Great Wyrley Academy
Consultation 2026/2027 2025/2026 & 2024/2025
Consultation on 2026/2027 admission arrangements
As part of our commitment to ensuring transparency and fairness in admissions across all Windsor Academy Trust schools, we are reviewing the admissions policies for the 2026/27 academic year.
Schools are required to review their admissions policies with families and other key groups every seven years. By carrying out this review for all schools at the same time, we can ensure that all members of our school communities have the opportunity to share their views.
Proposed Changes
For some of our schools, there are proposed changes to the admissions policies:
Goldsmith Primary Academy: A change to the oversubscription criteria to remove the rule that gives priority to children attending Goldsmith Primary Nursery. This change aims to ensure all families in the community have fair access to school places.
Great Wyrley Academy: An increase in the number of children allowed to enrol in Year 7each year (the published admission number) from 120 to 150, starting from the 2026/27 academic year.
Clayton Hall Academy: A reduction in the published admission number from 200 to 180,starting from the 2026/27 academic year.
Newcastle Academy: A reduction in the published admission number from 140 to 120,starting from the 2026/27 academic year.
Sir Thomas Boughey Academy: A reduction in the published admission number from 162to 120, starting from the 2026/27 academic year.
Schools with No Proposed Changes
Some schools are not suggesting any changes, but we are still consulting as part of this process:
Manor Way Primary Academy
Tenterfields Primary Academy
Colley Lane Primary Academy
Milton Primary Academy
Greenways Primary Academy
Rivers Primary Academy
Kingswinford Academy
Windsor High School and Sixth Form
Cheslyn Hay Academy
Windsor Olympus Academy
How You Can Have Your Say
We want to hear from parents, carers, and other important people in the community about our admissions policy. You can read all the details of the changes on our Windsor Academy Trust website and share your feedback on our Google Form.
The consultation runs from 12:00 pm on Tuesday 17th December 2024 to 12:00 pm on Tuesday 28th January 2025.
Thank you for taking the time to support this important process. Your views are valued and will help shape our admissions policies to ensure they are fair and inclusive for all.
Kind regards,
Mr A Middleton
Chair of the Board of Directors
On behalf of Windsor Academy Trust
Proposed admission arrangements 2026/2027
1. Aims
Our admissions policy aims 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
We 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.
This policy complies with our funding agreements and articles of association.
3. Definitions
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 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 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.
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, 31March and 31 August.
4. How to apply
4.1 Applications process for normal admissions round - Reception and Year 7
For applications to Reception and Year 7 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 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 home local authority.
4.2 Applications process for normal admissions round - Year 12
For applications to Year 12 in the normal admissions round you should use the application form provided by the school directly.
You will receive an offer for a school place directly from the school.
5. Requests for admission outside the normal age group
Parents are entitled to request a place for their child outside their normal age group. Any such request should be made in writing to the school.
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.
6. Allocation of places
6.1 Admission number
Our schools have the following published admission numbers (PAN):
For primary entry into Reception
● Manor Way Primary Academy: 30
● Tenterfields Primary Academy: 30
● Colley Lane Primary Academy: 60
● Milton Primary Academy: 60
● Greenways Primary Academy: 30
● Goldsmith Primary Academy: 60
● Rivers Primary Academy: 60
For secondary entry into Year 7:
● Kingswinford Academy: 180
● Windsor High School and Sixth Form: 280
● Cheslyn Hay Academy: 224
● Great Wyrley Academy: 150
● Clayton Hall Academy: 180
● Newcastle Academy: 120
● Sir Thomas Boughey Academy: 120
● Windsor Olympus Academy: 180
For Sixth Form entry into Year 12:
● Windsor High School and Sixth Form: 180
● Aspire Sixth Form (Joint Sixth Form of Cheslyn Hay Academy & Great Wyrley Academy): 150
6.2 Selective places
If the school offers selective places for aptitude, the admission requirements for these places and the application process will be specified in the individual admission arrangements found from pages 6 to 47.
