St Richard Reynolds Catholic High School
Admission Arrangements 2013 - 2014
St Richard ReynoldsCatholic High School was founded by the Catholic Church to provide education for children of Catholic families.The school is conducted by its governing body as part of the Catholic Church in accordance with its trust deed and instrument of government, and seeks at all times to be a witness to Jesus Christ. The School accepts applications from those who are able to benefit from and contribute to the religious character of the school. At a Catholic school, Catholic doctrine and practice permeate every aspect of the school’s activity. It is essential that the Catholic character of the school’s education is fully supported by all families in the school. All applicants are therefore expected to give their full, unreserved and positive support for the aims and ethos of the school.
The published admission number (PAN) for the school is 150children. The Governing Body has sole responsibility for admissions to this school and intends to admit 150 children to Year 7 in September 2013.Priority will be given to Catholic applicants.
OVERSUBSCRIPTION CRITERIA
When the number of applicants exceeds the admission number, offers of places are made using the following criteria in order of priority:
1. Catholic looked after children and Catholic children who have been adopted (or made subject to residence or special guardianship orders) immediately following being looked after.
2. Community places for children attending the new Richmond Primary School and holding a community place at that school.
3. Baptised Catholic children from practising Catholic families who are resident in the parishes of Our Lady Queen of Peace, East Sheen; Sacred Heart, Teddington; St Edmund, Whitton; St Elizabeth, Richmond; St Francis de Sales, Hampton; St James, Twickenham; St Margaret, East Twickenham; St Mary Magdalen, Mortlake; St Osmund, Barnes; St Theodore, Hampton; St Thomas Aquinas, Ham and St Winefride, Kew.
4. Baptised Catholic children who are resident in the parishes listed in criterion 3 above.
5. Other baptised Catholic children.
6. Other looked after children and children who have been adopted (or made subject to residence or special guardianship orders) immediately following being looked after.
7. Children from other Christian traditions and from other faiths. Priority will be given to members of the Eastern Christian (including Orthodox) Churches.
8. Any other children.
a) The attendance of a sibling at the school at the time of enrolment will increase the priority of an application within each category.
b) Where the number of applicants under criteria 3 or 4 exceeds the number of places available, places will be allocated in the ratio Diocese of Westminster: Diocese of Southwark = 6:4. and if the number still exceeds the places available, they will be ranked by random allocation.
c) Where the offer of places in any of the criteria other than 3 or 4 would still lead to oversubscription, the places up to the admission number will be offered by proximity to the school. In the case of equidistance from the school, random allocation will be used.
d) In the event of a tie-breaker being needed, an independently-supervised drawing of lots will take place. If twins or triplets are competing for one or two remaining places, the school will admit both/all applicants and exceed the Published Admissions Number.
Pupils With a Statement of Special Educational Needs
The admission of children with a statement of Special Educational Needs is dealt with by a separate procedure that is administered by the applicant's home Local Authority, to whom all enquiries in that regard should be addressed.
The school will admit both boys and girls in all year-groups.
Exceptional Need
The governors will give top priority in any category, tochildren whose exceptional medical, pastoralor social needs justify a place at the school. To demonstrate an exceptional medical, pastoral or social need, which can only be met at this school, the Governing Body will require compelling written evidence at the time of application from an appropriate professional e.g. doctor, priest or social worker.
Tie Break
In the event of there being insufficient places to admit all candidates in any of the categories detailed above, priority will be given to candidates living nearest to the school.Distance from the child’s home to the school will be measured by the shortest route by road or maintained footpath, accompanied as necessary, from the Ordnance Survey ‘seed-point’ of their home, out of the front of the house, to the nearest pedestrian school gate used by the relevant year group. Accessibility of private or public transport will not be considered. All distances will be measured using a computerised geographical information system. Paths through car parks, cemeteries, golf courses and other enclosed spaces will not be used.
