Admission's policy 2020

Admissions Policy

for entry in

September 2020

Granby Road, Stretford

Manchester M32 8JB

0161 866 0130

admissions [at] stretfordgrammar [dot] com

Ratified by Governors : December 2018

Admissions Policy 2020

Date of Policy: November 2018

Member of staff with overall responsibility: Helen Dolphin

Governing Body Sub-Committee with reviewing responsibility: Admissions

Admissions Policy 2020

Stretford Grammar School is a foundation mixed Grammar School. The student admission number is 160 for Years 7 – 11. The School has no religious affiliation.

Definitions (for the purpose of this Admissions Policy)

 ‘Looked after children’ has the meaning set out in the Education Act 2002

 ‘Residence’ means the address where the child normally and permanently lives

 ‘The School’ means Stretford Grammar School

 ‘Sibling’ means any person (full, half, step, adopted or foster brother or sister) of admissions age who is residing permanently at the same address as the candidate and will be in attendance at the School at the time of the proposed admission.

 ‘Pupil Premium’ is funding for publicly funded schools in England to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and close the gap between them and their peers. Schools receive funding for each child registered as eligible for free meals at any point in the last 6 years as well as funding for children who have a parent serving in the armed forces.

Attachments:

Appendix A Special Circumstances Form

Appendix B Local Review Form 3

Admission at Age 11

The number of admissions into Year 7 for the year commencing 1st September 2020 will be 160. Candidates who attain the required standard in the School’s testing arrangements for selection by ability (as set out in this Policy) will be eligible for admission to the School.

Applicants must have a date of birth between 1st September 2008 and 31st August 2009.

Provision for Admission outside a Child’s Normal Age Group

Younger candidates may be considered for a place providing they are studying in a Year 6 class prior to the Entrance Test and they obtain an examination score of 360 or above. Applicants who are studying in a Year 5 class, but whose date of birth is between the dates given above must sit the Entrance Examination with applicants of the same age. Decisions as to their year of entry to the School would be made on an individual basis.

  1. a) Application Procedure for Admission to Year 7 September 2020
  2. All parents/carers of candidates who wish to take the Tests for entry to Stretford Grammar School in September 2020 must complete the School Registration Form on-line, via the school website, by noon on the specified closing date. If the closing date is missed the next testing date will be after National Allocation Day which is 1st March 2020.

  1. The School is part of the Trafford Local Authority Co-ordinated Scheme. Parents/carers of children who wish to apply for a place at the School must indicate Stretford Grammar School on their home Local Authority Admissions Form.

  1. Candidates who move into the area (as defined by criterion 5 of the over-subscription criteria) after the closing date for applications and who submit an on-time application to their Local Authority including Stretford Grammar School as a preference will be given consideration from the address given on the application to sit the Entrance Test until after the first round of offers. Thereafter, the new address will only be considered if and when the following evidence and legal documentation in relation to the change of residency have been supplied to the School:
  2. i) Evidence and legal documentation to the effect they have purchased or exchanged contracts on a property is produced and proof of disposal of the previous home.
  3. ii) For leasing agreements a minimum of 24 months is required and legally supported documentation produced and proof of disposal of the previous home.

iii) The applicant and his/her parents/carers became resident at the new home.

Applicants who move further away from the School after the date of application will be considered from their new address with immediate effect. 4

  1. Access Arrangements will be agreed before the Entrance Test. They allow candidates with special educational needs, disabilities or temporary injuries to access the test and show what they can do without changing the demands of the test. The intention behind an access arrangement is to meet the particular needs of an individual applicant without affecting the integrity of the exam. Access arrangements are the principal way in which the School complies with the duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make ‘reasonable adjustments’.

The Equality Act 2010 requires the School to make reasonable adjustments where a candidate, who is disabled within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010, would be at a substantial disadvantage in comparison to someone who is not disabled. Whether an adjustment will be considered reasonable will depend on a number of factors which will include, but are not limited to:

 the needs of the disabled applicant;

 the effectiveness of the adjustment;

 the cost of the adjustment; and

 the likely impact of the adjustment upon the applicant and the other applicants.