6.3 Oversubscription criteria
The following criteria apply to all of the schools in our Trust:
All children whose Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) names one of our schools will be admitted to that school before any other places are allocated.
If the school is not oversubscribed, all applicants will be offered a place.
In the event that the school receives more applications than the number of places it has available, places will be allocated to those children who meet any of the specified oversubscription criteria, in order, until all places have been allocated. Each school's oversubscription criteria is specified in the individual admission arrangements found from pages 6 to 47.
6.4 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 whose Education, Health and Care Plans names the school.
6.5 Fair Access Protocol
Each school within the Trust participates in the relevant local authority Fair Access Protocol. This helps make sure 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.
7. Appeals
7.1 Appeal process for normal admissions round - Reception and Year 7
If your child’s application for a Reception or Year 7 place at one of our schools is unsuccessful, you will be informed by your home local authority to whom you applied 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 2026 on the Trust’s and each school's website.
7.2 Appeal process for normal admissions round - Year 12
If your child’s application for a Year 12 place at one of our schools is unsuccessful, you will be entitled to appeal to an Independent Appeals Panel. Further information about the appeals process will be provided by the school directly.
8. 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 names one of our schools 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 school’s oversubscription criteria. Priority will not be given to children on the basis that they have been on the waiting list the longest.
To find out more about applying for an in-year admission please visit the relevant local authority website where you will find information on the application process:
● Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council
For Manor Way Primary Academy, Tenterfields Primary Academy, Colley Lane Primary Academy, Kingswinford Academy and Windsor High School and Sixth Form
● Staffordshire County Council
For Cheslyn Hay Academy and Great Wyrley Academy
● Stoke-on-Trent City Council
For Milton Primary Academy, Greenways Primary Academy, Clayton Hall Academy, Newcastle Academy and Sir Thomas Boughey Academy
● Walsall Council
For Goldsmith Primary Academy and Rivers Primary Academy
● Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council
For Windsor Olympus Academy
9. Monitoring arrangements
This policy and each school’s admission arrangements will be reviewed and approved (‘determined’) by the Windsor Academy Trust Board of Directors 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 Board of Directors will publicly consult on these changes.
The Board of Directors will consult on the admission arrangements at least once every seven years, even if there have been no changes during that period.
GREAT WYRLEY ACADEMY
Hall Lane, Great Wyrley, WS6 6LQ
Local Authority: Staffordshire County Council
YEAR 7 ADMISSION
Admission Number
The published admission number (PAN) for Year 7 at Great Wyrley Academy is 150.
All children whose Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) names Great Wyrley Academy will be admitted to the school before any other places are allocated.
Oversubscription Criteria
The following criteria will be used to allocate Year 7 places at Great Wyrley Academy when oversubscribed, i.e. we receive more applications than spaces available:
● First priority for admission shall be given to children in care and children who ceased to bein care because they were adopted (or became subject to a child arrangements order or special guardianship order), including those children who appear to have been in state care outside England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted.
● Second priority for admission shall be given to children who have an elder sibling in attendance at the Academy and who will still be attending the school at the proposed admission date. (For the application to be prioritised under this criteria the children must be living at the same home address for the majority of the school week and either: have one or both natural parents in common; are related by a parents marriage; are adopted or fostered by a common parent or are unrelated children who live at the same address, whose parents live as partners.)
● Third priority for admission shall be given to children living within the catchment area.
● Fifth priority for admission shall be given to children who attend our major contributory schools - Moat Hall Primary Academy and Landywood Primary School.
● Sixth priority for admission shall be given to other children arranged in order of priority according to how near their home addresses are 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 Staffordshire County Council will allocate the available places in accordance with the remaining criteria. If for instance, all the catchment area children cannot be accommodated at a school, children who are resident within the catchment area will be arranged in order of priority according to the remaining criteria i.e. fifth and sixth priority.
Tie Break
If Staffordshire County Council cannot distinguish between applicants using the criteria listed, e.g. children who live in the same block of flats, then the child or children who will be offered the available spaces will be randomly selected. This process will be independently verified.