Application Procedure
All applicants must complete a Common Application Form (CAF) which is available from and returnable to the local authority in which they are resident. In addition, applicants should complete St Richard Reynolds Supplementary Information Form (SIF) which is supplied in the application pack. The CAF and the SIF arealso obtainable from your local authority and are available on line.The CAF must be completed and submitted to the local authority by the 31st October 2012.The Supplementary Information Form (SIF) is available from the local authority and should be completed and returned to the Diocese by 31st October 2012.If you do not complete both the CAF and the SIF and return them by the closing date, the governing body may be unable to consider your application fully and it is very unlikely that your child will get a place at the school.Late applications will be considered after the initial allocation process has been completed.
Applicants wishing to be considered under criterion2, 3 or 4should alsoprovide the School with a copy of the child’s baptismal certificate. If the certificate is not available, applicants should indicate in writing the reasons for this being the case.Those applying under criterion 2 should obtain a Diocesan Priest’s Reference form from their parish or from the Diocesan website at: and hand it to their parish priest when completed.
The local authority will write to you on behalf of the governing body with the outcome of your application on 1st March 2013. Information concerning the Appeals Procedure will be sent out to those who are unsuccessful in obtaining a place. The school maintains a waiting list, ranked according to the published criteria, and places will be offered as and when vacancies occur.The waiting list will remain open for twelve months following the normal date of admission.
Change of details
If any of the details on your form change between the date of application and the receipt of the letter of offer or refusal, you must inform the School immediately.If misleading information is given or allowed to remain on the form, governors reserve the right to withdraw the place, even if the child has already started at the School.
Fair Access
The school is committed to taking its fair share of [children] who are vulnerable and/or hard to place, as set out in locally agreed protocols. Accordingly, outside the normal admissions round the governing body is empowered to give absolute priority to a child where admission is requested under any local protocol that has been agreed by both the Diocese and the governing body for the current school year. The governing body has this power even when admitting the child would mean exceeding the published admission number.
In Year Admissions:
Applications for In-Year admissions are made directly to the school. If a place is available and there is no waiting list, the child will be admitted. If more applications are received than there are places available then applications will be ranked by the governing body in accordance with the oversubscription criteria. If a place cannot be offered at this time then you may ask us for the reasons and you will be informed of your right of appeal. You will be offered the opportunity of being placed on a waiting list. This waiting list will be maintained by the governing body in the order of the oversubscription criteria as modified above and not in the order in which the applications are received. Names are removed from the list at the end of each academic year. When a place becomes available the governing body will decide who is at the top of the list and an offer will be made.
Interpretation of terms used in the Admissions Policy and Oversubscription Criteria
Candidate
/ The child on behalf of whom the application is being made.Applicants
/ The parents and/or legal guardians submitting an application for a place on behalf of a child. Or a young person of 16 years or over submitting their own application.PractisingCatholic / A Catholic child from a practising Catholic family where this practice is verified by a reference from a Catholic priest in the standard format laid down by the Diocese.
Catholic / A person who is a member of a Church in full communion with the See of Rome, including Eastern Catholic Churches. For the purposes of this Policy it also includes a “looked after” child who is in the process of adoption by a “Catholic family”. This will normally be evidenced by a certificate of baptism in a Catholic Church.
Catechumen / A member of the catechumenate of a Catholic Church. This will normally be evidenced by a Certificate of Reception into the order of catechumens.
Christian / A member of one of the Churches that belongs to “Churches Together in Britain and Ireland”.
Looked after children / Children in the care of the Local Authority or provided with accommodation by them e.g. children with foster parents (see section 22 of The Children Act 1989). A looked-after child who is adopted immediately after having been looked-after, or a child who becomes subject to a Special Guardianship Order or a Residence Order immediately after having been looked after, is treated in the same way as a looked-after child and given the same priority. A catholic child in this category will have top priority and a non-Catholic child in this category will be given priority over all other non-Catholic children.
Sibling / A brother or sister to include step brothers and sisters, half brothers and sisters or adopted brothers and sisters, who live at the same home as the child. A sibling relationship does not apply when the older child(ren) will leave before the younger one starts.
Family / Those individuals who live at the residential address of the parents and/or legal guardians who are submitting an application for a place on behalf of a child. Where the admission arrangements refer to “practising Catholic families”, it is sufficient for just one parent to attend.