The evidence of need required by the School will vary depending on the disability and the access arrangement(s) being applied for. Each case will be considered on its own merit. Information must be forwarded to the School by parents at the time they register their child for the Entrance Test or as soon as possible thereafter but MUST be before the closing date for the Entrance Test. Access arrangements must not give an applicant an unfair advantage over other applicants. Where a request for 25% extra time is made, therefore, it will only be granted where there is evidence of substantial impairment or exceptional circumstances. In order to evidence such circumstances, parents should provide the School with a Local Authority Statement of Special Educational Needs, an Education, Health and Care Plan or primary school SEND support information. Information from the primary school should also be provided which details the applicant’s normal way of working; the primary school may be consulted.

All reports and documentation must be current and dated no more than 2 years before the testing date. All documentation provided must also show the Assessors full details including qualifications and how the assessment results were reached and be on official letterhead.

  1. b) Arrangements for Testing
  2. Arrangements for the Stretford Grammar School Entrance Test will be available on the website from June 2019

  1. The Stretford Grammar School Entrance Test will consist of Verbal, Non Verbal and Mathematic questions, set and standardised by our service provider. The standardisation will take into account the applicants’ date of birth.

  1. To be eligible for consideration of a place at the School a candidate must achieve a score of 334 or above. This does not in itself guarantee a place. Outcomes and scores for the main testing will be communicated by the School to parents/carers prior to the 31st October 2019.

An automatic review is conducted for all candidates who score between 324 to 333 (inclusive). In the review process the following will be considered:

 The test score achieved by the applicant.

 Any special circumstances that the School have been advised of on or prior to the date of the Entrance Test or in the week immediately after the testing (if your child is ill immediately prior to or on the day of the exam, please do not bring them, alternative arrangements can be made). (Appendix A)

 The invigilator’s Report – This is a record of the testing process including any events that may have taken place during the test.

Those candidates whom are deemed to have qualified following review will have their score amended to 334R.The result letters for automatic review candidates will be communicated by the School to parents/carers prior to the 31st October 2019.

No results will be given over the telephone or via e-mail. The result for any other testing will be when it is available.

  1. c) Local Review

A Local Review is conducted for all candidates who score between 324 to 333 (inclusive) but have not had their result overturned at Automatic Review.

A local review will be heard by the Review Panel upon receipt of the Local Review Form (Appendix B) along with optional supporting documentation detailing the challenge. The Review Panel will consist of the Headteacher, the Deputy Headteacher, the Head of English, the Head of Mathematics and a current primary school Headteacher

Those candidates whom the Local Review Panel deem to have qualified for admission will have their Test score amended to 334R

The decision of the Local Review Panel will be notified by post after the closing date for the submission of the Common Application Form, 31st October 2019. Parents awaiting the results of the review are advised to include Stretford Grammar School as a preferred school on the Common Application Form.

This process does not replace your statutory to appeal to an Independent appeal Panel – see “Right of Appeal” section. 6

  1. d) The Over-subscription Criteria
  2. Looked After Children and all previously Looked After Children. A looked after child is a child who is (a) in the care of a local authority, or (b) being provided with accommodation by a local authority, in the exercise of their social services functions (as defined in Section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989).

3Section 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).

  1. Children who have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted. A child is regarded as having been in state care in a place outside of England if they were accommodated by a public authority, a religious organisation or any other provider of care whose sole purpose is to benefit society.

  1. 15 Pupil Premium Places — Places will be allocated to the highest performing candidates who qualify for Pupil Premium at the time of allocation, irrespective of distance. Candidates, on Pupil Premium, with equal scores to the lowest candidate in this allocation will also be offered places.