Additional Notes
● It is the applicant’s responsibility to provide any supportive information required in order for the application to be assessed against the above published admissions criteria, we will not seek to obtain any supportive information on behalf of an applicant in support of a school application.
● In accordance with legislation, children who have a statutory statement of special educational need or an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) that names the Academy as being the most appropriate to meet the child’s needs must be admitted. This will reduce the amount of places available to other applicants.
● Children in care means children who are looked after by a local authority in accordance with section 22 (1) of the Children Act 1989 and who is (a) in care of a local authority, or (b) being provided with accommodation by a Local Authority in the exercise of their social services functions (see definition in Section 22 (1) of the Children Act 1989) at the time of making an application to a school. This includes children who were adopted under the Adoption Act 1976 (see section 12 adoption orders) and children who were adopted under Adoption and Children Act 2002 (see section 46 adoption orders).
● Child arrangements orders are defined in Section 8 of the Children Act 1989, as amended by Section 12 of the Children and Families Act 2014. Child arrangements orders replace residence orders and any residence order in force prior to 22 April 2014 is deemed to be a child arrangements order.
● Section 14A of the Children Act 1989 defines a special guardianship order as an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child’s special guardian (or special guardians).
● Copies of school catchment area maps are available from the local authority or individual schools.
● The local authority uses a geographical information system (GIS) to calculate home to school distances in miles. The measurement is calculated using Ordnance Survey (OS) data from an applicant's home address to the main front gate of the school. The coordinates of an applicant's home address are determined and provided by the Local Land and Property Gazetteer (LLPG) and OS address point data.
● It is expected that parents will agree on school places before an application is made, and it may be necessary to request evidence from you to confirm that this is the case. The local authority and. Or school is not in a position to intervene in disputes between parents over school applications and will request that these are resolved privately.
● The home address is considered to be the child’s along with their parent’s main and 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 legal guardianship) the friends or relatives 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, parents will be required to provide documentary evidence to support the address they wish to be considered for allocation purposes.
● If a child’s home address changes during the admissions process it is the responsibility of the parent/carer to inform the local authority immediately. Where there is a proposed house move taking place during the admissions process the local authority will only accept the revised address for purposes of allocation where parents/carers can provide documentary evidence of the move by 23 January 2026. It will be necessary for sufficient evidence of a permanent move to be provided by the applicant by this date before it will be taken into account for allocation purposes at the national offer date.
● If a place is offered on the basis of an address that is subsequently found to be different from the child’s normal and permanent home address at the time of allocation of places then that place is likely to be withdrawn.
● Any Staffordshire child not obtaining a place at any of their parent’s preferred schools will be allocated an alternative school place and advised about the independent appeals process.
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. There will be a period of two weeks after the national offer date whereby available places will not be reallocated. If places become available after this date they will be offered according to the child at the top of the waiting list.
Waiting lists will be kept until 31 December 2026. No other waiting lists will be maintained Staffordshire County Council will operate this waiting list on behalf of the school.
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 to 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.
Late Applications
Preferences received after the closing date will be considered alongside those applicants who applied on time wherever possible. Where it is not practicable because places have already been allocated, or are shortly to be allocated, then late preferences will be considered only after those that were made before this point.
A late application does not affect the right of appeal or the right to be placed on a school’s waiting list.
For late applications made after the time that is practicable because places have already been allocated, are shortly to be allocated, there will be a period of two weeks after the national offer date whereby available places will not be reallocated. If places become available after this date they will be offered according to the child at the top of the waiting list.
Repeat Applications
Parents do not have the right to a second appeal in respect of the same school for the same academic year unless, in exceptional circumstances, Staffordshire County Council has accepted a second application from the appellant because of a significant and material change in the circumstances of the parent, child or school but still refused admission.
YEAR 12 (SIXTH FORM) ADMISSION
Admission number
The joint collegiate Sixth Form between Cheslyn Hay Academy and Great Wyrley Academy is known as the Aspire Sixth Form. The published admission number (PAN) for Year 12 is 150 in total across both sites.
