Admission to secondary school booklet 2014-15 - South ...

What happens to myapplication?Co-ordinated admissionsAll local authorities must have a co-ordinatedadmission scheme which allows details ofapplications to be shared with other admissionauthorities, as appropriate, to ensure that parents/carers receive an offer of a single place on theoffer date.Once we receive your completed application(by 31 October 2014) we will consider all yourpreferences against the relevant admissionscriteria and we will try to offer you a place at oneof your preferred schools.Any school which operates criteria for selectionby ability or aptitude must ensure that itsarrangements for assessing ability or aptitude,to enable decisions to be made on preferencesreceived, conform to the timing requirements ofthe admissions scheme.In the case of admission to academies andfoundation trust schools in South Gloucestershireall applications will be considered with referenceto their own over-subscription criteria includingany supplementary data where necessary.Ranked lists of potential offers will then bereturned to South Gloucestershire Councilincluding the reason why each applicant qualifiedfor a place, by 9 January 2015. The list will alsoinclude those pupils, for whom a place cannot beoffered, in rank order, explaining the reasons forrefusal against the over-subscription criteria, andin the order in which additional offers will be madeshould places become available.Applications for all schools will be consideredunder an ‘equal preference’ system. This meansthat all your preferences will initially be consideredequally against the admission criteria regardlessof your ranking. This does not mean that wedisregard your preferences; it means that in theevent that you are unsuccessful in gaining aplace at your first preference school, your secondpreference will not be treated any less favourablyjust because you placed school 2 as your secondpreference.If your child qualifies for a place at more thanone school your highest ranked school with aplace available will be offered. If you are notoffered a place at your highest ranking school,the alternative school may be one of your otherpreferences or the next nearest appropriateschool with a place available.Receiving your offerOn-line applicants will be able to view theoutcome of their application for a school place on2 March 2015 by logging onto the on-line systemusing their password. On-line applicants will beformally notified of the offer of a school place byemail unless otherwise specified at the time ofapplication. Applicants who applied using thepaper application form will be notified of the offerof a school place by letter to be posted 1st classon 2 March 2015. South Gloucestershire Councilis unable to inform parents/carers of the offer bytelephone.South Gloucestershire Council will make thesingle offer of a place for Year 7 to parents/carersresident within its area. Places will be allocatedagainst the published admission criteria withoutreference to the applicant’s order of preference.Where a child qualifies for a place at more thanone school, the final offer will be the highestranked school with a place available.In the case of parents/carers resident in SouthGloucestershire being refused a place at theirpreferred school(s), an alternative school placeat the nearest appropriate school/academy/foundation trust school to the home address witha place available will be offered to their child andthey will be informed of the options available atthat stage including their right of appeal.What happens to my application?✆ 01454 868008 cis@southglos.gov.uk19