via post:
Consultation Responses
Changes to 2026/27 Admissions Criteria Consultation Response
Wombourne High School
Ounsdale Road
Wombourne
Wolverhampton
WV5 8BJ
Overleaf you will find Wombourne High School's proposed admissions arrangements for 2026/27. Please get in touch using the contact information above to provide a response.
Hardcopies of this consultation, along with large print versions and translations into other languages, are available on request to the above address (A maximum of 2 copies per request or individual).
Mrs C Powell
Headteacher
Wombourne High School
Proposed admission arrangements 2026/2027
1. Introduction
Wombourne High School (The School) is a mixed secondary academy located in Staffordshire and is part of the Invictus Education Trust (The Trust), a multi academy trust.
The Trust as the Admissions Authority determines the admission arrangements. Decisions concerning admissions are delegated to the Trust Board. Your Local Authority operates the co-ordinated admissions scheme which includes the School.
This policy and all other admission related documents referred to herein and used during the admission process, together form the School’s admission arrangements. Any proposed changes to the admission arrangements are subject to statutory consultation before they can be determined. Determined admission arrangements can only be varied in specific circumstances, and usually only with Secretary of State consent.
In addition to the main school, the School also has a sixth form. The admission arrangements for the sixth form are also set out in this policy, insofar as they relate to external candidates. All references to 'child' (and plural derivatives) in this policy should be taken to include references to 'external candidates' (and plural derivatives).
In addition to the main school, the Academy also has a sixth form. The admission arrangements for the sixth form are also set out in this policy, insofar as they relate to external candidates. All references to 'child' (and plural derivatives) in this policy should be taken to include references to 'external candidates' (and plural derivatives).
2. Aims
Our admissions policy aims to:
•Explain how to apply for a place at the schools
•Set out the arrangements at the school for allocating places to the pupils who apply
•Explain how to appeal against a decision not to offer your child a place
3. Legislation and statutory requirements
Our admissions policy is based on the following Codes from the Department for Education (DfE):
•School Admissions Code 2021
•School Admission Appeals Code
All schools within the Trust are required by our funding agreements to comply with these codes, and with the law relating to admissions as set out in the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. Our policies also comply with our funding agreements and articles of association.
The School is fully inclusive and welcomes applications for the admission of children with special educational needs (SEN), physical, mental or behavioural disabilities and other protected characteristics defined by the Equality Act 2010. The Academy's admission arrangements are determined and implemented with its equality duties in mind, including the public sector equality duty (PSED).
4. Definitions
Normal admissions round: The normal admissions round covers applications for admission in a relevant age group, which are made in time for the local authority to offer a school place on National Offer Day. The deadlines for submitting applications to be allocated on National Offer Day are 31 October for secondary school.
Looked After Children (see also Previously Looked After Children) who are in the care of a local authority or is being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions as defined by Section 22 of the Children Act 1989 at the time of an application being made to a school
Previously Looked After Children are children who were looked after in England but ceased to be so because they were adopted (or became subject to a child arrangements order or special guardianship order) immediately following having been looked after. This includes children who appear to have been in state care outside England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted.
Parent - In this policy and in education law, the definition of a 'parent' includes a natural or adoptive parent of the child (regardless of whether the child lives with them, has contact with them, or they have parental responsibility for the child). It also includes a person who is not a natural or adoptive parent of the child, but who has care of and/or parental responsibility for the child.
Siblings: A sibling is defined as a brother/sister (sharing both parents), half-brother/sister (where the children share one common parent), step-brother/step-sister (one child's parent married to the other child's parent), or a child of their parent's cohabiting partner living at the same home address (as defined below) and adopted or fostered children living at the same home address.
In all cases, the sibling must live at the child's home address (as defined below) as part of the same core family unit. For the avoidance of doubt, a child of a friend or extended family member (e.g. cousin) will not be a 'sibling' for this purpose, even if they live at the same address as the applicant child.
Home address: The home address is considered to be the child’s (along with their parent(s)) genuine principal place of residence at the time of the allocation of places i.e. where they are normally and regularly living. This will not be a business address.
If a child is resident with friends or relatives (for reasons other than guardianship), the friend or relative’s address will not be considered for allocation purposes.
Where parents have shared responsibility for a child, and the child lives with both parents for part of the school week, then the home address will be determined as the residential address where the child lives and sleeps for more than 50% of their time for the majority of the school week.
Where there is any dispute or uncertainty as to the home address of the child, parents will be required to provide documentary evidence to support the address they wish to be considered for allocation purposes and will usually be based on the address at which the child is registered with a GP, dentist or optician and where any child-based benefits (if eligible) are claimed at the time the application for a placement is made. At least one item of proof must demonstrate where the child lives.
5. How to apply for admission into Year 7
For applications in the Normal admissions round you should use the common application form (CAF) provided by your home local authority (regardless of which local authority the schools are in) which can be found on the local authority website. You can use this form to express your preference for a minimum of three state-funded schools, in rank order and if you wish to be considered for our school you should state a preference for the School in the CAF.
If applicants are required to fill in a supplementary information form, this will be specified. Supplementary information forms can be found within this policy.
You will receive an offer for a school place directly from your local authority.