It is our aim, when considering applications, to accept students onto a curriculum which will suit their learning style and encourage them to flourish academically. Judgements and offers will be made on an appropriate level of prior academic achievement and a positive attitude/aptitude for learning .
All admissions will be administered by use of the criteria below:
Method of Application
In the Autumn Term of each year, the school will publish prospectuses and application forms. All current Cheslyn Hay Academy students will be invited to an Open Evening - this event will be marketed locally and on the school website.
Prospectuses and application forms will be specifically issued to:
● All current Year 11 Cheslyn Hay Academy and Great Wyrley Academy students
● Students visiting from other education establishments
● Those making a specific request for this information by contacting the school
Information, advice and guidance meetings are set up for every prospective Sixth Form student -with their parent/carer - to provide expert professional support at a critical time of decision.
Entry Criteria for Courses
All students should have a positive, self-motivated approach and are expected to demonstrate their suitability for the courses they have chosen and must meet standard entry requirements as outlined below:
● Students need to evidence a minimum of 5 GCSEs at grade 9 – 4 (or equivalent grades)including English and Maths.
● Individual courses may have subject-specific GCSE or equivalent qualification requirements for entry - these are outlined fully in the prospectus each year and available on the Aspire website.
Students who do not meet the entry criteria can discuss the courses that they want to follow with the Head of Aspire Sixth Form and may be given permission to join in exceptional circumstances(subject to additional reasonable conditions to be agreed during a discussion).
Applications from External Applicants
Each year a number of students can join Aspire Sixth Form from other schools. Applications are welcomed from such students who wish to continue their studies at Aspire Sixth Form. The application process and entry requirements are identical for both internal and external applicants.
Our minimum admission number for external applications is 20.
Oversubscription Criteria
All children whose Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) names Cheslyn Hay Academy will be admitted to the school before any other places are allocated.
The following criteria will be used to allocate Year 12 places at Cheslyn Hay Academy when oversubscribed, i.e. we receive more applications than spaces available:
● 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, child arrangement order, or special guardianship order. A child is regarded as having been in state care outside England if they were in the care of or were accommodated by a public authority, a religious organisation or any other provider of care whose sole or main purpose is to benefit society. (*See note below)
● Second priority for admission shall be given to children who have a brother/sister,half-brother/sister (where the children share one common parent), step-brother / step-sister or fostered/adopted sibling living at the same home address and who will still be attending Aspire Sixth Form in the academic year 2026/27. (** See note below)
● Third priority for admission shall be given to other children arranged in order of proximity of the child’s home to the school, measured in a straight line from the front door of the home (or main entrance to flats) to the main gate of the school, with those living nearest accorded the higher priority. (***See note below).
Additional notes
* An adoption order is an order under section 46 of the Adoptions and Children Act 2002. A residence order is an order settling the arrangements to be made as to the person with whom the child is to live with under section 8 of the Children Act 1989. Section 14A of the Children Act 1989 defines a special guardianship order as an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child’sspecial guardian (or special guardians).
** Where parents have a 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 (i.e. three out of the five days). Parents will be required to provide documentary evidence to support the address they wish to be considered for allocation purposes.
*** In all cases the ‘proximity’ criterion (the last named priority) is to be used as a tiebreaker should the Sixth Form be oversubscribed with applicants under criteria with a higher priority. For example, if the school were to be oversubscribed with siblings only (second priority), the proximity criterion would dictate who would gain admission. Parents or guardians might be asked to submit evidence in support of their application; fraudulent information used at that time can lead to the withdrawal of a place and further children might be affected. In the event that we are unable to distinguish between applicants for the final available place, such as in the case of children who live in the same block of flats, then the final place will be randomly selected by drawing lots. The ‘home’address to be used will be the current one at the time places are allocated and the one that parents either own or rent.
Admission arrangement 2025/2026, 2024/2025
Policy and Numbers
Students will be admitted at age 11 without reference to ability or aptitude. There is no charge relating to the admission of students. The school’s admission policy offers no guarantee of places (unless it is for the normal age of entry to the school and there are less applicants than places available).