  1. The top 20 scoring candidates, irrespective of home residence, will be allocated a place. Candidates with equal scores to the lowest candidate in this allocation will also be offered places.

  1. Children who will have a sibling attending the School within Years 7 to 11 at the time of admission (September 2020).

  1. Successful candidates who live within the immediate area of the school; being M32, M33, M41, M15 and M16 (both within Trafford and Manchester) and including M21, this being the next closest postcode to the school.

  1. Children who live nearest to the School, measured in a direct straight line from the child’s permanent place of residence to the School.

If there are more successful applicants than can be accommodated at the School in criterions 1 to 6 places will be offered to those children in each criteria whose place of residence is nearest to the School as defined in criterion 7. This will be measured using property co-ordinates provided through a combination of the Trafford Local Land and Property Gazetteer (557666), other LA data and Royal Mail Postal Address Information. In the case of a child living in a block of flats, the distance will be measured in the same manner.

Random allocation will be used as a tie-break to decide who has the highest priority for admission where the qualifying score and the distance between two applicants’ home and the school is the same.

Parents/carers should note that although Stretford Grammar School will inform them of their child’s assessment result prior to 31st October 2019, allocation letters will be sent on National Allocation Day, the 1st March 2020 (or the next working day) by their home authority on behalf of the Governing Body of the School. 7

Please Note: The child’s home address means the address where the child normally and permanently lives on a full-time basis, not the address of any child-minder, grandparent or any other relative. In the case of parents/carers who are separated or divorced and where child-care arrangements are shared between two addresses in the priority admissions area, the average of the distances of the two addresses from the School will be used for the purpose of determining priority for admission. Where one of the addresses is outside the priority admission area the applicant will be regarded as living outside this area and the average of the distance of the two addresses from the School will be used for the purpose of determining priority. You are required to provide proof of residency. Failure to do so may result in the offer of a place being withdrawn.

The School may withdraw a place at a later date if false, incorrect or misleading information has been provided which has advantaged the applicant in the priority order for over-subscription. Parents/carers must inform the School of any changes to their address or circumstances.

  1. e) Waiting List

Following the allocation of places on 1st March, the School will commence a waiting list for Year 7 admissions in September. The waiting list will continue through Years 7 to 12. Applicants for in year admission may join the waiting list if a place is not available within the relevant year group, providing they have qualified through the School’s Entrance Test or have met the criteria to be considered for admission to the Sixth Form. Applicants who have not been tested in the normal admissions round will be tested and if successful will be placed on the waiting list if a place is not available. Each added child will require the list to be ranked again in line with the published oversubscription criteria. Priority must not be given to children based on the date their application was received or their name was added to the list. Should a place become available, the oversubscription criteria will be applied to those on the waiting list.

  1. f) Right of Appeal

Under the terms of Education Act 1998, all parents/carers of candidates refused admission have the right to appeal to an Independent Appeals Panel against any decision made by the School. The decision of the Independent Appeals Panel is binding on both the School and parents/carers. An appeals timetable is published on the School website by 28th February each year.

Appellants considering making a complaint regarding an appeal may contact: The Local Government Ombudsman PO Box 4771 Coventry CV4 0EH 8

In Year Admissions – Years 7 to 11

  1. These procedures apply both to candidates who have previously been unsuccessful in the School’s Testing procedure and to candidates who have not previously been tested. Candidates who have previously applied and sat the School’s In-Year Testing and who have not achieved the qualifying score for admission cannot re-apply in the same academic year and must leave a minimum of 12 months before applying for re-assessment.
  2. Candidates who have previously been unsuccessful in the School’s Entrance Examination procedure are able to be reassessed in Summer Term 2021 and if assessed as suitable, and places being available, are able to start in September 2021.
  3. Candidates will be assessed for their suitability for admission to the School using the following procedure:

 candidates will receive a Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT) which comprises verbal, quantitative and non-verbal sections and their score will be standardised

 the school will ask for a letter from the candidate’s current school, setting out the candidate’s current level of attainment and progress and asking for the results of any nationally-taken tests or exams

 a scrutiny of the candidate’s work, including Maths, English, Science, Modern Foreign Languages, History and Geography. Candidates may bring work in other subjects if they wish.

