Introduction

This policy is part of the admission arrangements for Christopher Whitehead Language College & Sixth Form (CWLC), a secondary school academy and sixth form, and will apply to all admissions for the academic year 2027/2028. This includes in-year admissions within this period.

CWLC is a co-educational, non-selective, publicly funded school that welcomes applications for the admission of children regardless of aptitude, ability, special educational or other needs, disabilities or other protected characteristics.

CWLC admits children into Year 7 who usually remain on the roll until Year 11. CWLC has a sixth form (Years 12 and 13) which caters for transferring Year 11 students and external applicants. The sixth form admission criteria are also set out in this policy.

How to apply

Our published admission number (PAN) is the number of children that we will admit to our school, which for Year 7 in 2027 will be 284. Applications should be made online through Worcestershire School Admissions.

Allocation of places

The closing date for applications is 31 October 2026, in line with Worcestershire Local Authority coordinated admissions scheme deadlines. The offer notification date from the Local Authority to parents is 28 February 2027.

Applications naming our school will be sent to us for prioritising. Children whose education, health and care plan (EHCP) names our school will be automatically allocated a place.

If the school is not oversubscribed, all applicants will be offered a place.

If the school receives more applications than the number of places it has available, places will be given to those children who meet any of the criteria set out below, in order, until all places are filled.

Oversubscription criteria

1. Looked After Children and previously Looked After Children for whom the school is deemed to be appropriate.

   A “looked after child” has the same meaning as in section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989, and means any child who is (a) in the care of the local authority or (b) being provided with accommodation by them in the exercise of their social services functions, for example children with foster parents, at the time of making the application to the school.

   A “previously looked after child” is a child who immediately moved on from that status after becoming subject to an adoption, child arrangement order or special guardianship order and includes those children who appear to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted.

2. Students from our “feeder” schools: Honeywell, Oldbury Park, Pitmaston, St Clement’s CE, Our Lady Queen of Peace, Hallow and Rushwick primary schools.
3. Siblings of current students.
4. Children of all staff currently employed by Christopher Whitehead Language College.
5. Children living within the catchment area of our school who live closest to the school by the shortest straight-line distance. This measurement will be taken by using Geocode points for each property and the Geocode for the centre of the school. The Local Authority software package ArcView GIS can be used in the event of a disputed admission. In the event of equidistant applicants, places will be allocated by random selection. Someone totally independent of the school will supervise this process. View the CWLC catchment area map.
6. Children living outside the catchment area of our school who, at the time of application, have a brother or sister, including children living as siblings or stepchildren in the same family unit, on the roll at the school and who will still be on roll at the time of the sibling’s admission.
7. Children living outside the catchment area of our school who, at the time of application, attend one of the named “feeder” primary schools.
8. Children living outside the catchment area of the school who live closest to the school, based on the same Local Authority measurement system as described in criterion 5 above.

Waiting list, maintained until 31 December

When all available places have been allocated, Christopher Whitehead Language College will operate a waiting list. Any places that become available will be allocated according to the oversubscription criteria, with no account being taken of the length of time on the waiting list.

The waiting list will be reviewed and revised:

• Each time a child is added to, or removed from, the waiting list.
• When a child’s changed circumstances will affect their priority.
• At the end of each school term, when parents or carers with a child on our waiting list will need to contact the school to reinstate the student to the waiting list for the following term if they so wish.

Fair Access Protocol

As part of the Worcestershire Fair Access Protocol, incorporating the ‘Hard to Place Protocol’, we can be required to exceed the published admission number (PAN) to admit students covered by the Protocol. Any such students take precedence over those on the waiting list.

Where admitting a child with challenging behaviour to a year group which has a high proportion of previously permanently excluded students and/or students with challenging behaviour, a place may be refused and referred to the Fair Access Panel.

In-year admissions

These applications will be coordinated on behalf of all schools by Worcestershire School Admissions. The coordinated scheme for secondary schools 2027 can be viewed online.

