Sixth Form Admissions Policy

Sixth Form Admissions Policy Salesian Sixth Form For Admission September 2017 Salesian Sixth Form is a Voluntary Aided Catholic Sixth Form in the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton. External candidates minimum admissions number: 10 The Sixth Form is a voluntary aided Catholic Secondary co-educational day Sixth Form operating under the Trustees of the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton. The Sixth Form was founded by and is part of the Catholic Church. The Sixth Form is conducted as a Catholic Sixth Form in accordance with the canon law and teachings of the Catholic Church and in accordance with the Trust Deed of the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton. The Governors aim to offer a Catholic education. They expect parents applying for places will uphold the Catholic character and ethos of the Sixth Form. Nevertheless, the Sixth Form fully respects the beliefs of parents and children from all denominations and faith backgrounds. Children are taught respect and tolerance for others and there is provision in the religious education programme for the study of different faiths. The Sixth Form was set up primarily to serve the Catholic community in the Weybridge Deanery. The number of external applicants who will be admitted in this admission round is 10. Conditions of Entry Students will only be admitted into the Sixth Form if, in the judgement of the Sixth Form Team, a suitable course is available for them that is appropriate and meets their needs. Students who achieve a place in the Sixth Form will be guided by the Sixth Form Team on suitable courses to follow, and students will not be permitted to follow a course deemed unsuitable. Students are only eligible to study at Salesian if they are following a full time course. A full time course comprises a minimum of 3 A Levels. *This condition may be waived in exceptional circumstances and at the discretion of the Sixth Form Team. Minimum Entry Requirements Students already educated at Salesian School during Years 7-11 will automatically be eligible for Salesian Sixth Form so long as they meet both the minimum entry requirements and the Conditions of Entry as listed above. Applications are welcomed from students who attended other high schools and wish to apply for a place at Salesian Sixth Form. To be admitted students from other schools must meet both the minimum entry requirements and the Conditions of Entry as listed above. Salesian Sixth Form Enlightening minds, uplifting hearts Highfield Road, Chertsey, Surrey KT16 8BX 01932 578681 info@salesian.surrey.sch.uk www.salesian.surrey.sch.uk

Please note the minimum entry requirement is 5 A*-B grades at GCSE; including a 5 in English and Maths and a positive progress 8 score. Certain subjects may stipulate further requirements and these can be found in the course information booklet. *N.B. Students with grade 4 in English and Maths who have made excellent progress may still be admitted into the Sixth Form but may have a limited curriculum choice available to them. We encourage students and their parents to visit Salesian Sixth Form in order to find out more about how we work and the education that we offer. An open evening will take place in September. Application to the Sixth Form 1. Application to Salesian Sixth Form in respect of Salesian students Students already educated at Salesian school during years 7-11 will have a right to transfer to the sixth form, subject to them meeting both the minimum entry requirements and conditions of entry. Internal applicants are required to complete an internal formal application and this must be submitted by Friday 16th December 2016 2. Application to Salesian Sixth Form in respect of external students Applications are welcomed from students who attended other secondary schools and wish to apply for a place at Salesian Sixth form. Due to the Sixth Form s strict admissions criteria it is very important that all students are aware that they will need to fill out an external Sixth Form Application Form and meet both the minimum entry requirements and conditions of entry as listed above. The completed Sixth Form Application Form must be returned to the Admissions Secretary, Mr Gary Carter, at the above address at the latest, by: Friday 16th December 2016 A receipt will be issued, either by hand, by post or by email to acknowledge the completed form. (If you have not received a receipt within one week of submitting the form you should contact Mr Carter immediately). Meetings for Years 12 or 13 will be held to provide advice on options and entry requirements for particular courses. Please note, these meetings do not form part of the decision making process on whether to offer a place. It is really important that forms are completed and returned as they collect essential information to allow the Governors to put all applicants in order of priority for admission under the Salesian Sixth Form Admissions Policy. The Governors are the admissions authority for the school and are responsible for deciding the order of priority for admissions to the school. If there are 10 or fewer external applications, all external applicants who meet both the minimum entry requirements and the conditions of entry will be allocated a place. The school operates an equal preference system so all applications are treated equally against the admissions criteria. If there are more than 10 external applications received who all meet both the minimum entry requirements and the conditions of entry, those external places will be allocated according to the oversubscription criteria and in the order stated. Offer date for on time applicants Friday 24th February 2017 2

