aDMISSION OF STUDENTS POLICY - 2024/2025

ETHOS

The Marlborough Science Academy is an 11-18 mixed comprehensive Academy committed to an inclusive education for all learners.  Underpinning our ethos are our core values, dignity, kindness, compassion, endeavour, and courage.  Our school community is based on successful relationships, excellent teaching and of course preparing our students for an ever changing employment landscape.

GENERAL

The Governors will, in line with statutory requirements, consult with parents about admission arrangements. They will also establish arrangements for appeals against non-admission.  Details of admissions and appeals arrangements will be published each year.  The County Application form (CAF) and the Academy’s Supplementary Information Form (SIF) should be returned by 31^ST October 2023.

IN-YEAR ADMISSIONS

If there are more applications than places, in year admissions will be considered using the admission rules.

YEAR 7 ADMISSION RULES

Students will be admitted in accordance with our Single Equality Policy.

The Published Admissions Number (PAN) for September 2024 is 212.  If fewer applications are received than places available all applicants will be offered a place.  If more applications are received than places available the following oversubscription will be used to prioritise applications.

The Academy will admit any students who have an EHCP that names The Marlborough Science Academy.    

ORDER OF PRIORITY

1. Children looked after and children who were previously looked after, including those who appear (to the admission authority) to have been in state care outside of England, and ceased to be so because they were adopted (or became subject to a Child Arrangements Order or a special guardianship order).¹
    
2. Students for whom it can be demonstrated that they have a particular medical or social need to go to the Academy. Governors will decide the outcome of all social/medical applications.² 
    
3. Students who have a sibling on the roll of the Academy at the time of admission.³
    
4. Children of Staff.⁴
    
5. Students whose permanent address is closest to the Academy address point.⁵

NOTES

1.  All schools must have oversubscription criteria for each ‘relevant age group’ and the highest priority must be given, unless otherwise provided in this Code, to looked after children and all after, but ceased to be so because they were adopted (or became subject to a child arrangements order or special guardianship orders) immediately following having been looked after, including those children who appear (to the Admission Authority) to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted.  Residence Orders have been replaced by Child Arrangement Orders.

2.  All professional evidence supporting the medical/or social application must be sent to the school.

3.  Children who have a sibling on roll of the school or linked school at the time of admission.  The purpose of these rules mean the sister, brother, half-brother or sister, adopted brother or sister, a child looked after or previously looked after, or child of the parent or partner and in every case living permanently in a placement within the home as part of the family from Monday to Friday at the time of this admission. A sibling link will not be recognised for children living temporarily in the same house, for example a child who usually lives with one parent but has temporarily moved or a looked after child in a respite placement or very short term or bridging foster placement.

4. Children of members of staff who have been employed at the school on a permanent contract, for two or more years at the time at which the application is made whether full time or part time, teaching or educational support staff.  For the purpose to this rule a child of a member of staff is defined as:  he or she is the child’s natural mother, natural father or has demonstrable legal parental responsibility for which evidence is provided and lives at the same address as the staff member. Children of a member of staff recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is demonstrable shortage.

5.  Distance from The Marlborough Science Academy will be measured using the straight line distance measurement provided by Hertfordshire County Council’s GIS System to the academy address point. Distances are measured using a computerised mapping system to two decimal places. The measurement is taken from the Address Base Premium address point of your child’s house to the address point of the school. Address Base Premium data is a nationally recognised method of identifying the location of schools and individual residences.

TIE BREAK

In each category, priority will be given to those living nearest the Academy measured in a straight line from the student’s permanent home address to the main Academy point. 

• The Academy will use these rules in the order they are printed above. Rule 5 will apply as a tiebreaker for rules 2, 3 & 4. 
  If more children qualify under a particular rule than there are places available, a tie-break will be used by applying the next rule to those children. In the case of two applicants with exactly the same priority under the admissions rules, but only one place being available, the Governing Body will offer places to both applicants.
• In the case of twins/multiple births, if one child is offered a place under the priority rule but the other(s) is/are not, the other(s) will be offered a place, thereby increasing our numbers above the PAN. No further offers will be made from the continuing interest list until the number of places allocated drops below the PAN.