The Pupil Admission Number (PAN) will be 120. All admissions will be administered by use of the criteria detailed below.
Over Subscription
All schools must admit any child with a statement of special educational needs that names the school directly.
Where applicants for admission exceed the number of places available, the following criteria will be applied, in the order set out below, to decide which children to admit:
-
“Looked after children – children in public care”, as required by the Education (Admission of Looked after Children) (England) Regulations 2006. 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., including those children who appear (to the admission authority) to have been in state care outside England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted *See note below
-
Where a child has a brother/sister, half-brother/sister (where the children share one common parent), step-brother/step-sister or fostered/adopted sibling living at the same home address (i.e. the genuine principal place of residence where they normally and regularly live) and who will be still attending Great Wyrley Academy in September. **See note below
-
Children living within the catchment area of Great Wyrley Academy (a copy of which can be obtained on request from Staffs County Council or the school office).
-
Children who attend our major contributory schools, Moat Hall and Landywood.
-
Proximity of the child’s home to the school, measured in a straight line from the front door of the home (or main entrance to flats) to the main gate of the school, with those living nearest accorded the higher priority. ***See note below
Note
The local authority uses a geographical information system (GIS) to calculate home to school distances in miles. The measurement is calculated using Ordnance Survey (OS) data from an applicant's home address to the main front gate of the school. The coordinates of an applicant's home address is determined and provided by the Local Land and Property Gazetteer (LLPG) and OS address point data.
* An adoption order is an order under section 46 of the Adoptions and Children Act 2002. A residence order is an order settling the arrangements to be made as to the person with whom the child is to live under section 8 of the Children Act 1989. Section 14A of the Children Act 1989 defines a special guardianship order as an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child’s special guardian (or special guardians).
** Where parents have a 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 (i.e. three out of the five days). Parents will be required to provide documentary evidence to support the address they wish to be considered for allocation purposes.
*** In all cases the ‘proximity’ criterion (the last named priority) is to be used as a tie-breaker should the school be oversubscribed with applicants under criteria with a higher priority. For example, if the school were to be oversubscribed with siblings only (second priority), the proximity criterion would dictate who would gain admission. Parents or guardians might be asked to submit evidence in support of their application; fraudulent information used at that time can lead to the withdrawal of a place and further children might be affected. In the event that we are unable to distinguish between applicants for the final available place, such as in the case of children who live in the same block of flats, then the final place will be randomly selected by drawing lots. The ‘home’ address to be used will be the current one at the time places are allocated and the one that parents either own or rent.
Special conditions will apply in the event that one child from a multiple birth does not gain admission to the school through the admissions criteria; in this instance the school governors will exceed the admission number for the family concerned to prevent separation of such children.
Year 7 admissions for September entry will be administered on behalf of the LAB of Great Wyrley Academy by Staffordshire County Council (School Admissions) using the criteria outlined above.
Appeals
Appeals regarding admissions will be considered by an Independent Appeals panel.
Late Applications
Preferences that are received after the closing date for receipt of applications 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. Where exceptional circumstances are such that the parent could not have reasonably submitted the application within the deadline, the applicant will be considered alongside all other applicants.
In each circumstance supportive documentary evidence must be provided by the parent/carer at the time of application.
Unsuccessful late applications will be added to the waiting list in accordance with the admissions criteria.
Waiting Lists
If the school is oversubscribed and students have been refused admission because other students have a higher priority for admission under the published admissions criteria, then parents may request to be added to a waiting list.
Children on the waiting list will be ranked in accordance with the schools published admissions criteria and the list will operate from the point of allocation of places until December 31. After December 31 the waiting list will no longer be in operation. Staffordshire County Council will operate this waiting list on behalf of the school.
Inclusion on the waiting list does not mean that a place will eventually become available.
A child’s position on the waiting list is not fixed and is subject to change during the year i.e.they can go up or down the list.
Places that become available below the published admissions number or any number that the school agree that they can admit from March will be offered to students according to their ranking on the list i.e. those ranked highest will be offered first.
Staffordshire County Council (School Admissions) will also help coordinate any In-Year Admissions on behalf of the school.
Sixth Form Admissions Policy
The joint collegiate sixth form between Great Wyrley Academy and Cheslyn Hay Academy is known as the Aspire Sixth Form.
It is our aim, when considering applications, to accept students onto a curriculum which will suit their learning style and encourage them to flourish academically. Judgements and offers will be made on an appropriate level of prior academic achievement and a positive attitude/aptitude for learning.
The Student Admission Number (PAN) for the year commencing September 1, will be 150 across both sites. All admissions will be administered by the following criteria-
Method of Application:
Prospectuses and application forms will be published during the Autumn Term each year. All current Great Wyrley Academy students will be invited to an Open Evening and the event will be marketed locally and on the school website. Prospectuses and application forms will be specifically issued to:
-
All current Year 11 Great Wyrley Academy students
-
Students visiting from other education establishments
-
Those making specific requests by contacting the school
Information, advice and guidance meetings are set up for every prospective Sixth Form student, with their parents, to provide expert professional support at a critical time of decision.
Entry Criteria for Courses:
Students need to demonstrate evidence of a positive, self-motivated approach to learning and a minimum of 5 GCSEs at grade 9 – 4 (or equivalent grades) including English and Maths.
Individual courses may have subject-specific GCSE requirements for entry - these are outlined fully in the prospectus each year.
Students who do not meet the entry criteria can discuss the courses that they want to follow with the Assistant Headteacher (Sixth Form) and may be given permission to join in exceptional circumstances.
Applications From Students Not Currently Studying in Year 11 at Great Wyrley Academy:
Each year a number of students can join our Sixth Form from other schools. Applications are welcomed from such students who wish to continue their studies at Great Wyrley Academy. The application process and entry requirements will be identical for both internal and external applicants.
Our admission number for external applications is a minimum of twenty.
All schools must admit any child with a statement of special educational needs that names the school directly.
Where over-subscribed we will give priority to applicants as follows:
-
“Looked after children – children in public care”, as required by the Education (Admission of Looked after Children) (England) Regulations 2006. 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. (* See note below)
-
Where a child has a brother/sister, half brother/sister (where the children share one common parent), step-brother/sister or fostered/adopted sibling living at the same home address (i.e. the genuine principle place of residence where they normally and regularly live) and who will be attending Great Wyrley Academy in September. ** See note below
-
Proximity of the child’s home to the school, measured in a straight line from the front door of the home (or main entrance to flats) to the main gate of the school, with those living nearest accorded the higher priority. ***See note below
*An adoption order is an order under section 46 of the Adoptions and Children Act 2002. A residence order is an order settling the arrangements to be made as to the person with whom the child is to live under section 8 of the Children Act 1989. Section 14A of the Children Act 1989 defines a special guardianship order as an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child’s special guardian (or special guardians).
**Where parents have a 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 (i.e. three out of the five days). Parents will be required to provide documentary evidence to support the address they wish to be considered for allocation purposes.
*** In all cases the ‘proximity’ criterion (the last named priority) is to be used as a tie-breaker should the school be oversubscribed with applicants under criteria with a higher priority. For example, if the school were to be oversubscribed with siblings only (second priority), the proximity criterion would dictate who would gain admission. Parents or guardians might be asked to submit evidence in support of their application; fraudulent information used at that time can lead to the withdrawal of a place and further children might be affected. In the event that we are unable to distinguish between applicants for the final available place, such as in the case of children who live in the same block of flats, then the final place will be randomly selected by drawing lots. The ‘home’ address to be used will be the current one at the time places are allocated and the one that parents either own or rent.
All of the above applicants must meet the Entry Criteria. In the event of the school being oversubscribed in any of the above criteria, places will be offered to those living nearest the school as measured in a direct line distance from the home to the school.
Applicants refused admission to our Sixth Form are entitled to appeal to an Independent Appeals Panel.