6. Allocation of places
Within the admissions arrangements for our school the following information is specified:
•Admission number
•Oversubscription criteria
•Tie break
•Waiting lists
7. Late applications
Late Applications are applications for entry in a relevant age group (i.e. the age group to which pupils are normally admitted to the school) which are submitted before the first day of term in the September for which the application is being made, but which were not made in time to enable the Local Authority to offer a place on National Offer day.
For Sixth Form, applications should be received in line with the dates specified on the school website. Applications after this date will be considered late. See below for further information about Sixth Form applications.
8. Requests for admission outside the normal age group
Parents are entitled to request a place at the School for their child, outside their normal age group. This request is separate to the admissions applications and parents will still be required to make an application for admission in the usual manner as set out within this policy.
Parents are strongly encouraged to make an application for consideration of admission outside normal age group in sufficient time before they are required to complete their application for admission to enable them to have received a decision in principle on the consideration of admission out of normal age group before deciding which schools to apply for.
To make a request for consideration for admission outside the normal age group, a parents should make contact with the school, setting out the reasons why they wish for their child to be educated outside their normal age group. This should then be submitted with any supporting documents to the school. Should be sent to Mr N Hamilton, via email, nhamilton@wombournehighschool.co.uk.
Decisions on requests for admission outside the normal age group will be made by on the basis of the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child concerned. In accordance with the School Admissions Code, this will include taking account of:
•Parents’ views
•Information about the child’s academic, social and emotional development
•Where relevant, their medical history and the views of a medical professional
•Whether they have previously been educated out of their normal age group
•Whether they may naturally have fallen into a lower age group if it were not for being born prematurely
•Where provided the headteacher of any current or previous schools views will also be taken into account.
•Any other evidence or information put forward by the parent
Parents will always be informed of the reasons for any decision on the year group a child should be admitted to. This decision is separate from the decision on whether a place is granted for admission to the school and will only be made in respect of this School. A separate request will need to be made by parents to the Admission Authority for each school they are considering. Where an agreement in principle is provided by the School, this should, where possible, be sent with the application for admission to the School. Parents do not have a right to appeal if they are offered a place at the school but it is not in their preferred age group. However if Parents do not consider that their request was dealt with properly they may make a complaint to the School, using the trust complaint procedure which can be found on the school website.
An application for admission to the School where a decision in principle for the child to be educated outside their normal age group had been made will be processed as part of the main admissions round, unless the parent request is made too late for this to be possible. They will be considered on the basis of the admission arrangements laid out in this policy, including the oversubscription criteria. Applications will not be treated as a lower priority if parents have made a request for a child to be admitted outside the normal age group.
9. Children with an Education Health and Care Plan (EHC plan)
Applications for admission to the School for children with EHCPs are managed by the child's home Local Authority, and do not fall under the school's determined admission arrangements. Children with an EHC plan are admitted to school under separate statutory procedures set out in the Children and Families Act 2014. Parents of children with an EHC plan should therefore liaise with their child's home Local Authority's SEN team if they want the School to be named in their child's EHC plan as their child's school.
Where this happens in the normal admission round (i.e. entry to Year 7 in September), these children will be allocated places before all other children, reducing the number of places left within the published admission number (PAN).
Where Parents have requested a place at the School at another time and the School is named within the Child’s EHCP, the child will be admitted.
10. Appeals
If your child’s application for a place is unsuccessful, you will be informed why admission was refused and given information about your right to appeal the decision and the process for doing so. The letter you will receive will advise how to appeal against the decision and the date for lodging the appeal and who to contact. You will be required to set out your grounds for appeal as part of your appeal. Further information on how to appeal and the appeals timetable will be published by 28 February 2026 on the school website.
11. In-year admissions
Parents can apply for a place for their child at any time outside the normal admissions round, this includes applying for a placement in years 8 to 11. As stated above all children whose Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) plans which name the school will be admitted. Likewise, if there are spaces available in the year group you are applying for, your child will be offered a place. Please see below for additional requirements for a placement in Sixth Form
If there are no spaces available at the time of your application, and admitting an additional child would prejudice the efficient provision of education, and/or the efficient use of resources, your child’s name will be added to a waiting list for the relevant year group. When a space becomes available, it will be filled by one of the pupils on the waiting list in accordance with the oversubscription criteria. Priority will not be given to children on the basis that they have been on the waiting list the longest. Applications for in-year admissions are co-ordinated by Wombourne High School. Please make contact with Mr N Hamilton, nhamilton@wombournehighschool.co.uk, 01902 504930 for more information.
12. Waiting List
The School will maintain a waiting list throughout the school year in the academic year of admission of for years 7 to 11.
For external applicants for a Year 12 placement, the School will operate a waiting list until 31 December following admission only.
Every time a child is added to the waiting list, it will be re-ranked in accordance with the oversubscription criteria with no priority given to the date of the application. Parents should note that a child/candidate's name can go down as well as up the waiting list as more names are added. In the event that a child’s circumstances have changed since being added to the Waiting list Parents should inform the School and provide supporting evidence regarding the change. The Trust can then review the placement in the waiting list.
Children placed at the school under the Local Authority's Fair Access Protocol will take priority over children on the waiting list.
13. Repeat applications
It is not the Trust’s policy to consider repeat applications in the same academic year unless there have been significant and material changes in the circumstances of the applicant. Parents are referred to the information above concerning waiting lists.
