Are school sixth forms that rank applicants by GCSE grades in breach of the admissions code?

[havubooked]

Grammar school Year 12 admissions policies tend to set minimum grade thresholds, which apply equally to internal and external applicants. Internal applicants that meet the criteria are, of course, guaranteed a place. However, to manage demand for external applicants, they need to use oversubscription criteria. Rather than using distance or lottery like non-selective schools, its common to rank applicants by average GCSE point score. But surely this is a breach of clause 2.6 of the Admissions Code which says that sixth form academic selection criteria "must be the same for both external and internal places"?

If I'm right that it's a breach then, to comply with the code, they would need to use non-academic oversubscription criteria. However, I realise this is counter-intuitive for a grammar school..That's why I'm laying it out here and questioning whether I'm right or not.

Not that unusual in London.

A lot comes down to space - how do you suddenly build a new 6th form on a small footprint.

The PAN is now 450 in Y7-10. Current Y11 is 435 after an increase from about 350.

The current Y11s have been very aware of if they are likely to make the cut off and applied elsewhere for lower tariff offers.

There are a LOT of private schools in the area and huge numbers of their pupils are now applying to the top comps since the VAT addition, so it's even more competitive this year than normal. Some schools closed their 6th form admissions dates early due to over subscription.

The admissions code doesn't make that distinction.

Not a grammar - comprehensive.

The oversubscription criteria are all academic looking at the policy. I can't see how you could have anything else (the school doesn't admit based on distance for Y7-11).

I'm not referring to a specific school. I'm referring to schools that rank applicants by GCSE results. In my experience these are usually grammar schools. Some comps may do it too, but they would have less of a defence if challenged.

Yes it does.

What a nightmare. For students and for schools as well.
Tho it's odd that there is such a dissonance between the PAN for the rest of the school and that for sixth form. Is the sixth form a new addition? Or was it historically not that popular I wonder? Like I say IME (not London!) there is pretty much parity between numbers, or at least numbers that will want to stay (obvs a good % of students go elsewhere post-16 as A levels are not for them).

Which clause?

If there were more applicants than places for internal applicant then the same oversubscription criteria would apply. DD’s selective school (184 PAN in years 7-11) have a sixth form with 220 places per year - up to 184 spaces are for reserved for internal applicants who meet the entry criteria so the reality is that they never have to apply oversubscription criteria to internal applicants.

there’s the loophole for you OP, there’s no breach.

I thought you were very familiar with the code and felt like arrogantly telling others they had misunderstood, while apparently asking if you could be wrong.

Read what it says.

I am very familiar with the code. I'm not arrogant. You're telling me something I don't know so I'm asking you which part of the code you're referring to. Genuine question.

I think this may be the crux of it.

That’s not correct. Should there be more external candidates who meet the threshold academic entry requirements than there are places, the Code requires clear, fair and objective oversubscription criteria to decide who should be offered the places. As part of these criteria the admission authority is free to adopt a “sliding scale” to rank applicants so giving a higher priority to those with better GCSE results, remembering that all “looked after and previously looked after children” meeting the academic threshold must be offered a place before other applicants.
https://wslaw.co.uk/insight/sixth-form-admissions-getting-it-right/

Exactly. The admissions criteria, and the oversubscription criteria, have to be the same for external and internal applicants, but if all eligible internal candidates have processed (automatically for meeting minimum pass rate, if outlined as the case in the policy), they aren't included in oversubscription. The chances that the sixth form places are smaller than the number of suitably qualified y11 pupils looking to continue is low. They're unlikely to be full before all current pupils have a place. If some were included in the oversubscription, they'd have to be ranked in and amongst the externals.

No, the schools adjudicator is always very clear that a sixth form PAN is only applicable to external candidates, and therefore oversubscription criteria are only applicable to external candidates.

All internal candidates who meet the minimum academic criteria can transfer automatically. In practice, schools manage internal oversubscription at course level rather than cohort level e.g. by saying "yes, you can have a place, but course X is full so you'll have to choose between course Y or Z" meaning that some eligible internal candidates voluntarily go elsewhere.

"As part of these criteria the admission authority is free to adopt a “sliding scale” to rank applicants so giving a higher priority to those with better GCSE results"

Thanks - this is interesting,and could be key,but it doesn't say this in the Admissions Code, so if it is definitely true it must be a legal interpretation based on past adjudications.

Surely you’ve just answered your own question about oversubscribtion criteria and application of admissions legislation.

Are you saying you don’t think grades should be used to determine entry full stop? I’m not sure what your point is? Has your DC missed out on a space? If so, I think your efforts will be better spent helping them find a new school rather than fighting a battle with this one.

@Soontobe60 I googled the phrase and managed to find a definitive reference - it's in paragraph 21 of the 2018-2019 Schools Adjudicator Annual Report here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5e690eced3bf7f2695546b79/OSAAnnualReportSept2018toAug2019corrected.pdf

It's a shame they didn't also spell it out clearly in the 2021 revision of the admissions code.

Thank you for your help in clearing this up for me.

Historically it was an extremely unpopular school. It's now one of the most over-subscribed in London.

The 6th form was a later addition (2010) and has expanded this year.

Looking at other similar schools, some of them seem to have a clause saying places will be allocated based on "suitability" for the course. That seems to be a lot more open to interpretation that pure grade scores.

You haven’t answered why you are so bothered about this if it doesn’t affect your child OP?

No, I haven't, and I don't feel obliged to. I have the answer I needed, so can check out now. I'm also watching a movie with my kids (who are now in their twenties so have long since left school).

It is not a breach. And for external applicants it can be a bunfight in August itself and a negotiation as to what A levels you are offered. Can also happen to internal candidates if they do not meet the threshold for some subjects, but meet overall point threshold. Nobody is going to let you study Further Maths A level at a competitive grammar without a 9, if that course is massively oversubscribed, but typically internal candidates will get preference. Most of the internal candidates also already did at least Further Maths GCSE or sometimes even an AdMaths qualification.

Let’s take a really competitive grammar ranking based on top 9 GCSEs - so if you get 9x9, 81 points, then on results day you will get your top 3 A level choices or 4, because some grammars start with 4, or IB Highers or whatever. If you get good grades but not the top, you may get an offer a day in, over someone with slightly better grades, but different A level courses.

They will prioritise internal candidates for eg Further Maths and Computer Science first, so if you want to do English, German and French, History you will likely get in with much lower grades than someone going for the most competitive courses in a top boys grammar school. Then there are conditional offers based on your predicted grades which have to be evidenced by a school report for some schools, others no evidence of a school report, but mocks etc - some offers based on results in August only. It is a on a case by case basis, the schools themselves handle Admissions and none of it is a breach.

This August is going to be interesting, to say the least, with the private school VAT. Some of our local schools have had 1500 applications for 60 odd places.

My DD moved from a private to grammar sixth form last year and we’re extremely grateful that they take people based on average score. She was extremely low priority for the comprehensive sixth forms near us (last category on the over subscription criteria) as they prioritise local state pupils first.

Surely the internal applicants passed the 11+ or the Kent test or whatever and the external candidates didn't.

I'm not saying that is tight BTW.

Local grammar admission policy has always had external candidates ranked by mock exam results in their admission policy. Used where there is an oversubscription after internal candidates reach the expected A level results. Includes a criteria around boarding places too.

Nothing to do with private school choices.