C of E school admissions criteria

[Justmeandtwokids]

I'm looking at secondary schools for DD and have come across this in the criteria for one (after EHCP/LAC) -

Girls who attend Church of England Primary Schools in [town] whose parent or parents are regular(1) worshippers at a Christian Church(2).

Girls resident in the Borough of [town] whose parents are regular(1) worshippers at a Christian Church(2).

Other girls resident in the Borough of [town].

We live outside the borough, so are way down on the criteria to the point DD would be lucky to get in. My knowledge of admissions is fully from Mumsnet - I didn't think they could prioritise based on borough/county boundaries or is it different for church schools?

Well, yes, it's different for faith schools.
However, there is a group of schools close to me that changed their criteria for admission from this September, and prioritise those living in wards deemed to be their new catchment areas.
There was a lot of opposition from parents that will now not get their children in, but it was passed legally.

Yes, faith schools seem to be a law unto themselves when it comes to admissions criteria.

The answer is firstly that faith schools like every other school have to abide by the admissions code, which is a legal document.
What OP is thinking about is the Greenwich judgement going back to 1989, which held that pupils should not be discriminated against in relation to the school simply because they reside outside the local authority area in which the a school is situated. However having catchment zones and having feeder schools in admission criteria is perfectly legal.
If this borough is actually also a local authority for education purposes then the school may well be theoretically breaking the Greenwich judgement. If it is not a local authority then it is probably OK. It really depends on the detail of the wording in the school admission criteria. It also needs somebody to raise the wording with the school adjudicator, so that they give some clarity to the situation
If you want to PM me with the school name and LA then I will have a look and see whether the wording clarifies the situation.

I've been able to identify the school from the excerpts from the admission criteria. The "borough" concerned is a district council and is not an LEA. Admissions go through the county council. So no, I do not think this is a breach of the Greenwich judgement. The school is, in essence, setting a priority admissions zone which happens to coincide with the boundaries of the district council.

Prh and Admissions, am I right in thinking they're not allowed to prioritise "Church of England primary schools" without naming the feeder schools specifically (though pethaps they do that in a footnote).

There's a good Wikipedia page on the Greenwich Judgement and it has links to some cases that have helped to clarify how it should be interpreted: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwich_Judgement

Thank you - I'll manage DD's expectations that it might be a long shot but if she really wants it there's no harm in her putting it down.

@blammawamma

Prh and Admissions, am I right in thinking they're not allowed to prioritise "Church of England primary schools" without naming the feeder schools specifically (though pethaps they do that in a footnote).

They should specifically name them but they do not appear to do so. However, since it is only Church of England primary schools within the town and there are only a small number of them (4, I believe), I doubt they would get into trouble for not naming them.