The admissions process is part of the Worcestershire LA co-ordinated scheme.
The Admission Policy of the Governors of St Augustine’s 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 2010 is 210.

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 (see Note 1 below).
In each of the categories, priority will be given to those who have a brother or sister (see Note 4 below) attending St Augustine’s Catholic School at the time of admission.

1.      Baptised Catholic children who are in the care of a local authority (looked after children) or provided with accommodation by them (eg children with foster parents) (Section 22 of the Children Act 1989).

2.      Baptised Catholic children who currently attend St Bede’s Catholic Middle School. (See Note 2 below).

3.      All other Baptised Catholic children (See note 2).

4.      Children who are not Catholic but who are in the care of a local authority (looked after children) or provided with accommodation by them (children with foster parents) (Section 22 of the Children Act 1989).

5.      Children who are not Catholic but who currently attend St Bede’s Catholic Middle School.

6.      Other children with siblings attending St. Augustine’s at the time of admission (See note 3).

7.      Children attending the Ridgeway Middle School whose parents wish their children to be educated in a Catholic School.

8.      Other applicants whose parents wish their children to be educated in a Catholic School.

 

OVER-SUBSCRIPTION (Applications above 210)

If there is over-subscription within a criterion, the Governors will give priority to children living closest to the school determined by shortest straight line distance measured from the front gate of the school to the front door of the pupil’s home address (see Note 4 below). 

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, when applying the published admission criteria.  For example this may occur when children in the same year group live at the same address, or where there are twins, or if the distance between the home and school is exactly the same, for example, blocks of flats.  If there is no other way of separating the application according to the admissions criteria and to admit both or all of the children would cause the legal limit to be exceeded, the governing body will arrange for the local authority to randomly select the child to be offered the place.

In December the Admission and Marketing Committee of the School’s Governing Body meets to agree upon the offer of places to St Augustine’s.  Any change of circumstances that might positively affect the offer of a place in light of published admissions criteria must be presented to the school before this meeting takes place in order for it to be fully considered by the Committee.

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
In all categories, for a child to be considered as a Catholic, evidence of Catholic Baptism or Reception into the Church will be required.  Evidence of baptism needs to be sent directly to St Augustine’s School at the time of application. For a definition of Baptised Catholic see the Appendix.  Those who face difficulties in producing written evidence of baptism should contact their Parish Priest.
Note 3
The definition of a brother or sister is:
• A brother or sister sharing the same parents;
• Half-brother or half-sister, where two children share one common parent;
• Step-brother or step-sister, where two children are related by a parent’s marriage;
• Adopted or fostered children.
Note 4
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.

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. 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 received up to 29th January 2010 may be treated as being on-time, only in the following circumstances:
• Where the family have moved address after the closing date for on-time applications.
OR
• Where it is agreed by the governors that individual circumstances apply and the delay was reasonable, given the circumstances of the case.

APPLICATIONS OTHER THAN THE NORMAL INTAKE TO Year 9
An application should be made to the local authority who will need to consult with the governors.  All applications must be signed by the child’s current school before being submitted to the LA at the Pupil Admissions address.  The LA will then co-ordinate all preferred schools and advise the parents of the highest offer.

WAITING LISTS
Waiting list 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
Worcestershire has included Additional In-Year Criteria within the Admission Policy for the placement of 2 vulnerable children over the agreed Published Admission Number since 2004. This agreed number of 2 above PAN will be maintained in regard to the wider scope of this protocol. Refer to Appendix B for a more detailed explanation of the admission procedure for pupils admitted above PAN.  (See Appendix B).

 

Appendix A

DEFINITION OF A “BAPTISED CATHOLIC”
(For use in the Criteria of Admission to Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of Birmingham)
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 variousritual Churches in communion with the See of Rome (ie Latin Rite, ByzantineRite, Coptic, Syriac, etc, Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1203).  Writtenevidence* of this baptism can be obtained by recourse to the BaptismalRegisters of the church in which the baptism took place (Cf. Code of Canon Law, 877 & 878).
Or
• 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” (under Category 3 of the Admissions Criteria). 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.) 

 

Appendix B

Admission Procedure for pupils admitted Above PAN Under the ‘Fair Access Protocol.’ As required by the School Admission Code.

• Each year group in the school can be increased by a maximum of two over PAN (Published Admission Number) for the groups of pupils specified in the ‘Fair Access Protocol.’ This is restricted to Key Stage 2 and above.

 

• The pupils joining this distinct admission group remain two over PAN for however long they remain a pupil in the school. Therefore if a vacancy occurs in the year group this can be filled in the normal way.

• If a pupil should leave who has been included in the two over PAN ‘Fair Access group” then a new pupil from ‘Fair Access’ category could fill that space.

 

• It is not the intention that schools should go over PAN for normal admissions with the justification that the two over PAN vacancies under the ‘Fair Access Protocol’ have not been filled.

 

ADMISSION TO SIXTH FORM CENTRE FOR STUDENTS AGED SIXTEEN ENTERING IN
SEPTEMBER 2010

At age Sixteen
In addition to St Augustine’s students continuing from Year Eleven, the governors will offer thirty places in Year Twelve to applicants from other schools.  Where applications for admission exceed the number of places available, the following over-subscription criteria will be applied in order of priority set out below:

• Catholic applicants.

 

• Applicants with a sibling attending St Augustine’s at the time of admission, or who have been offered a place already.

• Applicants who wish, or whose parents wish, for a Catholic Sixth Form education.

 

If there is over-subscription within a criterion, the Governors will give priority to children living closest to the school determined by shortest straight line distance measured from the front gate of the school to the front door of the pupil’s home address.

General Entry Requirements for the Sixth Form:

• for courses at NQF level 3 e.g. GCE AS/A2 level, Advanced or Advanced progression Diploma, BTEC National Diploma,  5A*-C grades at GCSE (or equivalent NQF 2 qualifications), with a Grade B (or equivalent) where appropriate in subjects chosen for study at AS Level. 
•  for courses at NQF level 2 e.g. Higher Diploma, BTEC First Diploma - a pass at NQF level 1 (5 GCSE D-G or equivalent);
• for courses at NQF level 1  - 2 A-G grades at GCSE (or equivalent).

 

The parents of students who are unsuccessful in gaining a place at St Augustine’s will be able to appeal to an Independent Appeals Panel.  Parents wishing to exercise this right should contact in writing the Clerk of the Governors at St Augustine’s Catholic High School.