Applications for places ‘in year’ or outside the normal round of admissions will be dealt with in line with the criteria outlined above. The procedure is as follows:

• Apply online by completing the in-year application form. If you are unable to apply online, please contact Worcestershire School Admissions on 01905 822700.
• CWLC will notify Worcestershire Local Authority of its decision, and School Admissions will write to parents. Where it is not possible to offer a place, parents will be notified of the right of appeal.
• If there are insufficient places for all applications received at a time, priority will be decided in accordance with the oversubscription criteria.
• Admissions via the Fair Access Protocol will be dealt with separately, usually directly between the Headteachers of the schools involved, and may involve the school going over the PAN.

Admission of children outside their normal age group

Parents may seek a place for their child outside their normal age group, for example if the child is gifted and talented or has experienced problems such as ill health, effectively in the year group below or above their chronological age group.

If a child is admitted to primary school out of their normal age group, for example summer-born children, born between 1 April and 31 August, who start school in the September following their fifth birthday, the parent will need to ask the admission authority of their preferred schools to agree for their child to continue being educated outside their normal age group when they transfer from primary to secondary school.

This should be done in writing before the normal admissions round closes for their child’s normal age group. This will be on 31 October of the year their child starts Year 5, rather than Year 6. This is so they know the outcome of the decision in time to submit an application for their child’s normal age group, should their request be turned down. They will need to give reasons why the child is outside their normal age group and why educationally this is beneficial to continue. A supporting letter from the primary school would be helpful.

The Headteacher makes decisions on the basis of the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child concerned, taking into account the parents’ views, information about the child’s academic, social and emotional development, the child’s medical history and the views of their medical professionals, whether they have previously been educated out of their normal age group, and whether they may naturally have fallen into a lower age group if it were not for being born prematurely. This is not an exhaustive list, and parents may put forward any matters or documents for consideration.

Worcestershire School Admissions has a useful document on its website: Policy on Delayed and Accelerated Transfer.

Sixth Form

Admission numbers

All students in Year 11 at Christopher Whitehead who apply for a place in the Sixth Form and who meet the academic entry criteria are entitled to a place in our Sixth Form.

The minimum number of external applicants to be admitted is 25 (PAN). The upper limit of successful Year 12 external applicants will be based, not on total Year 12 numbers projected for the following academic year, but on the planned capacity in a given subject or course.

Entry requirements

• Entry requirements for each course are detailed in our course information guide, available on our website under A-level Courses. Applications are made online via the application form.
• Offers made are provisional on students attaining the entry requirements.
• We may ask for evidence of subjects studied at A-level and copies of GCSE certificates.

Oversubscription criteria for entry into Sixth Form

In the event that Christopher Whitehead Language College Sixth Form is oversubscribed, the oversubscription criteria will be followed. The purpose of the published oversubscription criteria is to give everyone a fair opportunity to apply for a place in the Sixth Form. The Governing Body has the authority to determine whether an applicant meets the criteria for admission.

Where there are more applications than places, students who fulfil the entry criteria will be offered provisional places, subject to availability in the agreed pathway and courses, in the following order of priority:

1. Looked After Children and Previously Looked After Children meeting our entry criteria.
2. Students with a sibling on roll at Christopher Whitehead Language College at the date of application who is likely to remain on roll at the date of admission.
3. Children of all staff who have been employed at Christopher Whitehead Language College & Sixth Form on a permanent contract for a period of at least two years at the date of application, or who have been recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage.
4. Students whose home is nearest the school by the shortest direct line.

Where there are too many applications from within the first category, applications will be given priority if they meet the conditions of the second category. Applicants for remaining places will be given priority according to the third category. In the event of a tie-break on distance from home, lots will be drawn for any available place. This process will be supervised by someone independent of the school.

Appeals

Any parent whose child has been unsuccessful in securing a place can appeal. Appeals are heard by an Independent Appeals Panel, following procedures laid down in the School Admission Appeals Code 2022. Please see the Admission Appeals Procedure under Policies.

Legislation

This policy takes account of all relevant legislation, including the Education Act 2011, the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, legislation on gender discrimination, race relations and disability, together with all relevant regulations and advice in the School Admissions Code (DfE, September 2021).