Admissions Policy 2011/12
BISHOP ULLATHORNE CATHOLIC SCHOOL
AND HUMANITIES COLLEGE
ADMISSIONS CRITERIA
SEPTEMBER 2011
The Admissions process is part of the Coventry Local Authority Co-ordinated Scheme.
The Admission Policy of the Governors of Bishop Ullathorne Catholic School is as follows:-
The ethos of this school is Catholic. The 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. We ask all parents applying for a place here to respect this ethos and its importance to the school community. This does not affect the right of parents who are not of the faith of this school to apply for and be considered for a place here.
The school’s Admission Number for the school year beginning in September 2011 is 180.
If the number of applications exceeds the admission number, the governors will give priority to applications in accordance with the criteria listed, provided that the governors are made aware of that application before decisions on admissions are made.
In all categories, priority will be given to those who have a brother or sister attending Bishop Ullathorne Catholic School at the time of admission.
[The Criteria should be read in conjunction with the explanatory notes overleaf]
1. Baptised Catholic children who are in the care of a local authority (looked-after children) or provided with accommodation by them (e.g. children with foster parents). (Section 22 of the Children Act 1989).
2. Baptised Catholic children who currently attend a Catholic ‘feeder’ school (see Notes 3 and 4).
3. Other baptised Catholic children.
4. Non-Catholic children who are in the care of a local authority (looked after children) or provided with accommodation by them (e.g. children with foster parents). (Section 22 of the Children Act 1989).
5. Non-Catholic children who currently attend a Catholic ‘feeder’ school.
6. Other non-Catholic children.
OVER-SUBSCRIPTION
If there is over-subscription within a category, the Governors will give priority to children living closest to the school, determined by shortest straight line distance, measured from the centre of the child’s home address to the centre of the school site (see Note 5).
In a very small number of cases, it may not be possible to decide between the applications of those pupils who are the final qualifiers for a place (eg children who live at the same address or have the same distance measurement). If there is no other way of separating the applications according to the admission criteria and to admit both or all of the children would cause the legal limit to be exceeded, the local authority will advise the school if there is a tie for the final place and the governors can draw lots to decide which child is allocated the place.
Note 1
Children with a Statement of Special Educational Needs that names the school must be admitted. This will reduce the number of places available to applicants.
Note 2
The definition of a brother or sister is:
§ A brother or sister sharing the same parents;
§ A half-brother or half-sister, where two children share one common parent;
§ A step-brother or step-sister, where two children are related by a parent’s marriage;
§ Adopted or fostered children.
The children should be in permanent residence at the same address.
Note 3
In all categories, for a child to be considered as a Catholic, evidence of Catholic Baptism or Reception into the Church will be required. For a definition of Baptised Catholic see the Appendix. Those who face difficulties in producing written evidence of Baptism should contact their Parish Priest. Failure to provide evidence of Baptism may affect the criterion the child’s name is placed in.
Note 4
The designated Catholic ‘feeder’ schools for Bishop Ullathorne Catholic School are:-
St. Thomas More, St. John Vianney, St. Mary & St. Benedict, St. Anne’s, Our Lady of the Assumption and All Souls.
Note 5
The home address of a pupil is considered to be the permanent residence of a child. The address must be the child’s only or main residence. Documentary evidence may be required. Where care is split equally between mother and father, parents must name which address is to be used for the purpose of allocating a school place.
Appeals
Parents who wish to appeal against the decision of the Governors to refuse their child a place in the school may apply in writing to the Chair of Governors, c/o Bishop Ullathorne Catholic School, Leasowes Avenue, Coventry CV3 6BH. Appeals will be heard by an independent panel.
Repeat Applications
Unless there are significant and material changes in the circumstances of a parent’s application for their child or the school, the governors will not consider a repeat application in the same academic year.
Late Applications
Late applications can be made by completing the Application Form contained in the Local Authority Booklet ‘Transfer to Secondary Education in Coventry’, and returning it to the Local Authority.
Late applications received before the Governors have ratified the allocation of places will be treated in accordance with the admission criteria.
Late applications received after the Governors have ratified the allocation of places for the year, will be treated in accordance with the admission criteria, until all places have been allocated. When all places have been allocated up to the admission number, late applications will be added to the school’s waiting list, in admission criteria order. Such applicants will have the right of appeal.
Applications other than the Normal Intake to Y7
An application should be made directly to the Local Authority who will need to consult with the governors.
Waiting List
Waiting lists for admission will remain open until the end of the Autumn Term and will then be discarded. Parents may apply for their child’s name to be reinstated. The waiting list will be kept in admission criteria order.
In Year Fair Access Policy
The governing body have adopted the LA policy for admission of previously excluded or hard to place children
External Year 12 Admissions
The Admission Number is: 80
All cases are considered on an individual basis, however, the general admission criteria is:
6-7 GCSE to follow 4 AS levels
5 GCSE we recommend 3 AS levels
Below 4/5 GCSE we recommend a Btec course offered through the South West Federation.
There is no charge or cost related to the admission of a child to this school.
DEFINITION OF A “BAPTISED CATHOLIC”
To establish clarity, consistency and fairness in the application of Criteria of Admission in Catholic Schools in accordance with the Trust Deed of the Archdiocese of Birmingham, it is necessary to define the description of a “Baptised Catholic” for the benefit of parents who are making applications and for governors who formulate and apply the criteria for admissions.
A “Baptised Catholic” is one who:
· Has been baptised into full communion (Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 837) with the Catholic Church by the Rites of Baptism of one of the various ritual Churches in communion with the See of Rome (i.e. Latin Rite, Byzantine Rite, Coptic, Syriac, etc, Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1203). Written evidence* of this baptism can be obtained by recourse to the Baptismal Registers of the church in which the baptism took place (Cf. Code of Canon Law, 877 & 878).
· Has been validly baptised in a separated ecclesial community and subsequently received into full communion with the Catholic Church by the Right of Reception of Baptised Christians into the Full Communion of the Catholic Church. Written evidence of their baptism and reception into full communion with the Catholic Church can be obtained by recourse to the Register of Receptions, or in some cases, a sub-section of the Baptismal Registers of the church in which the Rite of Reception took place (Cf. Rite of Christian Initiation, 399).
WRITTEN EVIDENCE OF BAPTISM
The Governing bodies of Catholic schools will require written evidence in the form of a Certificate of Baptism or Certificate of Reception before applications for school places can be considered for categories of “Baptised Catholics”. A Certificate of Baptism or Reception is to include: the full name, date of birth, date of baptism or reception, and parent(s) name(s). The certificate must also show that it is copied from the records kept by the place of baptism or reception.
Those who would have difficulty obtaining written evidence of baptism for a good reason, may still be considered as baptised Catholics but only after they have been referred to their parish priest who, after consulting the Vicar General, will decide how the question of baptism is to be resolved and how written evidence is to be produced in accordance with the law of the Church.
Those who would be considered to have good reason for not obtaining written evidence would include those who cannot contact the place of baptism due to persecution or fear, the destruction of the church and the original records, or where baptism was administered validly but not in the Parish church where records are kept.
Governors may request extra supporting evidence when the written documents that are produced do not clarify the fact that a person was baptised or received into the Catholic Church, (i.e. where the name and address of the Church is not on the certificate or where the name of the Church does not state whether it is a Catholic Church or not.)