Admissions criteria figures from last year?

[Peggetty]

Does anyone know how to find which criteria a school went down to last year during admissions?

Am looking at St Bede’s and going round in circles. I can see the criteria but not how far they went down the list.

I seem to remember when we did primary there was a section on the County website which said how far down the oversubscribed criteria each had gone.

Try this on the Admissions Web site - sorry I haven't opened every PDF to check but "year 7 allocation" sounds right?

www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/children-and-families/schools-&-learning/school-admissions-documents/school-allocation-information-for-previous-academic-years/

Ok, I've looked now and it says 'Other' - presumably they have the right not to disclose how far they went down their hierarchy of denominations. I am aware of children in Cambridge not getting in in various recent years and they were criteria 2 or possibly 3.

This has it - and says criteria 1..

ccc-live.storage.googleapis.com/upload/www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/children-and-families/Secondary%20Directory%202017-2018.pdf?inline=true

Thanks this is great.
Eek.

my son is in current Yr8. The criteria changed to the current pattern in his admissions year - ie the most important after siblings is Catholic or CofE and regular/weekly church attendance. In his peer group at local primary close to the school, 6 kids got in. One of them was weekly church attender but not CofE or Catholic and had a sibling at the school. Of those unsuccessful there was one child in same position as the aforementioned but without sibling at the School and an irregular attender of Catholic Church. I don't think distance criteria was applied.

I am given to understand that it was even more tricky in the last admissions round for the current Yr7's. I don't know of any siblings who were turned down but some friends who moved and could not - therefore - say they had attended the same church for the last yr on a weekly basis, didn't get a place.

Thanks for this.

I know a family whose second child didn’t get in when the eldest did, they are Christian but not CofE or Catholic.

Will have to have a strong second choice nailed down...but haven’t got one we particularly like.

I guess in a few years time they will have the second site (federation school or similar?) and then the pressures will ease for those who come after us.

Oh see what I did there?

I think that the criteria for St Bede's are so complex that the LEA pretty much put 'other' because it's easier than trying to explain what has really happened! I emailed the admissions team last year to try and get clarity - it isn't that clear, but they did give me more info than is published in the guide. Might be worth doing if you are concerned about your eligibility.

I just noticed this on the St Bede's website.

'sibling is defined as a child either living in the same home or blood-related but living at a different address'

This is interesting as I know someone who has a half-sibling at the school who probably got a place offer from this and distance criteria rather than church attendance.

There is an element of lottery to the whole process, although I am sure that the LEA would hotly dispute this assertion (wink)