14. Wombourne High School Admissions Arrangements
Ounsdale Road, Wombourne, WV5 8BJ - Local Authority: Staffordshire County Council
Pupil Admission number
The published admission number (PAN) for Year 7 at Wombourne School is 192.
In addition, Wombourne High School has sixth form places for Years 12 and 13 allocated. Further information on PAN, oversubscription criteria and application can be found later on later in this document.
Entry requirements for selective places or banding
Wombourne High School does not use a selective policy based on aptitude or academic achievement.
Oversubscription criteria
The following criteria will be used to allocate Year 7 places at Wombourne High School when oversubscribed, i.e. we receive more applications than spaces available:
a. First priority for admission shall be given to looked after children or children who were previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, residence, or special guardianship order;
The school may request supporting documentary evidence for Looked after or previously looked after children which may include a letter from the child’s social worker confirming their current status or a copy of the adoption order, child arrangements order or special guardianship order and a letter from the local authority that last looked after the child, confirming that they were looked after immediately prior to that order being made, or such evidence that demonstrates a child was in state care outside England prior to being adopted.
b.Second priority for admission shall be given to children who satisfy both of the following tests:
Test 1: the child is distinguished from the great majority of applicants either on their own medical grounds or by other exceptional circumstances.
Medical grounds must be supported by a medical report (obtained by the applicant and provided at the point of application). This report must clearly justify, for health reasons only, why it is better for the child’s health to attend the School rather than any other school.
Exceptional circumstances must relate to the School and the individual child, i.e. the circumstances of the child, not the economic or social circumstances of the parent/carer. It should be supported by a professional report (obtained by the applicant and provided at the point of application), e.g. social worker. This report must clearly justify why only this school is suitable and no other school in reasonable distance to the child is suitable
Test 2: the child would suffer hardship if they were unable to attend the School. Hardship means severe suffering of any kind, not merely difficulty or inconvenience, which is likely to be experienced as a result of the child attending a different school. Applicants must provide detailed information about both the type and severity of any likely hardship at the time of application.
c.Third priority for admission shall be given to children who have a sibling who will still be attending Wombourne High School in September 2026;
d. Fourth priority for admission shall be given to children of any member of staff in either or both of the following circumstances:
i.where the member of staff has been employed at the school for two or more years at the time at which the application for admission to the school is made; and/or
ii.the member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post at the school for which they are based for more than 50% of their time for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage.
For inclusion in this category, the staff member will be employed by the Trust on a full or part-time basis, on a permanent contract and not on a contract for services. They must be permanently based at Wombourne High School for more than 50% of their normal working hours each week during term time and will include teaching and non-teaching staff.
Staff will not be able to have priority at more than one school within the Trust.
For the purpose of this category, a 'child' of a staff member is:
• their natural / adopted / fostered child or a child for whom they have a special guardianship order in place; and/or
• their stepchild or child of their cohabiting partner, who lives and sleeps at the staff member’s home address for more than 50% of their time from Sunday to Friday night during term time.
For the avoidance of doubt, natural / adopted / fostered child of the staff member or a child for whom they have a special guardianship order in place, or a stepchild or child of a cohabiting partner, who lives elsewhere, will not be eligible for a place under this category.
Applications in this category must be accompanied by a completed Supplementary form which can be found in the appendices. The same parent must complete both this form and the application form, giving only their own details. Part A must be completed by the parent, and Part B must be completed, signed and stamped by the parent’s HR Manager. This form is attached to this policy or can be requested in hard copy format from the school's main office.
e. Fifth priority for admission shall be given to children whose home address is within the catchment area of the school.
f. Sixth priority for admission shall be given to other children not falling into the categories above
15. Tie break
Where there are more applications than places remaining in any subscription categories above, the order in which places will be allocated will be determined by the distance between the school and a child’s home address as a tie breaker to decide between applicants.
Priority will be given to children who live closest to the school. Distance will be measured in a straight line from the child’s home address to the school’s main gate determined by a straight-line measurement as calculated by the Local Authority’s Geographical Information System.
Where the distance between two children’s home address and the school is the same, random allocation will be used to decide between them supervised by someone who is independent of the School. In the event of this occurring with twins or other multiple birth applicants, the school will admit over the Published Admission Number to accommodate these pupils.
16. Wombourne Sixth Form
Pupil Admission number
The overall published admission number (PAN) for Year 12 at Wombourne Sixth Form is 50. This figure relates to external candidates for Year 12 places only, as the School’s existing Year 11 pupils will simply transfer to Year 12 in the usual way if they meet the Minimum Entry Requirements (see below) and want to continue their education in the sixth form.
Minimum Entry requirements
All students, both internal and external are expected to demonstrate their suitability for the courses they have chosen and must meet standard entry requirements as shown below. Students must also ensure that they check the individual entry requirements for their chosen courses in the course guide which is published on the School’s website.
Both internal students wishing to continue at the School’s sixth form and external candidates must meet the same entry requirements:
• A-Level or Combined A-Level / BTEC Pathway For those students wishing to study a full A-Level or combined A Level/BTEC programme, students must achieve five grade 5s including English Language and Mathematics.