APPEALS PROCESS

All unsuccessful applicants have the right to appeal to an independent panel for a place to be made available for their child.  Hertfordshire parents wishing to appeal who applied online should either use the website address for secondary transfer appeals www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/schoolappeals, or log onto their online school application and click on the link “register an appeal”.  If the application was made not using Hertfordshire’s online application system parents should contact the Customer Service Centre (0300 123 4043) to request an appeal pack.

IN-YEAR ADMISSIONS

The county council will write to you with the outcome of your In-Year application and, if you have been unsuccessful, will include registration details to enable you to login and appeal online at www.hertfordshire.gov/schoolappeals

The school is part of the Hertfordshire County Council’s coordinated In-Year admissions scheme.   Applications can be accessed via www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/inyear or from the Customer Service Centre (0300 123 4043).  Parents should return their form directly to County Council (address details on form).  Places will be allocated in accordance with rules 1-5.

If more children qualify under Rule 5 than there are places available, the tie-break would be those that live closest to the school. The Marlborough Science Academy co-operates with the Local Authority’s Fair Access Protocol for the children who are hard to place.

CONTINUING INTEREST(ci) LIST

After places have been offered, the Marlborough Science Academy will maintain a continuing interest  (waiting) list. A child’s position on a CI list will be determined by the admission criteria outlined above, and a child’s place on the list can change as other children join or leave it. Any places which become available will be allocated by the County Council, on behalf of the Governing Body, in accordance with the admission rules set out in this document.  Continuing interest lists will be maintained for every year group until the summer term (date to be specified and confirmed to parents at the time of allocation). To remain on the CI (waiting) list after this time parents must confirm they are still interested in a place by completing an In-Year application form.

NB: There is scope for children admitted under HCC’s Fair Access Protocol to be prioritised before children on CI, and to be admitted over PAN in consultation with the Governors. 

CHILDREN EDUCATED OUT OF YEAR GROUP
ADMISSION OF CHILDREN OUTSIDE THEIR NORMAL AGE GROUP

Admission Authorities must make decisions on the basis of the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child concerned. This will include taking account of the parent’s views; information about the child’s academic, social and emotional development; where relevant, their medical history and the views of a medical professional; 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. They must also take into account the views of the head teacher of the school concerned. When informing a parent of their decision on the year group the child should be admitted to, the Admission Authority must set out clearly the reasons for their decision.  Applications should be made in the student’s correct chronological year group, and the decision is solely the responsibility of the Governing Body.

If further advice about the application is required, parents should contact the Academy Admissions Office on 01727 731375.

SIXTH FORM ADMISSION RULES FOR EXTERNAL APPLICANTS TO THE MARLBOROUGH SCIENCE ACADEMY

External students will be admitted to Year 12 in accordance with our Single Equality Policy.  Admission into the Sixth Form does not guarantee a place on any particular course.  The Academy publishes separate Course entry requirements.  Entry requirements are based on an individual and their desired pathways and can be seen in our post-16 prospectus which is available from our school website.

 ORDER OF PRIORITY

1. Students who are looked after or were previously looked after (children looked after or children previously looked after who ceased to be looked after because they were adopted or became subject to a child arrangements order or special guardianship order), including those children who appear (to the admission authority) to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted.
2. Students who were on roll at The Marlborough Science Academy in the Year 11 preceding the admissions year.
3. Students for whom it can be demonstrated that they have a particular medical or social need to go to the Academy (evidence must be provided by a professional dealing with the child’s case).    
4. Students whose permanent address is closest to the Academy address point.  A ‘straight line’ distance measurement is used.  Distances are measured using a computerised mapping system to two decimal places.  The measurement is taken from the Address Base Premium address point of your child’s house to the address point of the school.  Address Base Premium data is a nationally recognised method of identifying the location of schools and individual reasons.

NOTES

The Academy will use these rules in the order they are printed above.  Rule 3 will apply as a tiebreaker for rules 1 and 2. In each category, priority will be given to those living nearest the Academy measured in a straight line from the student’s permanent home address to the main Academy address point. If more children qualify under a particular rule than there are places available, a tie-break will be used by applying the next rule to those children.  In the case of two applicants with exactly the same priority under the admission rules, but only one place being available, the Governing Body will offer places to both applicants.