Late applications Applications received after the 18th December will be processed after on time applicants, from the 26th Feb. If vacancies still exist, places will be offered in line with the oversubscription criteria. If the school is full, then late applicants will be placed on the waiting list in line with the oversubscription criteria. Over-subscription criteria If the number of applicants for admission exceeds the PAN the Governors will offer places using the following criteria in the order stated: These categories relate to the child, not to the parent(s)/guardian(s): 1. *Baptised Catholic Looked After Children (children in care) and/or Baptised Catholic children who were previously Looked After Children (see note 3) supported by a certificate of Catholic baptism. 2. *Baptised Catholic children with Exceptional Social or Medical Needs (see notes 4 and 5) supported by a certificate of Catholic baptism and supporting written evidence. 3. *Baptised Catholic children attending other secondary schools supported by a certificate of Catholic baptism. 4. Looked After Children (children in care) and/or children who were previously Looked After Children (see note 3) 5. Children with Exceptional Social or Medical Needs (see notes 4 and 5) with supporting written evidence. 6. Christian students attending other secondary schools 7. Any other students attending other secondary schools The documents highlighted above are required to support your child s application to the sixth form. Failure to produce any of the documents will alter your child s position in accordance with our admissions criteria. In the case where a certificate cannot be found or isn t available for any reason, then other evidence proving the sacrament has been taken would be acceptable - such as a letter of confirmation by the parish priest/delegated representative. Normally a photocopy of the relevant document(s) will suffice but in all cases the Governors reserve the right to see the original documents. Additional Information For the purposes of the Admissions Criteria, the Governors of the school, after consultation with the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton, define a Baptised Catholic as one of the following: a. A pupil baptised by a Roman Catholic priest into the Roman Catholic Church (Latin Rite). b. A pupil baptised into the Eastern or Oriental Rite ( Uniate ) church, which is in communion with the See of Rome (Annuario Pontificio 2002). c. A pupil baptised as a Christian by a church minister/priest of another denomination e.g. Anglican, and who has been received into the Roman Catholic Church. d. Eastern Orthodox churches, including the Coptic Orthodox, Greek Orthodox and Russian Orthodox churches are not in full communion with the See of Rome. A Baptised Catholic will be evidenced by a certificate of Baptism or a certificate of reception into full communion with the Catholic Church. The Governors follow the DfE SEN Code of Practise on the admission of children with Statements of Special Educational Needs (SEN) or Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP). 3

Looked after children are children who are registered as being in the care of a local authority or provided with accommodation by a local authority in accordance with Section 22 of the Children Act 1989 at the time an application is made to the school. Previously looked after children are children who have previously been in the care of a local authority or provided with accommodation by a local authority in accordance with Section 22 of the Children Act 1989 and who have left that care through adoption, a child arrangements order (in accordance with Section 8 of the Children Act 1989 and as amended by the Children and Families Act 2014) or special guardianship order (in accordance with Section 14A of the Children Act 1989). Exceptional Medical Need: If, when a parent applies, the child has a serious medical condition or disability, which means the parent feels he/she must go to this school, this should be put on the supplementary information form. The governors of the school will only consider this if supporting evidence (e.g. a letter from a registered health practitioner) is attached to the form. This evidence should set out (1) the particular reasons why this school is the most suitable school and (2) the difficulties that would be caused if the child had to attend another school. The governors will then consult Surrey County Council s medical advisers and will only agree to a priority placement if those medical advisers consider it necessary for the child to attend Salesian School. Exceptional Social Need: If, when a parent applies, he/she feels the child has individual, sensitive and serious family circumstances, involving the support services (e.g. social care), which means the parent feels he/she must go to this school, this should be put on the supplementary information form. The governors of the school will only consider this if supporting evidence (e.g. a report from social services) is attached to the form. This evidence should set out (1) the particular reasons why this school is the most suitable school and (2) the difficulties that would be caused if the child had to attend another school. Tiebreaker If accepting all applications in a particular category causes Salesian Sixth Form external admissions number in that year group to be exceeded, applicants will be prioritised according to the closest distance from home to school. The distance is measured in a straight line from the address point of the pupil s house, as set by Ordnance Survey, to the nearest school gate available for pupils to use. This is calculated using the Admission and Transport Team s Geographical Information System. Home is defined as the address where the child resides for 50% or more of the school week. Appeals Students who are unsuccessful in their application for a place at Salesian Sixth Form are entitled to appeal to an independent panel if they disagree with the decision. Any appeal should in the first instance be directed to the Admissions Secretary, who will explain the procedure. Waiting list policy The primary aim of this waiting list policy is to enable the school to maintain its distinctive Catholic ethos. If a place is not offered for a child, because of over-subscription, the child s name will be put on a waiting list. The list will be in the descending hierarchical order of the categories in the admissions criteria. The waiting list will continue for the year group until the end of the academic year. In order to support the needs of Catholic families moving into the area, no matter how long a child s name has been on the waiting list, his or her position on the list may change if the school adds a child s name to the list, who has a higher priority but whose parents were late in applying e.g. a baptised Catholic child whose family is moving or has recently moved into the area. Places for children moving into the area will be offered, if and when available, in accordance with the oversubscription criteria. Catchment area / transport Salesian Sixth Form does not have a catchment area; the Sixth Form has students from a wide geographical area. There is no provision for transport to schools with a religious character for Sixth Form students. 4

Transport arrangements should be looked at in detail by parents who should refer to the Surrey LA Post- 16 that provides for some students to receive support towards transport costs based on individual need. Notes The Sixth Form s Published Admissions Number (PAN) is 10 external candidates. Salesian Sixth Form has the capacity for 300 students so if the number of internal applicants is lower than expected, and there is spare capacity, then additional spaces may be offered above PAN. Details of the numbers of children in each category (or equivalent), admitted to the Sixth Form by the Governors in previous years is available at the end of this document. The Sixth Form is unable to predict the number of applicants for any category. The figures given separately are for information only. No member of staff or individual connected to the Sixth Form can guarantee the offer of a place for a child. Places are offered by the Sixth Form Governors Admissions Committee, who apply the Criteria for Admission. The School sends letters of offers of places to parents, as authorised by the Governors Previous years admissions for Year 12 Year Number of pupils 2011 154 (Including 8 external applicants) 2012 161 (Including 8 external applicants) 2013 162 (Including 18 external students) 2014 178 (Including 29 external students) 2015 189 (Including 38 external students) 5