• Full BTEC Pathway For those students wishing to study a BTEC only programme, students must achieve five grade 4s including English Language and Mathematics.
Where the minimum entry criteria needs to be adjusted under Equality Act we will do so but no other adjustments can be made other than to comply with admissions law.
If spaces remain available on some courses, the external number of candidates admitted to Year 12 may be increased.
Applications for Wombourne Sixth Form should be made directly to the school by visiting the school website, which can be found here. The closing date for the first round of applications for admission in September 2026 is Friday 12 December 2025. A second round of applications will be accepted if spaces remain, the closing date for the second round of applications will be Saturday28 February 2026.
Children who already attend Wombourne High School will not be required to apply formally for places in Year 12 but should have reached the minimum entry requirements for admission into the sixth form including course requirements.. If students wish to stay on at Wombourne Sixth Form, they must inform the school through their internal processes.
Learners with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) will be offered a place, where the Sixth Form has been named on the EHCP as the appropriate post-16 provision by the Local Authority following consultation. However, he/she will still need to meet the minimum entry and subject specific academic requirements.
Parents/students that are interested in a place in the sixth form can attend one of the many open evenings.
Please note, there is no guarantee that a subject that has been advertised will run. If a subject is unable to run we will meet with students and where possible find a suitable alternative. This meeting is not an interview and will not form part of the application process into sixth form.
All external applicants meeting the minimum entry and subject specific academic requirements and completing a Sixth Form application form will be offered a place unless the number applying is more than the admissions number. In the event of oversubscription, criteria will be used for course allocation to determine how places are offered.
Oversubscription criteria for Year 12 (Sixth Form)
The following criteria will be used to allocate Year 12 places at Wombourne Sixth Form when oversubscribed for children who meet the minimum entry requirements as specified above, i.e. we receive more applications than spaces available:
a. First priority for admission shall be given to looked after children or children who were previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, residence, or special guardianship order.
The Trust may request supporting documentary evidence for looked after or previously looked after children which may include a letter from the child’s social worker confirming their current status or a copy of the adoption order, child arrangements order or special guardianship order and a letter from the local authority that last looked after the child, confirming that they were looked after immediately prior to that order being made, or such evidence that demonstrates a child was in state care outside England prior to being adopted.
b. Second priority for admission shall be given to other children not falling into the category above
Tie break
Where there are more applications for Sixth Form than places remaining in any subscription categories above, the order in which places will be allocated will be determined by the distance between the school and a child’s home address (as defined above) as a tie breaker to decide between applicants.
Priority will be given to children who live closest to the school. Distance will be measured in a straight line from the child’s home address to the school’s main gate determined by a straight-line measurement as calculated by the Local Authority’s Geographical Information System.
Where the distance between two children’s home address and the school is the same, random allocation will be used to decide between them supervised by someone who is independent of the School.
Offer of a place
All offers are conditional upon GCSE results, full details will be found within the conditional offer letter.
If an applicant fails to meet the minimum course requirements, they may be given the option of pursuing alternative courses for which they do meet the minimum academic requirements, subject to availability.
1. Aims
Our admissions policies aim to:
- Explain how to apply for a place at any of the schools in our Trust
- Set out the arrangements at each school for allocating places to the pupils who apply
- Explain how to appeal against a decision not to offer your child a place
2. Legislation and statutory requirements
Our admissions policies are based on the following advice from the Department for Education (DfE):
- School Admissions Code 2021
- School Admission Appeals Code
All schools within the Trust are required to comply with these codes, and with the law relating to admissions as set out in the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.
As an academy trust, our schools are required by our funding agreements to comply with these codes, and with the law relating to admissions as set out in the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. Our policies also comply with our funding agreements and articles of association.
Children will not be discriminated against as laid down by the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, The Race Relations Act 1976 as amended by the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, The Human Rights Act 1998, The Special Educational Needs and Disability Discrimination Act 2005 and The Equality Act 2010.
3. Definitions
Normal admissions round: The normal admissions round is the period during which parents can apply for state-funded school places at the school’s normal point of entry, using the common application form provided by their home local authority.
Looked after children: Looked after children are children who, at the time of making an application to a school, are:
- In the care of a local authority, or
- Being provided with accommodation by a local authority in exercise of its social services functions
Previously looked after children: Previously looked after children are children who were looked after, but ceased to be so because they:
- Were adopted under the Adoption Act 1976 or the Adoption and Children Act 2002, or
- Became subject to a child arrangements order, or
- Became subject to a special guardianship order
This includes children who appear to have been in state care outside England and have ceased to be in state care due to being adopted.
Compulsory school age: A child reaches compulsory school age on the prescribed day following his or her fifth birthday (or on his or her fifth birthday if it falls on a prescribed day). The prescribed days are 31 December, 31 March and 31 August.
Siblings: A sibling is defined as a brother/sister, half-brother/sister (where the children share one common parent), step-brother/step-sister living at the same address and adopted or fostered children living at the same home address.
Home address: The home address is considered to be the child’s (along with their parent(s)) genuine principal place of residence at the time of the allocation of places i.e. where they are normally and regularly living.
If a child is resident with friends or relatives (for reasons other than guardianship), the friend or relative’s address will not be considered for allocation purposes.