  1. Under the terms of Education Act 1998, all parents/carers of candidates refused admission have the right to an Independent Appeals Panel against any decision made by the School. The decision of the Independent Appeals Panel is binding on both the School and parents/carers.

  1. Year 10 and 11 candidates will sit a bespoke testing, if applicable, which will be advised on application.

  1. Applications for candidates in Years 7 to 9 who have previously qualified for Stretford Grammar School will be considered in light of the availability of places and their position on the waiting list. Applicants who are currently in Year 9 and above who have previously qualified will be required to re-qualify.
  2. Please note a successful outcome from an assessment does not guarantee a place at the School. If any places are available we apply our over-subscription criteria.
  3. Positions on the waiting list are subject to change and as such a candidate may move up or down the list.
  4. To register your child for re-assessment please contact the Admissions Officer on 0161 866 0130 or email admissions [at] stretfordgrammar [dot] com.

Admission to the Sixth Form 9

  1. The Sixth Form intake will be dependent on the number of students in Years 7-11 and the maximum capacity of the school. When Years 7-11 are fully subscribed, admission to Year 12 will be such that the total number of Sixth Form students does not exceed 192. The school does not enrol students at the beginning of Year 13.
  2. For those offered a place in the Sixth Form the requirement for entry is that students must have achieved a minimum Attainment 8 score of 60 and at least a grade 6 in the subjects chosen to study and a grade 6 in GCSE English Language and Mathematics. However, please note, subjects including Maths, Chemistry, Biology and Physics require a minimum grade 7 to study them to Advanced Level.
  3. Please note that for the purposes of our entry criteria 2020 the Attainment 8 score is defined as a summation of the grades students achieve in their best 8 GCSEs, including Mathematics and English Language. A student’s best Mathematics GCSE and English Language GCSE grade will be included in this measure and both the Mathematics and English Language grades will be double weighted. For example, a score of 8 in English Language will be awarded 16 points towards the minimum target of a 60. The remaining 6 GCSEs are not double weighted and can come from any other GCSE subject studied by the students as part of their curriculum.
  4. Applicants who have completed their secondary education in schools other than in England and Wales and have taken IGCSE or equivalent qualifications will be subject to the same requirements as stated in paragraphs three and four. Students who take qualifications other than GCSE, or IGCSE or must have equivalent qualifications as defined and verified by NARIC (www.ecctis.co.uk/naric) and be able to demonstrate that they are working at a level comparable to the minimum academic requirement for entry into the sixth form. Equivalent qualifications will only be accepted if the course content provides suitable preparation for A Level study and students will only be enrolled once qualifications have been verified in writing.
  5. Internal Year 11 students will be asked to indicate whether they wish to progress to Sixth Form in the first half of the Spring Term and to give an initial choice of subjects.
  6. Internal applicants, who meet the entry requirements and who enrol on or before GCSE Results and Enrolment day, will be given priority over all other applicants and guaranteed a place in the Sixth Form, on courses of their choice, within the option lines available. Internal applicants who enrol between GCSE Results and Enrolment day and the first school day of the Autumn Term may be enrolled, subject to availability of places on the courses of their choice. The maximum class size for any A Level class will be 25.
  7. Year 11 applicants from other schools should return completed application forms between October and mid-February each year; the deadline date is the end of the first half of the spring term. Their school will be asked to provide information to verify the suitability of the candidate’s choice of courses and to ensure Stretford Grammar School is able to provide appropriate support to meet individual student needs. Proof of qualifications, identity and residency, will also be required.
  8. Year 11 students from other schools (external applicants), who apply and accept a conditional offer during the Spring Term, meet the entry requirements and enrol on or 10

before 21st August will be allocated a place in the Sixth Form, on courses of their choice, within the option lines available.

