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Community and voluntary controlled schools admission policies

How admissions to primary and secondary places (except Year 12) are assessed if there are more applicants than places.

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For specific school policies, search the schools directory.

General admissions policy 2025 to 2026 Community and Voluntary Controlled Schools (accessible version)

Where there are more applications than places available at a community or voluntary controlled school for entry to all year groups except Year 12, applications will be prioritised using the criteria below. They will be applied in conjunction with explanatory notes 1 – 7 which form part of the policy

1. Children looked after, i.e. in public care, giving priority, if necessary, to the youngest child(ren); children who were previously looked after; and children who were previously looked after outside of England - see note 1.

2. . Children living in the catchment area who have brothers or sisters in the school (or associated infant or junior school) at the time of admission - see notes 2, 3 and 4.

3. Children living outside the catchment area who, at the time of their admission, have brothers or sisters in the school (or associated infant or junior school) who were allocated a place at that school by the Local Authority either (a) in the absence of a place being available in the catchment area school due to oversubscription and the school was identified by the Local Authority as the next nearest with a place available or (b) the school is named in the sibling’s Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) - see notes 2, 3 and 5.

4. Other children living in the catchment area giving priority to those living closest to the school, measured by a straight-line measurement between the centre of the pupil’s home address and a common point on the school site as determined by the Local Authority - see notes 6 and 7.

5. Children living outside the catchment area who have brothers or sisters in the school (or associated infant or junior school) at the time of their admission - see notes 2, 3 and 4.

6. Children living outside the catchment area, giving priority to those who live closest to the school, measured by a straight-line measurement between the centre of the pupil’s home address and a common point on the school site as determined by the Local Authority - see notes 6 and 7.

Applications will be prioritised on the above basis. An exception will be made under the Local Authority’s policy for the education of children with special educational needs where a child holds an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), that names the school.

Explanatory notes

These notes are part of the policy.

Note 1

A child looked after is a child in public care, who is looked after by a local authority within the meaning of Section 22 of the Children Act 1989. Children previously looked after are children who were looked after, but have ceased to be so because they were adopted (under the terms of the Adoption and Children Act 2002) or became subject to a Child Arrangements Order or Special Guardianship Order (Children Act 1989).

Advice issued by the Department for Education (DfE) in July 2021 states that a child previously looked after outside of England is one that was looked after, outside England, by a public authority, a religious organisation or another provider of care whose sole purpose is to benefit society. For a previously looked after child to be considered under criteria 1, the parent or carer must provide appropriate written evidence to support the application. Without this evidence it will not be possible to consider the application under category 1 of the LA General Admissions Policy.

Note 2

In criteria 2, 3 and 5, priority will be given to those children with the youngest siblings. Brothers and sisters are those living at the same address and includes step and foster children. Priority will only be given where it is known at the time of allocating places that a sibling will be attending the school (excluding a nursery class – see note 4) at the time of admission.

Note 3

Where reference is made to ‘associated’ infant and junior schools this is to describe those situations where infant and junior schools share the same catchment area.

Note 4

Brothers and sisters in the school at the time of admission does not include a brother or sister who will be attending a nursery class that is attached to the school.

Note 5

If a parent or carer believes that they qualify for consideration under criterion 3, they should indicate this on their preference form in the place provided for this purpose.

Note 6

Distance measurements will be undertaken using the Local Authority’s computerised Geographical Information System [GIS]. This measures a straight-line measurement between the centre of the pupil’s home address and a common point on the school site as determined by the Local Authority

Note 7

Random allocation will be used as a tie-break in categories 4 and 6 to decide who has the highest priority for admission if the distance between the children’s home address and the school is the same. This process will be independently verified.

Contact the Schools Admissions team

If you are unable to find the answer to your query online, you can contact us.

  • Send a message
  • 01228 221582 (phone lines are open Monday to Friday between 8am to 12pm and 2pm to 3pm)

Address

Address

School Admissions and Appeals
Cumberland Council
PO Box 415
Carlisle
CA1 9GU
United Kingdom