Where parents have shared responsibility for a child, and the child lives with both parents for part of the school week, then the home address will be determined as the address where the child lives for the majority of the school week. Parents will be required to provide documentary evidence to support the address they wish to be considered for allocation purposes. At least one item of proof must demonstrate where the child lives.
4. How to apply
For applications in the normal admissions round you should use the application form provided by your home local authority (regardless of which local authority the schools are in). You can use this form to express your preference for a minimum of three state-funded schools, in rank order.
If applicants are required to fill in a supplementary information form for any of our schools, this will be specified. Supplementary information forms can be found within this policy.
You will receive an offer for a school place directly from your local authority.
5. Allocation of places
Within the admissions arrangements for each of our schools the following information is specified:
- Admission number
- Entry requirements for selective places or banding, where applicable
- Oversubscription criteria
- Tie break
- Waiting lists
- Children below compulsory school age, where applicable
6. Late applications
Preferences that are received after the closing date will only be considered after applications that were received within the deadline have been dealt with.
There will, however, be exceptional circumstances in which a late application will be considered alongside those applications that were made within the deadline.
In each circumstance supportive documentary evidence must be provided by the parent/carer at the time of application.
7. Requests for admission outside the normal age group
Parents are entitled to request a place for their child outside their normal age group.
Decisions on requests for admission outside the normal age group will be made on the basis of the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child concerned. In accordance with the School Admissions Code, this will include taking account of:
- Parents’ views
- Information about the child’s academic, social and emotional development
- Where relevant, their medical history and the views of a medical professional
- Whether they have previously been educated out of their normal age group
- Whether they may naturally have fallen into a lower age group if it were not for being born prematurely
- The headteacher’s views
Wherever possible, requests for admission outside a child’s normal age group will be processed as part of the main admissions round. They will be considered on the basis of the admission arrangements laid out in this policy, including the oversubscription criteria. Applications will not be treated as a lower priority if parents have made a request for a child to be admitted outside the normal age group.
Parents will always be informed of the reasons for any decision on the year group a child should be admitted to. Parents do not have a right to appeal if they are offered a place at the school but it is not in their preferred age group.
8. Appeals
If your child’s application for a place is unsuccessful, you will be informed why admission was refused and given information about the process for hearing appeals. The letter you will receive will advise how to appeal against the decision.
Further information on how to appeal and the appeals timetable will be published by 28 February 2024 on each school website.
9. In-year admissions
Parents can apply for a place for their child at any time outside the normal admissions round. As is the case in the normal admissions round, all children whose Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) plans name the school will be admitted. Likewise, if there are spaces available in the year group you are applying for, your child will be offered a place.
If there are no spaces available at the time of your application, your child’s name will be added to a waiting list for the relevant year group. When a space becomes available, it will be filled by one of the pupils on the waiting list in accordance with the oversubscription criteria. Priority will not be given to children on the basis that they have been on the waiting list the longest.
Applications for in-year admissions are co-ordinated by the local authority in all of our schools.
10. Repeat applications
It is not the Trust’s policy to consider repeat applications in the same academic year unless there have been significant and material changes in the circumstances of the applicant.
11. Challenging behaviour
We will not refuse to admit a child to any of our schools on behavioural grounds in the normal admissions round or at any point in the normal year of entry. We may refuse admission in certain cases where the specific criteria listed in the School Admissions Code (paragraph 3.8) apply, i.e. where section 87 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 is engaged.
We may refuse admission for an in-year applicant for a year group that isn’t the normal point of entry, only in such a case that we have good reason to believe that the child may display challenging behaviour that may adversely affect the provision we can offer. In this case, we will refer these pupils to the Fair Access Protocol. We will not refuse admission on these grounds to looked after children, previously looked after children and children with EHC plans listing the school.
12. Fair Access Protocol
Each school within the Trust participates in the relevant local authority Fair Access Protocol. This helps ensure that all children, including those who are unplaced and vulnerable, or having difficulty in securing a school place in-year, get access to a school place as quickly as possible.
13. Monitoring arrangements
This policy will be reviewed and approved by the Board of Trustees every year.
Whenever changes to admission arrangements are proposed (except where the change is an increase to the agreed admission number or to give effect to a mandatory change), the Trust Board will publicly consult on these changes. If nothing changes, it will publicly consult on the school’s admission arrangements at least once every 7 years.
Admission number
The published admission number (PAN) for Year 7 at Wombourne High School is 192.
In addition, Wombourne High School has sixth form places (Years 12 and 13) allocated at Invictus Sixth. Further information on PAN, oversubscription criteria and application can be found on pages 23 to 24.
Entry requirements for selective places or banding
Kinver High School does not use a selective policy based on aptitude or academic achievement.
Oversubscription criteria
The following criteria will be used to allocate Year 7 places at Wombourne High School when oversubscribed, i.e. we receive more applications than spaces available:
a. First priority for admission shall be given to relevant looked after children or children who were previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, residence, or special guardianship order;
b. Second priority for admission shall be given to children who satisfy both of the following tests:
Test 1: the child is distinguished from the great majority of applicants either on their own medical grounds or by other exceptional circumstances.
Medical grounds must be supported by a medical report (obtained by the applicant and provided at the point of application). This report must clearly justify, for health reasons only, why it is better for the child’s health to attend the School rather than any other school.
Exceptional circumstances must relate to the School and the individual child, i.e. the circumstances of the child, not the economic or social circumstances of the parent/carer. It should be supported by a professional report (obtained by the applicant and provided at the point of application), e.g. social worker. This report must clearly justify why it is better for the child to attend the School rather than any other school.
Test 2: the child would suffer hardship if they were unable to attend the School.
Hardship means severe suffering of any kind, not merely difficulty or inconvenience, which is likely to be experienced as a result of the child attending a different school. Applicants must provide detailed information about both the type and severity of any likely hardship at the time of application.
c. Third priority for admission shall be given to children who have a sibling who will still be attending Wombourne High School in September 2023;
d. Fourth priority for admission shall be given children living with catchment area of the school.
e. Fifth priority for admission shall be given to children of any member of staff in either or both of the following circumstances:
i. where the member of staff has been employed at the school for two or more years at the time at which the application for admission to the school is made; and/or
ii. the member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post at the school for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage.
This priority will be applied to all members of staff of Wombourne High School, employed by Invictus Education Trust on a permanent contract of employment.
Any places that remain available once the above applicants have been admitted will be filled according to how near the child’s home address is to the main gate of the School, determined by a straight-line measurement as calculated by the Local Authority’s Geographical Information System.
Where it is not possible to accommodate all children applying for places within a particular category then the School will allocate the available places in accordance with the remaining criteria. If for instance, all the catchment area children cannot be accommodated at the school, children who are resident within the catchment area will be arranged in order of priority according to distance i.e. category D.
In accordance with legislation, a child with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) will be offered a place at the school named in the EHCP as the most appropriate to meet the child’s individual needs. This may reduce the number of places available for children who do not have an EHCP.
Special conditions will apply in the event that one child from a set of twins or triplets does not gain admission to the preferred school through the admissions criteria. The school will exceed the admission number to prevent separation of twins/triplets.
Tie break
Random allocation will be used as a tie break, to decide who has the highest priority for admission if the distance between two children’s homes and the school is the same.
Waiting lists
Unsuccessful applicants will be placed on a waiting list in accordance with the oversubscription criteria stated above and not based on the date their application was received.
If places become available after the offer date they will be offered according to the child at the top of the waiting list.
Waiting Lists will be kept until the end of the autumn term of admission. No other waiting lists will be maintained.
Inclusion on a school’s waiting list does not mean that a place will eventually become available at the preferred school.
A child’s position on a waiting list is not fixed and is subject to change during the year i.e. they can go up or down the list since each added child will require the list to be ranked again in line with the oversubscription criteria.
Children who are subject of a direction by a local authority to admit or who are allocated to a school in accordance with the Fair Access Protocol will take precedence over those on the waiting list.
Admission Number
The overall published admission number (PAN) for Year 12 at Invictus Sixth is 322 (including internal and external). If spaces remain available on some courses, this number may be increased.
Applications for Invictus Sixth should be made directly to the trust by visiting our website. The closing date for the first round of applications for admission in September 2024 is Friday 15 December 2023. A second round of applications will be accepted if spaces remain, the closing date for the second round of applications will be Wednesday 28 February 2024.
Entry requirements
All students are expected to demonstrate their suitability for the courses they have chosen and must meet standard entry requirements as shown below. Students must also ensure that they check the individual entry requirements for their chosen courses in the course guide booklet.
• A-Level or Combined A-Level / BTEC Pathway
For those students wishing to study a full A-Level or combined A Level/BTEC programme, the expectation is that you will achieve five grade 5s or above including English Language and Mathematics.
• Full BTEC Pathway
For those students wishing to study a BTEC only programme, the expectation is that you will achieve five grade 4s or above including English Language and Mathematics.
• English Language and Mathematics requirements
The majority of students joining Invictus Sixth Form will have gained at least a Grade 4 in GCSE Mathematics and English Language. In exceptional circumstances, you may be granted entry on a course without having gained a Grade 4 in English and / or Mathematics when it’s deemed not to be detrimental to your success.
Entry without Grade 4 in English Language and Mathematics, will be at the discretion of the Director of Invictus Sixth Form. Students without Grade 4 in English Language and/or Mathematics will be required to take the GCSE resit course alongside their other subjects. These lessons will form part of the enrichment programme.
Learners with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) will be offered a place, where the Sixth Form – after consultation with the Local Authority – has been named on the statement as the appropriate post-16 provision. He/she will still need to meet the minimum entry and subject specific academic requirements.
Internal Applications: Learners in Year 11 at any Invictus Education Trust school are entitled to a place provided they meet the minimum entry and subject specific academic requirements. All applicants, both internal and external, must complete a Sixth Form application form. This will determine the number of spaces available on each course for external applicants.
External Applications: All external applicants meeting the minimum entry and subject specific academic requirements and completing a Sixth Form application form will be offered a place unless the number applying is more than the admissions number. In the event of oversubscription, criteria will be used for course allocation to determine how places are offered.
Oversubscription criteria
The following criteria will be used to allocate Year 12 places at Invictus Sixth when oversubscribed, i.e. we receive more applications than spaces available:
a. First priority for admission shall be given to relevant looked after children or children who were previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, residence, or special guardianship order. He/she will still need to meet the minimum entry and subject specific requirements.
After places have been allocated under the first priority criteria, remaining places will be offered to other learners who meet the minimum entry and subject specific academic requirements. If the admission number is exceeded within this criteria, a process of random allocation will be used.
Random allocation
This is done by allocating places in a statistically random order generated by computer. In accordance with the Admissions Code, the selection process will be supervised by an independent person.
Offer of a place
All offers are conditional upon GCSE results, full details can be found within the conditional offer letter. If an applicant fails to meet the minimum course requirements, they may be given the option of pursuing alternative courses for which they do meet the minimum academic requirements
1. Aims
Our admissions policies aim to:
- Explain how to apply for a place at any of the schools in our Trust
- Set out the arrangements at each school for allocating places to the pupils who apply
- Explain how to appeal against a decision not to offer your child a place
2. Legislation and statutory requirements
Our admissions policies are based on the following advice from the Department for Education (DfE):
- School Admissions Code 2021
- School Admission Appeals Code
All schools within the Trust are required to comply with these codes, and with the law relating to admissions as set out in the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.
As an academy trust, our schools are required by our funding agreements to comply with these codes, and with the law relating to admissions as set out in the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. Our policies also comply with our funding agreements and articles of association.
Children will not be discriminated against as laid down by the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, The Race Relations Act 1976 as amended by the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, The Human Rights Act 1998, The Special Educational Needs and Disability Discrimination Act 2005 and The Equality Act 2010.
3. Definitions
Normal admissions round:Thenormal admissions round is the period during which parents can apply for state-funded school places at the school’s normal point of entry, using the common application form provided by their home local authority.
Looked after children: Looked after children are children who, at the time of making an application to a school, are:
- In the care of a local authority, or
- Being provided with accommodation by a local authority in exercise of its social services functions
Previously looked after children:Previously looked after children are children who were looked after, but ceased to be so because they:
- Were adopted under the Adoption Act 1976 or the Adoption and Children Act 2002, or
- Became subject to a child arrangements order, or
- Became subject to a special guardianship order
This includes children who appear to have been in state care outside England and have ceased to be in state care due to being adopted.
Compulsory school age: A child reaches compulsory school age on the prescribed day following his or her fifth birthday (or on his or her fifth birthday if it falls on a prescribed day). The prescribed days are 31 December, 31 March and 31 August.
Siblings: A sibling is defined as a brother/sister, half-brother/sister (where the children share one common parent), step-brother/step-sister living at the same address and adopted or fostered children living at the same home address.
Home address: The home address is considered to be the child’s (along with their parent(s)) genuine principal place of residence at the time of the allocation of places i.e. where they are normally and regularly living.
If a child is resident with friends or relatives (for reasons other than guardianship), the friend or relative’s address will not be considered for allocation purposes.
Where parents have shared responsibility for a child, and the child lives with both parents for part of the school week, then the home address will be determined as the address where the child lives for the majority of the school week. Parents will be required to provide documentary evidence to support the address they wish to be considered for allocation purposes. At least one item of proof must demonstrate where the child lives.
4. How to apply
For applications in the normal admissions round you should use the application form provided by your home local authority (regardless of which local authority the schools are in). You can use this form to express your preference for a minimum of three state-funded schools, in rank order.
If applicants are required to fill in a supplementary information form for any of our schools, this will be specified. Supplementary information forms can be found within this policy.
You will receive an offer for a school place directly from your local authority.
5. Allocation of places
Within the admissions arrangements for each of our schools the following information is specified:
- Admission number
- Entry requirements for selective places or banding, where applicable
- Oversubscription criteria
- Tie break
- Waiting lists
- Children below compulsory school age, where applicable
6. Late applications
Preferences that are received after the closing date will only be considered after applications that were received within the deadline have been dealt with.
There will, however, be exceptional circumstances in which a late application will be considered alongside those applications that were made within the deadline.
In each circumstance supportive documentary evidence must be provided by the parent/carer at the time of application.
7. Requests for admission outside the normal age group
Parents are entitled to request a place for their child outside their normal age group.
Decisions on requests for admission outside the normal age group will be made on the basis of the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child concerned. In accordance with the School Admissions Code, this will include taking account of:
- Parents’ views
- Information about the child’s academic, social and emotional development
- Where relevant, their medical history and the views of a medical professional
- Whether they have previously been educated out of their normal age group
- Whether they may naturally have fallen into a lower age group if it were not for being born prematurely
- The headteacher’s views
Wherever possible, requests for admission outside a child’s normal age group will be processed as part of the main admissions round. They will be considered on the basis of the admission arrangements laid out in this policy, including the oversubscription criteria. Applications will not be treated as a lower priority if parents have made a request for a child to be admitted outside the normal age group.
Parents will always be informed of the reasons for any decision on the year group a child should be admitted to. Parents do not have a right to appeal if they are offered a place at the school but it is not in their preferred age group.
8. Appeals
If your child’s application for a place is unsuccessful, you will be informed why admission was refused and given information about the process for hearing appeals. The letter you will receive will advise how to appeal against the decision.
Further information on how to appeal and the appeals timetable will be published by 28 February 2023 on each school website.