  1. Year 11 external applicants, who apply after the February deadline, will only be offered places subject to availability and only once all qualifying students in paragraphs 6 to 9 have received conditional offers.
  2. Any student who enrols in the Sixth Form but fails to attend on the first day of the Autumn Term, without prior notice being given, may have their place withdrawn.
  3. Applications to re-take year 12 will only be considered if there are places available after all qualifying year 11 students have enrolled. Such applications will be considered on an individual basis, taking account of any extenuating circumstances and priority will be given to students already at the school. Following discussions with the student and their parent/carer to ascertain whether it is in the student’s best educational interest, the school may refuse requests to retake Year 12.

Over-Subscription Criteria for Sixth Form Places

Where eligible applications for admission exceed the number of places in the Sixth Form, or the number of applications for a course exceeds the places available on that course, the following criteria will apply:

  1. A ‘looked after child’ or a child who was previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, residence, or special guardianship order (Under the terms of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 (see section 46 (adoption orders)).
  2. Those highest in rank order of Average Rank Score (ARS) for entry into Year 12 or onto the course.
  3. In the event of tied scores resulting in more than one applicant being eligible for places then the applicant living nearest to the school as measured using the property co-ordinates provided through a combination of the Trafford Local Land and Property Gazetteer (BS7666), other LA data and Royal Mail Postal Address Information. In the case of a child living in a block of flats, the distance will be measured from the communal entrance of the building.
  4. Random allocation will be used as a tie-break to decide who has the highest priority for admission where the qualifying score and the distance between two applicants’ home and the school is the same. 11

Progression to Year 13

Students who fail to achieve a record of continuous effort to make good progress in their Y12 studies, at the end of Year 12, will be invited, with their parents/carers, to a consultation to discuss whether progression to Year 13 is in the best interest for their continuing education. The school may advise that the student should retake Year 12 or seek alternative qualifications more suited to their individual needs.

Please Note: Proof of qualifications, identity and residence may be required from applicants. The School may withdraw a place at a later date if false, incorrect or misleading information has been provided. Parents/carers must inform the School of any changes to their address or circumstances.

Right of Appeal

Under the terms of Education Act 1998, all candidates and parents/carers of candidates refused admission have the right to appeal to an Independent Appeals Panel against any decision made by the School. The decision of the Independent Appeals Panel is binding on both the School and parents/carers. Appeals will be heard within 40 school days and acknowledged within 30 days. 12

APPENDIX A

SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES FORM

Please make us aware of any special circumstances which explain why your child may not have performed to their usual level on Monday 16th September 2019. Please complete this form and return to the Admissions Officer by noon on Thursday 19th September 2019 at the latest to bring to our attention:-

 If there are special circumstances prior to the test you wish to make us aware of

 If there are special circumstances which could have affected your child’s performance on the day

 If they may not have performed to their usual level on the testing day

If your child is ill immediately prior to or on the day of the exam please do not bring them. Please complete this Special Circumstances Form and return with a Doctor’s note by noon on Thursday 19th September 2019. We will then advise you of an alternative date.

Name of Child:

Date of Birth:

Primary School:

Test Room:

Candidate ID:

Signature of Parent(s)/Carer(s) ………………………………………Date: ………………………….

Please print name: ………………………………………………………………………………………….

Continue overleaf if necessary … 13

APPENDIX B

REQUEST FOR

STRETFORD GRAMMAR SCHOOL

LOCAL REVIEW

Please return by noon on Friday 8th November 2019

Please print all details clearly Child’s Name: Date of Birth:
Candidate Number: Score achieved:
Home Address:
Mobile Number: Home Number:
E-Mail address:

(Please print)
Parents/Carers Names:
Current Primary School:
Did you advise of any Special Circumstances at the time of the testing or in the immediate week of the testing? YES / NO
If yes – please advise: