Admissions criteria for MoorlandsFreeSchool
MoorlandsFreeSchool was set-up in September 2011, under the academies model.
MoorlandsFreeSchool is an integrated member of the Barnfield Federation, initially located at the original MoorlandsSchool site in Leagrave Hall, the School will ultimately move to a new site, possibly at the Federation’s New Bedford Road Campus, but remaining within Luton for September 2014.
MoorlandsFreeSchool will admit any child with a Statement of Special Educational Needs (SSEN), where it is appropriately named as the appropriate type of school within the child’s SSEN.
Where the School is oversubscribed applications will be considered against the following criteria:
a)Children in public care (Children who are in the care of local authorities as defined by section 22 of the Children Act 1989).
b)Children who have siblings currently at the MoorlandsFreeSchool at the point of admission. Siblings are defined as meaning two or more children who have at least one parent in common and/or who reside at the same house as one another. Where a child has been legally adopted, he or she will be regarded as the sibling of any other children of the same legal guardian on the admission roll at the point of admission.
c)Priority admission area 20 per cent of the available places remaining
after the application of a) and b) above, will be allocated to the priority
admission area (made up of the following six wards in Luton – Dallow,
HighTown, Biscot, Northwell, Leagrave and Lewsey), shown as areas 1,
2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 on the map in Appendix B. If the total number of
applications from the priority admission area is fewer than the 20 per
cent available, then these places will be transferred to the ‘combined
catchment area’ criterion, as shown in Appendix C.
d)Pupils living within the ‘combined catchment area’ as defined below and outlined within Appendix C. Where the numbers of applicants in this criterion exceeds the number of places, offers will be determined by random allocation.
The combined catchment area covers the following specific wards within Luton: Leagrave, Biscot, Challney, Saints, Lewsey, Round Green, Icknield, Dallow, HighTown, Limbury, Stopsley, Bramingham, Barnfield, Northwell and SundonPark.
It also covers the following four wards within Central Bedfordshire: Icknield, Houghton Regis, Dunstable Downs and Northfields.
e)Pupils living outside the ‘combined catchment area’, on the basis of proximity to the Moorlands Free School using a straight line measurement from the main entrance of Moorlands Free School to the applicants home address measured from a point at the address identified in the Local Land & Property Gazetteer. Where the numbers of applicants in this criterion exceeds the number of places, offers will be determined by random allocation.
Where the number of applicants for oversubscription criteria (c) (d) and (e) (above) exceeds the number of places available, offers will be determined by random allocation. Applications will be placed in rank order by random allocation, based upon the drawing of names from a list. The random allocation process is to be overseen and undertaken by an independent body.
Additional information
The maps showing the priority admission area and the combined catchment area will be published
The maps showing the priority admissions areas and the combined catchment area can be downloaded from the Council’s admissions webpage ((
The postcodes of the wards within the priority admission area and the combined catchment area can also be downloaded from the Council’s admissions webpage ( under the catchment area link. The postcodes are also available on request from the Admissions Team or the School.
Unsuccessful applicants will be offered an opportunity to be placed on the waiting list. The order of placement on the waiting list will be determined in accordance with the oversubscription criteria, not in the order in which applications are received or added to the list.
The waiting list will operate for the whole academic year 2011/12.