9. In-year admissions
Parents can apply for a place for their child at any time outside the normal admissions round. As is the case in the normal admissions round, all children whose Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) plans name the school will be admitted. Likewise, if there are spaces available in the year group you are applying for, your child will be offered a place.
If there are no spaces available at the time of your application, your child’s name will be added to a waiting list for the relevant year group. When a space becomes available, it will be filled by one of the pupils on the waiting list in accordance with the oversubscription criteria. Priority will not be given to children on the basis that they have been on the waiting list the longest.
Applications for in-year admissions are co-ordinated by the local authority in all of our schools.
10. Repeat applications
It is not the Trust’s policy to consider repeat applications in the same academic year unless there have been significant and material changes in the circumstances of the applicant.
11. Challenging behaviour
We will not refuse to admit a child to any of our schools on behavioural grounds in the normal admissions round or at any point in the normal year of entry. We may refuse admission in certain cases where the specific criteria listed in the School Admissions Code (paragraph 3.8) apply, i.e. where section 87 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 is engaged.
We may refuse admission for an in-year applicant for a year group that isn’t the normal point of entry, only in such a case that we have good reason to believe that the child may display challenging behaviour that may adversely affect the provision we can offer. In this case, we will refer these pupils to the Fair Access Protocol. We will not refuse admission on these grounds to looked after children, previously looked after children and children with EHC plans listing the school.
12. Fair Access Protocol
Each school within the Trust participates in the relevant local authority Fair Access Protocol. This helps ensure that all children, including those who are unplaced and vulnerable, or having difficulty in securing a school place in-year, get access to a school place as quickly as possible.
13. Monitoring arrangements
This policy will be reviewed and approved by the Board of Trustees every year.
Whenever changes to admission arrangements are proposed (except where the change is an increase to the agreed admission number or to give effect to a mandatory change), the Trust Board will publicly consult on these changes. If nothing changes, it will publicly consult on the school’s admission arrangements at least once every 7 years.
Admission number
The published admission number (PAN) for Year 7 at Wombourne High School is 192.
In addition, Wombourne High School has sixth form places (Years 12 and 13) allocated at Invictus Sixth. Further information on PAN, oversubscription criteria and application can be found on pages 21 to 22.
Entry requirements for selective places or banding
Wombourne High School does not use a selective policy based on aptitude or academic achievement.
Oversubscription criteria
The following criteria will be used to allocate Year 7 places at Wombourne High School when oversubscribed, i.e. we receive more applications than spaces available:
a. First priority for admission shall be given to relevant looked after children or children who were previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, residence, or special guardianship order;
b. Second priority for admission shall be given to children who satisfy both of the following tests:
Test 1: the child is distinguished from the great majority of applicants either on their own medical grounds or by other exceptional circumstances.
Medical grounds must be supported by a medical report (obtained by the applicant and provided at the point of application). This report must clearly justify, for health reasons only, why it is better for the child’s health to attend the School rather than any other school.
Exceptional circumstances must relate to the School and the individual child, i.e. the circumstances of the child, not the economic or social circumstances of the parent/carer. It should be supported by a professional report (obtained by the applicant and provided at the point of application), e.g. social worker. This report must clearly justify why it is better for the child to attend the School rather than any other school.
Test 2: the child would suffer hardship if they were unable to attend the School.
Hardship means severe suffering of any kind, not merely difficulty or inconvenience, which is likely to be experienced as a result of the child attending a different school. Applicants must provide detailed information about both the type and severity of any likely hardship at the time of application.
c. Third priority for admission shall be given to children who have a sibling who will still be attending Wombourne High School in September 2023;
d. Fourth priority for admission shall be given children living with catchment area of the school. Any places that remain available once the above applicants have been admitted will be filled according to how near the child’s home address is to the main gate of the School, determined by a straight-line measurement as calculated by the Local Authority’s Geographical Information System.
Where it is not possible to accommodate all children applying for places within a particular category then the School will allocate the available places in accordance with the remaining criteria. If for instance, all the catchment area children cannot be accommodated at the school, children who are resident within the catchment area will be arranged in order of priority according to distance i.e. category D.
In accordance with legislation, a child with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) will be offered a place at the school named in the EHCP as the most appropriate to meet the child’s individual needs. This may reduce the number of places available for children who do not have an EHCP.
Special conditions will apply in the event that one child from a set of twins or triplets does not gain admission to the preferred school through the admissions criteria. The school will exceed the admission number to prevent separation of twins/triplets.
Tie break
Random allocation will be used as a tie break, to decide who has the highest priority for admission if the distance between two children’s homes and the school is the same.
Waiting lists
Unsuccessful applicants will be placed on a waiting list in accordance with the oversubscription criteria stated above and not based on the date their application was received.
If places become available after the offer date they will be offered according to the child at the top of the waiting list.
Waiting Lists will be kept until the end of the autumn term of admission. No other waiting lists will be maintained.
Inclusion on a school’s waiting list does not mean that a place will eventually become available at the preferred school.
A child’s position on a waiting list is not fixed and is subject to change during the year i.e. they can go up or down the list since each added child will require the list to be ranked again in line with the oversubscription criteria.
Children who are subject of a direction by a local authority to admit or who are allocated to a school in accordance with the Fair Access Protocol will take precedence over those on the waiting list.